Fear, anxiety, despair, severe poverty, uncertain future... all these expressions describe the circumstances in Lebanon today. Refugees, as Lebanese, are all passing through hard and deteriorating living conditions. In fact, refugees left their countries in search of a better and safer life, but today they are facing many difficulties at various economic, social and health levels...

Since its establishment, the Middle East Council of Churches is keen to help the refugees, taking care of them and preserving their dignity.

An Ecumenical Meeting in Beirut

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs welcomed the Acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut on Tuesday December 14, 2021. The President of the National Evangelical Union in Lebanon and President of the Council for the Evangelical Family HE Rev. Dr. Habib Badr, besides the General Secretariat team in Beirut, also received Sauca.

The Middle East Council of Churches conducted “Home Caretaker” course in Damascus, Syria, in cooperation with IECD - European Institute for Cooperation and Development.

The course lasted for 32 days at the IECD headquarters and included practical training for 19 trainees in “Dar Al Saada”, which is an elderly care home, in Damascus.

A las dos de la noche de ayer, mientras la hermana Claire se disponía a entrar en la iglesia de San Elías del monasterio de San Elías al-Ras, en Kesrouan, su carne cayó al suelo mientras su alma se liberaba, abrazando al Redentor.

En el umbral de la iglesia terrenal, cayó la monja enfermera que durante décadas curó las heridas de Cristo en cada paciente del hospital en el que trabajaba, y no necesitó que nadie le vendara las heridas ni le diera una última gota de agua.

Rehabilitation work at Al Rahma Home for Elderly in Aleppo has ended and life has been back to it once again. This process came within the “Restoration of Faith –Based Social Services and Religious Infrastructure that were affected by the Syrian crisis” program, which is implemented by the Middle East Council of Churches and Kerk in Actie in Netherlands, in various Syrian governorates.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches, the MECC General Secretariat mourns Reverend Dr. Salim Sahyouni, President of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, and Honorary President of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled “She left before dawn”.

At two o'clock yesterday night, while Sister Claire was about to enter Saint Elias church at Saint Elias al-Ras monastery, in Kesrouan, her flesh fell to the ground while her soul was freed, embracing the Redeemer.

On the threshold of the earthly church, the nurse nun fell, who for decades healed the wounds of Christ in every patient in the hospital in which she worked, and did not need anyone to bandage her wounds or give her a last drop of water.

From November 28 to December 5

On a Mission to Prepare for the 12th General Assembly of the Council, Hosted by Pope Tawadros II

Press release

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited Egypt from November 28 to December 5, 2021, on a special mission to prepare for the General Assembly of the Council to be held between May 16 and 20, 2022 under the kind hospitality of His Holiness Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark Pope Tawadros II at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun.

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs: “Sahyouni was an example in Ecumenical work and a pioneer in its fields”

On Wednesday morning, December 8, 2021, the Evangelical Church in Syria and Lebanon bid farewell to the former President of the National Evangelical Synod in Syria and Lebanon Rev. Dr. Salim Sahyouni during an official funeral held at the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Rabieh, Lebanon.

The funeral service was presided by the President of the National Evangelical Synod in Syria and Lebanon Rev. Joseph Kassab.

y el Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio Dr. Michel Abs destacan la importancia del Consejo

El pasado sábado 4 de diciembre de 2021, Su Excelencia el Metropolitano Nicolas Antoniou, Metropolitano de Hermópolis (Tanta) y sus dependencias para el Patriarcado de Alejandría y de toda África se reunió con el Dr. Michel Abs, Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, Sra. Huguette Salameh, Director de Comunicación y Relaciones Públicas del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, y el padre Rifaat Fikri El-Amin, Co-Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio en la Iglesia de los Arcángeles en el distrito de Al-Zaher, El Cairo.

con el Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, el Dr. Michel Abs y discuten formas de cooperación futura

El Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias de Egipto, el archimandrita Dhemskinos Al-Azrai, se reunió con el Dr. Michel Abs, Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, en el Monasterio Patriarcal Griego de San Jorge en el Antiguo Egipto, acompañados del Padre Rifaat Fikry, Co-Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, y de la Sra. Huguette Salameh, Directora de Comunicaciones y Relaciones Públicas en el Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio.

El Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio está de luto por el Rev. Dr. Salim Sahyouni, que ha pasado a estar con el Señor a la edad de 90 años. Pasó sus años dedicados a trabajar en nombre de Dios y en la obra ecuménica. En la carta de condolencia que el Secretario General del Consejo, Dr. Michel Abs, dirigió al Presidente del Sínodo Evangélico Nacional de Siria y el Líbano, Rev. Joseph Kassab, se decía lo siguiente:

«Saludos en el nombre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, resucitado de entre los muertos,

"Donde yo esté, allí estará también mi servidor" (Juan 12, 26)

Con gran tristeza y dolor, recibimos la noticia del fallecimiento del Rev. Dr. Salim Sahyouni que ha partido a los brazos del Padre Celestial…

Es cierto que la agudización de las crisis económicas, sociales y sanitarias que afligen a Oriente Medio está agobiando a los ciudadanos. Pero, ¿saben lo difícil que es el impacto psicológico de estas crisis en los grupos más afectados? ¿Se da cuenta de la ansiedad que sienten los adolescentes en esta delicada etapa de sus vidas?

De hecho, los adolescentes de hoy en día, especialmente en las sociedades orientales, están sufriendo varios trastornos vitales, que se manifiestan con el desplazamiento, el aislamiento social y el retraso en la educación entre ellos, lo que les empuja a vivir en una severa depresión y desesperación.

Why Jesus chose Bethlehem as Birthplace?

Coming from the East to Jerusalem, the Magi said with yearning and eagerness “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). They came from far away to witness the birth of the King of Kings. They felt great joy seeing the star leading them “until it stopped over the place where the child was” (Matthew 2:9). At that place, in a small manger in the City of David in Bethlehem, the Savior of the world was born. But why Bethlehem and why did Jesus chose His birthplace in the East?