The “Season of Creation” media coverage is still ongoing in the Middle East. Charity Radio TV broadcasted a special episode centered on this international season, within “Hawana Hawak” program. It was prepared and presented by Zouhour Abou Mansour.

The guest of the episode was the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department of the Middle East Council of Churches Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, who tackled the objectives of the season, its importance and all related details. Fr. Al Ahmar shed light also on the MECC work in launching the season in the region, as well as the events and celebrations which it organizes for the occasion.

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 a special coverage, photos and videos about the Ecumenical Prayer service organized by MECC on the occasion of the “Season of Creation” closing, under the patronage and presidency of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, in Bkerke, Lebanon, on Monday 3 October 2022. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled “They are our seniors”, in which he tackled the elderlies’ situations and circumstances, in light of the MECC third monthly webinar focusing on this topic.

They are our elders, our ancient oaks, the storehouse of our memory and the treasure of our wisdom. We resort to them in calamities, and by their opinion we are guided, as they bestow upon us the experience, wisdom and foresight that they have paid for dearly in their life.

They call them the elderly, and some of them call them the aging, and kindly they call them the third age. It is the most vulnerable, defenseless and marginalized group. It is the category that some think it is not needed and will not be needed, so they neglect it and do not care about it.

We saw some of them roaming the streets, begging to elicit sympathy from people. Some of them are looking for food in garbage containers, and others are thrown in the beds of the elderly shelters, as the name has been applied in Lebanon and some Arab countries, and some of them roam the hot meals restaurants established by some associations, eat what they can and hide what they can in a box they brought with them, in order to protect themselves from the evil of hunger for two or three days. As for the most fortunate among them, he is the one who obtained during his life a job with a pension plan, so he was safe from the evil of humiliation, need and homelessness, because the end of service indemnity is exhausted within a few years after receiving it.

A society that allows the dignity of its elders to be insulted can only be described as ingrate, political ungratefulness that leads to social and human ungratefulness.

A Special Statement from H.B. Patriarch Minassian and Interviews with Some Participants

The Eastern Ecumenical Family celebrated the “Season of Creation” 2022 closing. The Maronite Church hosted an Ecumenical Prayer service organized by the Middle East Council of Churches, under the patronage and presidency of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. The celebration was held at the Church of the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, on Monday 3 October 2022.

The video presents a brief overview of the celebration in addition to a special statement from His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and MECC President for the Catholic Family. As well as interviews with many participants in the Prayer.

As part of the “Season of Creation” 2022 activities, SAT7 channel presented a special episode entitled "Listen to the Voice of Creation", prepared by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches and presented by Sirene Semerdjian. It was broadcasted on Monday 3 October 2022, and included many environmental and Theological segments, with guests from the world and the region, and from various fields.

The episode began with a special video from the member of the “Season of Creation” committee at the World Council of Churches Mrs. Joy Kennedy. The video focused on the “Season of Creation” launching in the Churches worldwide, in addition to the environmental challenges and ongoing preparations for the COP27 climate change summit.

A Lecture with Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen

Thursday 13 October 2022, 6:00 PM at the Saint Joseph University in Beirut

The Middle East Council of Churches, the Bible Society, and the Faculty of Religious Sciences at the Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut, invite you to a lecture entitled “Why Our Religious Freedom Matters”, with Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, and Author of the FCDO’s independent review of persecuted Christians. It will be held on Thursday 13 October 2022, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, at Francois Bassil auditorium in the Innovation and Sports Campus, at the Saint Joseph University. RSVP by Monday 10 October 2022, via 01/ 902020 or bsl@biblesociety.org.lb. The lecture will be followed by a Vin D’honneur reception.

The lecture will include English to Arabic interpretation.

Video - Message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs at the "Season of Creation" 2022 Closing

The Middle East Council of Churches concluded the “Season of Creation” 2022 with an Ecumenical Prayer service under the patronage and presidency of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, at the Church of the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, on Monday 3 October 2022. During the service, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs delivered a message entitled “Season of Creation, Church and Environment”, which you can listen to it and watch it in the following video.

An Ecumenical Prayer Under the Presidency and Patronage of H.B. Patriarch Al-Rai at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke

H.B. Patriarch Minassian: I am sorry for losing human values today and forgetting our loving and merciful Creator

Dr. Michel Abs: The Church, the voice of the human conscience, and which glorifies and thanks the Creator for His gifts, cannot be silent and should react to end violence against the Creator’s creation

Under the patronage and presidency of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, the Middle East Council of Churches concluded the “Season of Creation” 2022. An Ecumenical Prayer service entitled “Listen to the Voice of Creation” was hosted by the Maronite Church at the Church of the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, on Monday 3 October 2022.

Participants were His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and MECC President for the Catholic Family, His Beatitude Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan, Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, His Eminence Bishop Daniel Kourieh, representing His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and Reverend Georges Mrad, representing the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL). Participants were also Bishops from different Church families, apostolic and educational associations, fathers, nuns, monks and seminarians.

At the “Season of Creation” 2022 closing, the Middle East Council of Churches organized an Ecumenical celebration including the Season’s Ecumenical Prayer service, under the patronage and presidency of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. The event was held at the Church of the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, on Monday 3 October 2022.

Report: September 2022

During this month, most Middle East nations succeeded in scoring positive results that would enforce their macroeconomic sustainability. Although the facts and figures look satisfactory, poverty is still an unsolved issue. Hopefully, the inbound investments and the job creation process can alleviate such a detriment. Also, this might help decrease the number of citizens attempting high-risk and illegal boat rides which end up sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Aiming at promoting environmental awareness and consolidating the Christian faith and the Ecumenical spirit, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) Father Dr. Michael Kanbar participated in a regional conference for the Middle East and North Africa, entitled “Creation Care and the Gospel”. He presented a lecture on the topic at hand, highlighting the theological view of creation and the environment. The conference was organized by the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network, and was held between 28 September and 2 October 2022, at the Ajloun Baptist Conference Center in Jordan.

The Recycling Project in the Patriarchal Maronite Eparchy Region of Jounieh, Lebanon

During the ongoing “Season of Creation” 2022, it is necessary to highlight some environmental initiatives so it may motivate us to work together for a clean environment and a safe common home. Hence, the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches presents in the sixth episode of the series of videos podcasts it has launched, the recycling project implemented by the Patriarchal Maronite Eparchy Region of Jounieh in Lebanon with the help of youth.