Introduction of the Arabic Version of the Book of Prayers for Christian Unity

Once again, the week of prayer for unity is approaching, and the churches of the Middle East are preparing to participate in it, immediately after the occasion of the birth of the Incarnate and the Baptism of water.

This week has become an ecumenical church tradition and has become part of the common culture of churches that have decided to live together in a partnership of faith despite the diversity of affiliations.

“Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17)

Let us engage in the struggle for justice in our society

We all belong to Christ

The Middle East Council of Churches releases the Arabic version of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” booklet 2023, under the title “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17). The title has been chosen at a time when the world and the Middle East are suffering from various crises, conflicts, injustice and divisions in various fields. Therefore, the booklet is centered around the biblical text from Isaiah 1:12-18, in which “Isaiah challenged God’s people in his day to learn to do good together; to seek justice together, to rescue the oppressed together, to defend the orphan and plead for the widow together. The prophet’s challenge applies equally to us today.”

A dialogue Forum in Erbil - Iraq

Towards a Brighter Future!

Huguette Salameh - Erbil, Iraq

Between coexistence, tolerance, managing diversity, rights, citizenship, and freedom of expression... and between religious and social values, dialogue, purification of memory, and historical reconciliation, between all these terms and the harsh circumstances that Iraq is passing through, there are winds of change and terms which are taking the front place in speeches and discourses today. The aim is to form a secular national identity and build a bright future for Iraqis, all Iraqis in Iraq!

Many conciliatory and peaceful terms have been topics of discussion since many years, especially since 2018, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches and in cooperation with the Middle East Council of Churches. In fact, a dialogue Forum was launched in Beirut through two sessions in 2019 and 2021 and entitled "Managing Diversity and Respecting Individual and Collective Rights in the State of Citizenship: The Constitution, school curriculum and media”.

Youth representing various Churches and youth movements in the Middle East, came from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon to the Monastery of Notre-Dame du Puits in Bkennaya, Lebanon, to participate in the Executive Committee meeting of the Middle East Council of Churches, which was held on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November 2022. They gathered together and raised their concerns, challenges, and suggestions to the Heads and Leaders of the Churches participating in the meeting. What were their aspirations and expectations?

The video presents an overview of the youth consultations sessions and highlights their issues and opinions through some interviews. It is produced by the MECC Communication and Public Relations Department.

Report: November 2022

With talking-heads hinting of a looming global recession in the next year, the Middle East is struggling to cope with the external changes. In addition to all the challenges that each of the countries has, they are being forced to come up with solutions that can guarantee a future. Faced with climate change, overpopulation, unemployment and other related hurdles, ME nations are being tested to their very limit. 

Within the Executive Committee meeting of the Middle East Council of Churches, which was held on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November 2022, at the Monastery of Notre-Dame du Puits in Bkennaya, Lebanon, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs delivered a message. He highlighted the meeting’s activities and mentioned the most important issues that were discussed, as well as his aspirations and expectations.

We wish you a blessed Advent season. It is a special time, especially in the Holy Land, as it leaves politics and violence behind for a while and makes way for the celebration of the arrival of our Saviour Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. As Christians in the Holy Land, we hold fast to our sacred traditions every year. For us as Palestinian communities, preserving the sacred significance of the many sites and traditions in the region takes precedence over conflicts.

Jerusalem is not only significant for Palestinian Christians and Christians around the world this Christmas season, but also the international home of people of many religious confessions. In the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City, a Christmas tree is traditionally lit every year in the first week of Advent, marking the beginning of the Christmas season here.

With the International Human Rights Day on 10 December, the United Nations ends its international annual campaign “UNITE to End Violence Against Women”, which began with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, throughout 16 days of activism.

From its end, the Middle East Council of Churches renews its call for the necessity of serious work to end violence against women and to protect and preserve their dignity. Hence, MECC participated with ACT Alliance in the United Nations campaign through many photos especially taken by the ACT member organizations, which we will republish in the following.

Video - The 5th Monthly Webinar Organized by MECC

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: we consider in the Council that any discrimination is a betrayal of the Christian faith and belief

The Middle East Council of Churches held its fifth monthly webinar entitled “Living In Dignity For Persons With Disability”, on the evening of Thursday 8 December 2022, with the participation of university professors, academics, and interested attendees. Noting that the webinar is part of a series of monthly symposiums which are launched previously by MECC, in preparation for the project of Human Dignity and Social Capital Rehabilitation that the Council is planning.

The webinar was moderated by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil. It began with an opening note by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs who stressed that the Council is concerned with the fate of countries and citizens, cares about peoples' issues, pursues and protect their interests with all available capabilities. He added, "our Savior has fed the hungry and healed the sick without any type of discrimination. Therefore, we consider in MECC that any discrimination is a betrayal of the Christian faith and belief...".

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: the “Season of Creation” has become an essential part of the Middle Eastern culture, and an Ecumenical Occasion Bringing Churches Together

The Secretary General of the international organization Danmission Kristian Sloth Petersen visited the General Secretariat’s offices of the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut, on Thursday 8 December 2022, at the head of a delegation from the organization including the Regional MENA Director Kirsten Auken, and the Programme Director Martin Rosenkilde Pedersen. During the visit, a new cooperation agreement between Danmission and MECC was signed for the next 2 years, especially in implementing the international "Season of Creation" project, which was launched for the first time in the Middle East two years ago. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs and a team from the General Secretariat welcomed the delegation.

A crutch and a smartphone are all that is left to comfort loneliness for the majority of elderlies after the war in Syria. The sons and daughters of many families had to leave the country and their old mothers and fathers became alone with no one to provide them the needed care, making the wrinkles of sorrow and sadness appear on their faces.

According to the “Syrian Committee for Family and Population Affairs in Syria”, the percentage of persons above 60 years old constitutes more than 6% of the Syrian population and it is expected to increase to 10% by 2025.

La campaña de las Naciones Unidas «ÚNETE para poner fin a la violencia contra las mujeres» sigue en marcha durante 16 días de activismo en todo el mundo. El Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio participa con ACT Alliance en la campaña y alza su voz para proteger a las mujeres y preservar sus derechos.

Señalando que esta campaña anual de la ONU comenzó en el Día Internacional de la Eliminación de la Violencia contra la Mujer, el 25 de noviembre, y terminará en el Día Internacional de los Derechos Humanos, el 10 de diciembre.

Más allá de la declaración de clausura y del acta de la reunión, debemos detenernos en la «experiencia» de la reunión del Comité Ejecutivo que se celebró durante los dos últimos días en un tranquilo monasterio del Monte Líbano.

No cabe duda de que no hay nada más entrañable que los encuentros entre hermanos después de una larga separación, sobre todo cuando es en el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, y sobre cuestiones y preocupaciones comunes relacionadas con la región del Oriente Medio con todos sus componentes y sus diversas afiliaciones.