The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs was the guest of “Azamat Wa Kadaya” program (which means “Crises and Issues”) on Radio Liban Libre with Houda Eid, on Saturday, June 4, 2022. During the interview, Dr. Abs pointed out the activities of the MECC 12th General Assembly and its objectives, as well as, the Christian presence in the region and the importance of the Christians’ role, especially in overcoming all their challenges.

On his first tour in the Middle East following the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, the Executive Director of the international organizations, Global Ministries of the Christian Church and the United Church of Christ, in the Middle East and Europe, Dr. Peter Makari visited the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut, on Monday, June 6, 2022, with a delegation that included the Associate General Minister and Co-Executive of Global Ministries Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, and the President of the Division of Overseas and Co-Executive of Global Ministries Rev. Marco Cable. MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs welcomed them alongside with the General Secretariat's team.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs was the guest of MTV Lebanon, on Sunday, June 5, 2022, in "With Jesus" segment during the morning show “Alive” with Elie Ahwash, in order to shed light on the MECC 12th General Assembly event and the post General Assembly activities. Dr. Abs tackled the importance of the General Assembly, its objectives and the framework of its convening, highlighting its theme "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 14: 27), agenda and activities, especially the visit of the Heads of the Eastern Churches to the President of the Arabic Republic of Egypt Mr. Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

In the context of strengthening communication and building bridges between the ecumenical and humanitarian organizations in the world and the East, the Middle East Council of Churches participated in the periodic meeting of the Governing Board of ACT Alliance organization, held between May 30 and June 2, 2022 in Geneva.

On behalf of the Middle East, Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, from the Evangelical Church in Beirut, represented the Middle East Council of Churches, and Ms. Sally Azar from Jerusalem, represented the youth in the region, alongside with representatives of the concerned ecumenical and humanitarian organizations.

Cambridge, UK

Bible Society Lebanon (Syria & Iraq) in partnership with the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) and in collaboration with St Mellitus College, the Cambridge Center for Christianity Worldwide and the Middle East Council of Churches organized the second inter-confessional, ecumenical dialogue conference among church leaders entitled “The Magi Initiative: East ⇆ West”.

After more than two years of the first Magi conference that took place on October 10-12, 2019 in Beirut (in the East), and after the long phase of lockdowns due to the pandemic, the second conference was hosted in Cambridge, England on May 12-14, 2022 (in the West).

Le courage de la vérité,

du témoignage et du patrimoine séculaire

Ecrit par Professeur Antoine Messarra, Chaire Unesco-USJ, Liban

Cet article a été publié sur le site web de “L’Orient Le Jour”

La 12e Assemblée générale du Conseil des Eglises du Moyen-Orient (MECC-CEMO), tenue au Centre papal Anba Bishop à Wadi el-Natrun en Egypte, les 16-20 mai 2022, avec la participation de plus de cent des plus hauts représentants de toutes les églises du Moyen-Orient, constitue une étape renouvelée pour le Conseil dont la fondation remonte à 1974. La 12e Assemblée, organisée par le secrétaire général, Dr. Michel Abs et l’équipe du CEMO, offre en effet un panorama global de la situation régionale actuelle et détermine les grandes priorités d’avenir.

Within the framework of the “Restoration Fund for Rehabilitation of Faith-based Social Services & Religious Infrastructure Damaged During the Crisis in Syria” program which is implemented by MECC with the support of Kerk in Actie in Netherlands, in various Syrian governorates, you can find a new documentary entitled “The Missakian Cultural Center for the Armenian Protestant Community is Back to Life”. The documentary sheds lights on the restoration and rehabilitation work that brought life back to the Missakian Center located in Kessab town in the Latakia Governorate, which was victim of the destruction caused by terrorist attacks due to the Syrian war.

Report: May 2022

In spite of the receding global economy as detailed by the IMF, the Middle East is standing firm behind pre-approved projects being implemented. For every challenge that might arise as a result of events surrounding the region, most local governments are standing firm behind well-tailored policies. Unfortunately, others are still lagging behind in terms of tangible progress, due to shadowing state-corruption that is burdening societies at large.

Thank you from the Heart!

Wearing their white shirts and bright smiles, they spread life, hope and youth pulse at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun during the activities of the MECC 12th General Assembly, hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.

They are volunteers. Young women and men who took a break from their universities and jobs and came to serve the heads and leaders of the Eastern Churches, and friends from all over the world, in an event hosted by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. They all translated their love to His Holiness by working hard and tirelessly, taking care of every detail from the smallest to the biggest one, aiming at making this historical event a great success.

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 thank you letters from the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs to the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and Reverend Dr. Andrea Zaki, following the MECC 12th General Assembly held with the hospitality of the Coptic Orthodox Church and with the support of the Evangelical Church in Egypt, at the Logos Papal Center in Wadi El Natrun. As for the message of Dr. Abs, it was entitled this week “General Assembly Sequential Outlook”.

The importance of the General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches, which was held from 16 to 20 May 2022, lies in the lines it drew for the future work of the Middle East Council of Churches.

The above timing of the convention of the Assembly comes after Christian spiritual leaders were unable to meet in a general conference for nearly six years due to the pandemic that separated people from each other thus laid the foundations for new interactions in various fields.

The organizational layout for the preparation to the Assembly was clearly apparent to all due to the assiduous organization as well as to the quality and method of services provided to the participants, aspects that were the praised by all.

What I would like to lay out in this article are the programmatic dimensions, priorities and future directions ensuing from the Assembly deliberations.

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of June 2022. It includes the Ecclesiastical and Liturgical feasts of the various families of Churches in the Middle East. In addition to international days identified by the United Nations, and which are related to the MECC identity and its spiritual and human mission. Noting that the remaining months of the year will be published consecutively.

On the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Family’s Entry into Egypt, which is celebrated by the Coptic Church on the first of June of each year, the MECC Communication and Public Relations Department presents a documentary entitled “From Egypt I Called My Son”, highlighting the most prominent historical stations of the Coptic Church, a history of martyrdom and Holiness. The documentary was screened for the first time during the opening ceremony of the MECC 12th General Assembly, which was held under the title "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 from 16 to 20 of May 2022.