How to Develop Work Mechanisms and Enhance Humanitarian Services

The Middle East Committee of the Act Alliance Forum continued its annual meeting on a second day, on Monday 24 October 2022, in Amman, Jordan. Attendees were 27 participants from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt, representing local, regional and international organizations members of ACT Alliance, including the Middle East Council of Churches which was the coordinator for the Administrative Committee of the Middle East and North Africa Forum for this year.

The second day’s activities started with an opening Prayer by Rev. Imad Haddad, from the Lutheran Church. Then, participants presented the humanitarian and development activities they implemented in the countries and regions in which they work. Afterwards, a general discussion session was held and focused on the Ecumenical Diakonia topic and how to develop the work mechanisms among the Act Alliance’s members and Churches in each country.

MECC Participated in the Worship Service

On the occasion of the Evangelical Reformation Sunday and at the invitation of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, the Evangelical Churches celebrated, as each year, a worship service entitled this year “Witnessing for the God of Life Amidst a Suffering World”, presided over by Reverend Joseph Kassab, President of the Supreme Council of Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, and General Secretary of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon. The Prayer was held on Sunday 30 October 2022 at the First Armenian Evangelical Church in Beirut.

Participants were the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs and the Regional Director of the MECC Service and Relief – Diakonia Department Eng. Samer Laham, alongside representatives of the member Churches of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, friends from Lebanon and abroad and believers.

As part of its mission in developing its team’s capabilities and expand its responsibilities especially amidst the current circumstances the region is passing through, the Middle East Council of Churches, represented by the Financial Officer Laudy El Khoury, participated in a leadership summit, along with humanitarian and Christian organizations in the Middle East, at the invitation and organization of the Bible Society, between 20 and 23 October 2022, in Cyprus.

The summit included many sessions centered around leadership and adaptation to difficult circumstances in times of crisis, focusing on the book "Leadership… in Crisis: A global perspective on building resilience, stamina, agility, and confrontation", which is a new book by the Secretary General/ CEO of the Bible Society Dr. Mike Bassous.

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 details about the round table organized by MECC under the title "Women and Human Dignity", on Thursday 27 October 2022, at the General Secretariat’s headquarters in Beirut. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled “She deserved the status”, and was his opening note at the beginning of the round table.

Ella es la mujer, la madre, la hermana, la esposa, la hija, la amiga y la compañera, y todos los nombres de protección le son dados.

Ella es la seguridad del hombre y de la humanidad que fueron criminales para ella durante cientos de años, por lo que le robaron lo que tiene y le negaron lo que es, sólo porque son más fuertes que ella y porque la selva legó a la sociedad el predominio del más fuerte y su dominio de lo que merece y lo que no merece.

Ella es la paciencia, la firmeza y el aguante de lo intolerable para preservar a quien ama.

Ella es la silenciosa, prudente y sufrida que abrazó a los hacedores de la historia humana.

En sus profundidades fueron llevados y, en sus manos, crecieron, y en su melodiosa voz se durmieron o en sus historias, los que trazaron las líneas de la civilización.

Ella es los cimientos que sostienen la estructura de la vida humana, los cimientos ocultos que el hombre rara vez recuerda.

Mesa redonda organizada por el Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio

Secretario General Dr. Michel Abs: la mujer es el fundamento que sostiene la estructura de la vida humana. Jesucristo trazó el camino para devolver la dignidad a la mujer

Como parte de sus seminarios mensuales, el Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio organizó una mesa redonda titulada «La mujer y la dignidad humana», el jueves 27 de octubre de 2022, en la sede de la Secretaría General en Beirut, con una participación híbrida de ponentes del Líbano, Egipto, Palestina y Jordania.

Durante las dos sesiones de la mesa redonda, de 10 a 14 horas, las intervenciones se centraron en los derechos humanos y los retos políticos de las mujeres en Oriente Medio, y contó con la participación de profesores universitarios, especialistas y estudiantes en las oficinas del MECC y en línea.

Unidos en la oración con su familia

A los los cuarenta días de la memoria del difunto Gabi Habib, antiguo Secretario General del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, el equipo de la Secretaría General del MECC, encabezado por el Secretario General, Dr. Michel Abs, celebró un servicio especial de oración por la intención de su alma, pidiendo a Dios que lo resucite para compartir la gloria de Cristo resucitado. La pequeña familia de Habib, su esposa Kathy y sus dos hijas María Gabriel y Ana Sofía, participaron en la Oración que se realizó el martes 25 de octubre de 2022 en la sede del MECC en Beirut.

She is the woman, the mother, the sister, the wife, the daughter, the friend and the companion, and all the names of safety are given to her.

She is the security of man and humanity who were criminals to her for hundreds of years, so they robbed her of what she has and denied her what she is, just because they are stronger than her and because the jungle bequeathed society the predominance of the strongest and its domination of what it deserves and what it does not deserve.

She is patience, steadfastness, and endurance of the intolerable in order to preserve the one she loves.

She is the silent, prudent, long-suffering who embraced the makers of human history.

In her deep they were carried and, on her hands, they grew up, and on her melodious voice they fell asleep - or on her stories, those who drew the lines of civilization.

She is the foundations that hold the structure of human life, the hidden foundations that man rarely remembers.

Round Table Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: woman is the foundations that hold the structure of human life. Jesus Christ charted the course for restoring dignity to women

As part of its monthly seminars, the Middle East Council of Churches organized a round table entitled "Women and Human Dignity", on Thursday 27 October 2022, at the General Secretariat’s headquarters in Beirut, with a hybrid participation of speakers from Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan.

During the two sessions of the round table, from 10am to 2pm, the interventions focused on the human rights and political challenges of women in the Middle East, and was attended by university professors, specialists and students in the MECC offices and online.

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of November 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.

Awareness Sessions for the MECC General Secretariat’s Team

How Can We Fight this Disease?

“Cholera is a crime and a serious and deadly disease caused by infrastructure breakdown and pollution resulting from sewage water,” emphasized Dr. Sameer Shleweet, a gynecologist, gender-based violence and CMR trainer, and a humanitarian activist, especially in the MECC Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, Beirut office, during an awareness session held for the MECC General Secretariat’s team, on Tuesday 25 October 2022. However, in Lebanon and many countries, it became difficult to develop infrastructure due to other priorities imposed on governments as a result of local and international crises. Hence, personal prevention is very important to face cholera together and prevent its outbreak.

United in Prayer with His Family

On the Forty days’ memory of Late Gabi Habib, former Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, the MECC General Secretariat’s team, headed by the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, held a special Prayer service on the intention of his soul, asking God to raise him to share the glory of the risen Christ. Habib’s small family, his wife Kathy and two daughters Maria Gabriel and Anna Sophia, participated in the Prayer which was made on Tuesday 25 October 2022 at the MECC headquarters in Beirut.

Dr. Michel Abs: Gabi Habib was able to promote MECC to a prominent international status and became, as Secretary-General, a distinguished symbol in the ecumenical world forums

On the Forty days’ memory of Late Gabriel Gergi Habib, the former Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, a Mass and Requiem were made for him on Sunday 23 October 2022, at the Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Downtown Beirut, with the participation of his family and their relatives, as well as the MECC family, represented by the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs.

At the end of the Requiem, Dr. Abs delivered a speech entitled “Gabi Habib, a journey of faith and struggle”, in which he remembered Habib, as Secretary General, colleague and friend, praising his ecclesiastical and professional career and his dedication to serving the ecumenical movement and its development.

H.E. Senator Nasser J. Judeh, Former Minister of Jordan Foreign Affairs: The Kingdom is still providing a safe shelter

Secretary General Mr. Rudelmar Bueno de Faria: We condemn the economic sanctions imposed on countries such as Syria

The Middle East Committee of the Act Alliance Forum held its first annual meeting following the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, on Sunday 23 October 2022, in Amman. Attendees were 27 participants from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt, representing local, regional and international organizations members of ACT Alliance. Noting that ACT includes more than 144 members from Evangelical and Orthodox humanitarian and development organizations worldwide, as well as the Middle East Council of Churches, which was the coordinator for the Administrative Committee of the Middle East and North Africa Forum for this year.