The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of February 2023. 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.

A New Sewing Training Course Has Started

Despite the activities and lectures that raise the voice in order to protect women's rights and dignity, women are still facing marginalization, injustice and exploitation in many societies around the world. Hence, many initiatives are seeking to empower and support them, especially that they are an essential part of the societies and have an important role in its development.

As part of its work in preserving human values, the Middle East Council of Churches has been implementing special programs for women in order to support them and develop their skills. With the beginning of 2023, the MECC’s office in Jordan launched, on January 23, a new sewing training course, with the participation of 20 Jordanian, Iraqi and Syrian women from the most vulnerable groups.

An Ecumenical Prayer Service in Bkerke at the Invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Participates in the Celebration

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023 comes to an end. In fact, it is an annual Ecumenical occasion full of hope towards an eagerly awaited unity. It invites us to continue praying and meeting together all year long. For the occasion, an Ecumenical prayer service was held at the invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, on Sunday 22 January 2023. It was hosted by the Maronite Church at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, under the patronage and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

A delegation from the “Center for the Christians of the Orient”, including Dr. Boutros Labaki, Dr. Mounir Sader, General Charbel Abou Zeid and Mr. Wassim Abou Rjeily, visited the headquarters of the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut, on Monday 23 January 2023. They met with the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, and discussed with him their activities, their presence in various countries of the Middle East, and the possibility of implementing joint projects in the future.

Hoy comienza la Semana de oración por la unidad de los cristianos, que se celebra del 18 al 25 de enero. Es una semana adoptada por las Iglesias del mundo como expresión de su rechazo a la división de los cristianos y de su anhelo de unidad de espíritu, de testimonio y de función.

El Consejo se ha asociado a esta actividad, ecuménica por excelencia en sus inicios.

Ha llevado a cabo diversas tareas para que fuera un éxito. En primer lugar, está firmemente convencido de la necesidad de la unidad entre los cristianos y, en segundo lugar, ha pasado a formar parte del calendario anual de los trabajos ecuménicos.

Fue un espectáculo maravilloso ver, el pasado domingo, en la apertura anticipada de esta semana en la catedral ortodoxa de San Jorge, en una de las ciudades del Monte Líbano, cómo el mayor número de líderes eclesiásticos se reunía para celebrar y rezar juntos en el contexto de la continuidad de las actividades de la Semana de Oración por la Unidad de las Iglesias.

Antes de la guerra en Siria, los ganaderos solían encontrar forraje de alta calidad a precios razonables en el mercado. Sin embargo, el sector ganadero, al igual que otros sectores, se vio afectado por la guerra y empezó a enfrentarse a numerosos retos, los más importantes de los cuales son los elevados precios del forraje y las vacunaciones periódicas.

Esto, a su vez, ha afectado a la capacidad de muchos ganaderos de aldeas pobres que recurren a la cría para vender leche y productos lácteos con los que mantener a sus familias. Muchos ganaderos ya no podrán continuar su trabajo teniendo en cuenta las constantes pérdidas derivadas de los altos precios del forraje.