The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church, Diocese of Jerusalem, His Eminence Dr. Hosam Naoum visited the headquarters of the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut, today, Thursday, March 24, 2022. His Eminence was heading a delegation included Rev. Archdeacon Imad Zoorob, Rev. Canon Fouad Dagher, Rev. Malcolm Forrest, and Rev. Canon Donald Bilder. Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs and the General Secretariat team welcomed them.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches you can find an invitation from MECC to participate in an online discussion about Anti-Racism and Anti-Segregation, on Wednesday 30th of March 2022. As for the message of the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled this week “The Middle East Council of Churches: Towards the Twelfth General Assembly”.

For months, administrative and operational preparations have been underway for the convening of the twelfth General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches at a rate that increases as we get closer to its maturity, as this assembly comes five years and eight months after the eleventh assembly that was held in Amman in 2016. It goes without saying that the delay is caused by the pandemic which has been ravaging humanity for three years and is still doing so up till now.

Click here for the Zoom link.

Saint Georges’ School Bsalim: A Model of the Struggle of Lebanese Schools

Turn to the abyss! These words were said years ago about a sector considered one of the most crucial basic facilities for building societies. The Lebanese education sector has always formed a major lifeline and has been a factor for prosperity and progress, but today it is reaching rock bottom. This is a bitter reality that the educational institutions in the Middle East must now faceat the ional, especially following the outbreak of the economic and cost-of-living crises in the midst of the dangerous health conditions that were manifested by the Covid-19 pandemic.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East for the Maronites, on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the Papal Headquarters in Abbassiya, Egypt. His Holiness delivered a welcoming speech in which he stressed on the importance of the ecumenical event that the Church of the East will witness at the 12th General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches that will be held in Egypt from 16 to 20 May at the Papal Logos Center under the title of “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

A New Afforestation Campaign with the Middle East Council of Churches

Since the Middle East Council of Churches launched the international campaign “Season of Creation” for the first time in the region in September 2021, the Council’s was keen to promote environmental awareness and culture through its various projects. Therefore, MECC continued its environmental activity, especially with youth, and in partnership with Danmission organization and with its support. A new afforestation campaign was hence organized in the Lebanese town of Monteverde, on Saturday, March 19, 2022.

Weekly Prayer Towards the Feasts of Feasts

In preparation for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the family of the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches is uniting in weekly ecumenical vigils at the Council’s headquarters in Beirut. So the team members pass together the blessed season of Lent, which is one of the holiest periods awaited annually, raising their prayers with one humbled heart, praying to God the Father.

The new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches presents the news about the visit of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs heading a delegation from the General Secretariat to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, aiming at giving him an invitation from His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, to participate in the MECC 12th General Assembly. As for the message of Dr. Abs, it was entitled this week “Collateral Damage”.

Daños colaterales es el nombre que dan los implicados en las guerras a las personas que mueren, se queman o perecen bajo los escombros de sus casas. La denominación incluye también los daños infligidos o eliminados en las realizaciones de la vida de miles de personas. Incluye también los daños sufridos por civilizaciones enteras alcanzadas por las sociedades.

Sencillamente: daños colaterales... No, digamos daños marginales, y nadie se preocupa de ellos ni los nota.

A los lanzadores de misiles y cohetes no les interesan los que están en su camino por desafortunadas coincidencias.

Ningún sonido es más fuerte que el de la batalla. El rugido de las balas, el trueno de los cañones y los gritos de los aviones ensordecen todos los oídos y eclipsan los gritos de los niños, los gemidos de los ancianos y los lamentos de los asustados.

¿Por qué lo celebra el mundo?

Es cierto que el mundo celebra el Día de la Felicidad el 20 de marzo, pero ¿podemos encontrar la felicidad en un mundo herido, lleno de crisis y conflictos y cuyos habitantes sufren guerras, enfermedades, pobreza y hambre?

A pesar de esta situación, haremos hincapié en la felicidad y nos uniremos a las Naciones Unidas para celebrar el «Día Internacional de la Felicidad», que se añadió al calendario de días internacionales de la ONU.

Con este día, las Naciones Unidas reconocieron la relevancia de la felicidad y el bienestar como objetivos y aspiraciones universales en la vida de los seres humanos en medio de las dificultades que nuestro mundo está presenciando.

A días antes del «Día de la Madre», ¿quiénes son las Madres Santas?

«He aquí a tu madre», dijo Jesús en la cruz a uno de sus discípulos. Y desde ese «He aquí a tu madre» se ha convertido Ella en nuestra Madre, la Madre de la Iglesia y de toda la humanidad. Es la Madre del Señor y la Reina de la Paz. La Madre que soportó las constantes dificultades con paciencia y obediencia, superó el mal y eligió cultivar la santidad coronada por la compasión y la humildad, para convertirse en fuente de vida de la gracia y en fuente de esperanza.

En este mundo volátil, la Madre de Dios nos protege de todos los caprichos del mal, especialmente de una enfermedad que Su Santidad el Papa Francisco llama «orfandad espiritual», que nos asedia siempre que nos falta el sentimiento de pertenencia a la familia, al pueblo, a la tierra y a un solo Dios.

Un álbum de fotos de la XI Asamblea General de la MECC, celebrada entre el 6 y el 8 de septiembre de 2016 en Ammán, Jordania, bajo el título «Dad gracias al Señor porque es bueno, su misericordia es eterna» (Salmo 136, 1).