And Its 12th General Assembly Will Be Held This Month

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of April 2022. The most prominent Ecumenical event for this month will be the MECC 12th General Assembly, which will be held between May 16 and 20, 2022, under the title of “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27), with the generous hospitality of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun in Egypt.

A Message of Peace and Love

Under the theme of “the essential of our life, grant us today”, 800 young men and women from different Churches in Syria, aged between 18 and 25 years old, participated together in an ecumenical youth meeting in cooperation with the French community “Taizé”. This meeting was held for the first time in Syria and lasted for 3 days at the Jesuit Fathers Monastery in Homs Governorate.

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 the MECC Annual Report 2021. As for the message of the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled this week “Against Wind and Waves: Challenging the challenges”, and was published as the introduction of this report.

As well as, the issue presents an Arabic report about the ecumenical meeting organized for the Syrian Youths in Homs, under the theme of “the essential of our life, grant us today”.

It seems that every new year that dawns on the Middle East-as well as on Lebanon too as it is part and parcel of it- is destined to be worse than its predecessors at all levels, political, safety-wise, economic, social and environmental, all of which reflect mounting despair among people constantly living a decline in their standard of life as well as in a decline in the extent of their aspirations and in the prospects to their future.

Therefore, whenever we bid farewell to a year, we wonder to what extent the next year will be worse and at what level.

The year 2021 was just one of the lean years that passed over the greater part of the Middle East, as it was subject for decades to attempts at destruction, dismantling, impoverishment, displacement, and emigration.

Report: April 2022

As the war in Ukraine rages, food and energy prices are increasing in the Middle East and in the rest of the world. If it were not from some reform policies being enacted, the region’s food security would be in worse conditions. However, the region is suffering from inflation and unemployment is still recording substantial numbers. While the conflict in Eastern Europe have yet to simmer down, it is time for the nations of the ME region to enhance cooperation with one another to achieve common good.

Together, Towards a Free, Pluralistic, and Independent Journalism!

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 issues its 2021 Annual Report under the title of "Against Wind and Waves: Challenging the Challenges". As for the message of the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled this week “The sea is not a false witness” and came after the incident of the migrant boat that capsized off Tripoli in north Lebanon, with 75 people on board. Noting that around 23 people were missed, as search and rescue operations continue by land and sea, and 6 people have died. The Lebanese army rescued 45 people.

El mar no aceptó ser ni falso testigo ni diablo mudo, así que nos informó de todo lo que sabe.

Nos envió a las víctimas de nuestra violencia política, legislativa y cultural, un pueblo sin vida.

Le suplicaron que escapara a un mañana mejor, huyendo de una sociedad que ha perdido el sentido de la misericordia, la justicia y el deber.

Pero eran demasiado débiles para sus exigencias.

Eran demasiado débiles para cruzar sus caminos y seguir su camino, así que cayeron en medio del camino.

No tiene ninguna culpa el mar, excepto que es cruel.