In a Book and Seminar

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs from the Antonine University in Lebanon:

Disability is a path of sustainable dynamism which needs continuous update

and will remain a priority on the MECC’s agenda

Fadi El Halabi: Dignity and diversity are the foundations to build citizenship

and our slogan will remain 'no to despair'

Aiming at raising awareness on the issue of disability and its concepts in the Arab world, a seminar was organized on the newly released book “The Question of Disability in the Arab World, A Roadmap for the Future”, at the invitation of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN), in partnership with the Middle East Council of Churches. It was held on Friday 16 December 2022, at the Antonine University in Lebanon, with the participation of the University’s Rector Father Michel Jalkh and the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, alongside persons with disabilities, academics, specialists and guests from various fields.

Harassment at Work - Lecture and Training Seminar with the Vocational Training Center at Saint Joseph University in Beirut and Equal Foundation

The number of harassment’s victims at work is constantly increasing in our societies. Thus, working on ending this social issue is necessary, especially by raising awareness and emphasizing the risks of staying silent. Hence, a series of seminars and lectures about harassment’s types at work, whether sexual or moral, were held. It was organized in coordination with the Vocational Training Center at Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut and the “Equal” NGO, on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 December 2022, at USJ’s campus.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs presented a lecture followed by a training seminar which focused on the types and concepts of harassment at work, how to distinguish its forms, ways to avoid it, and how to deal with it when it is not possible to prevent it.

MECC Joins His Holiness in His Call to Lift the Blockade and Provide the Necessary Support

Following the blockade imposed on the “Lachin Corridor”, the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, issued an appeal to the world in which he rang the alarm bell amidst the risk threatening the Armenians in Artsakh. From its end, the Middle East Council of Churches joins the voice of truth, the voice of His Holiness, and calls for lifting the siege, so that the world does not witness a new humanitarian catastrophe, but rather another massacre against the Armenian people. MECC also calls the decision-makers to help the Armenian people and support them in their ordeal.

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 releases the Arabic version of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” Booklet 2023 entitled “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17). As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Abs, it is entitled “A prayer for unity in a time of rupture and loss”, and it is the introduction of the Arabic Version of the Book of Prayers for Christian Unity.

The issue also includes a video message from the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs within the MECC Executive Committee meeting, which was held on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November 2022, at the Monastery of Notre-Dame du Puits in Bkennaya, Lebanon. This is in addition to a video presenting an overview of the youth consultations sessions held as part of the Executive Committee meeting and highlighting their issues and opinions through some interviews. The videos are produced by the MECC Communication and Public Relations Department.

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.