This week, at the beginning of the month of September, is the start of Season of Creation which carries-on until the fourth of October, when the season is closed with an extended ecumenical meeting in a ceremonial no less important than the ceremonial of the launching.

This ecclesiastical season has entered the annual ecumenical calendar, due to international ecumenical efforts and reached us in the Middle East, through the Middle East Council of Churches, 3 years ago, through which activities kept expanding until they include all the countries of the region.

In this context, we must mention that the MECC is the engine for the activities of this important ecumenical season, through the concerned departments and through its blessed leaders, as well as through the member churches who never hesitated to provide all basic facilities for ecumenical activities.

In this context as well, we must mention that the quarterly retreat held by the MECC team at the central level, which happened to be on the first day of the Season of Creation, will evolve around environmental concerns from the point of view of the Creator’s creation, which He created for the humankind and where He embraces Him, be it at the level of prayers or at the level of meditation and thinking. The seminars of this retreat will be animated and coordinated by Church ministers who are concerned with environment or have specialized in it.

The Middle East Council of Churches Congratulates Him

The Middle East Council of Churches extends its warmest congratulations to Hegomen Father Andraos Al Anthouny, and wishes him good health and success in his Preaching mission. MECC also acknowledges the great efforts made by Hegomen Father Andraos, from Lebanon, for the success of the twelfth General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches, which was held between 16 and 20 May 2022 at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun.

For more details about the ordination, click here to read the news published in Arabic on the Facebook page of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon.

And Launches the “Season of Creation” For This Year in the Middle East

The Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of September 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. Noting that the remaining months of the year will be published consecutively.

As well as, the Middle East Council of Churches launches during September 2023, the “Season of Creation” activities in the region for the third consecutive year through translating the Season’s international booklet into Arabic, with this year’s theme is “Let Justice and Peace Flow” and its symbol is “A Mighty River”. Noting that the international celebrations of the Season start on September 1st and end on October 4 of each year.

What Is the Theme of This Year’s Season?

Since we are co-creatures and part of all that God has made, and our wellbeing is interwoven with the wellbeing of the Earth, the Ecumenical family in the Middle East and the world unites in an annual international environmental Christian Ecumenical season entitled “Season of Creation”, during which we celebrate together through praying and working for the protection of our common home, the Oikos of God.

This international season was launched by the Middle East Council of Churches for the first time in the region in 2021, as it extends annually between 1 September, the beginning of the “Season of Creation” and the days of Prayer for the creation, and 4 October, the end of the “Season of Creation” and the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, Patron saint of the environment.

Together We Unite in Prayer and Supplication to God the Creator

The Middle East and the world celebrate a yearly Environmental Christian and Ecumenical season, which is the "Season of Creation". A season during which we unite in Prayer and work together to protect God’s creation and our common home. The season extends between 1 September, the day of Prayer for creation, and 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of the environment.

In celebration of this season, you can find the text of the 2023 “Season of Creation” Prayer.

How Did This Season Started?

The Middle East region will be celebrating an annual, international, environmental, Christian and Ecumenical season entitled “Season of Creation”…

During this season, the Ecumenical Christian family unites around one common goal. The season calls us all to Pray and work together for the care and preservation of God's Creation. The season extends from 1 September, the beginning of the “Season of Creation” and the Prayer days for the Creation, to 4 October, the end of the “Season of Creation” and the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, author of the Canticle of Creatures, and Patron Saint of environmental activists in the Catholic Church.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the MECC statement concerning the humanitarian crisis that Artsakh is suffering from since 8 months due to the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan on it. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled “Asylum and marginalization under the scrutiny of justice and faith”. It was the speech that Dr. Abs delivered at the round table organized by the Middle East Council of Churches under the title "Human Dignity and Palestinian Refugees”, on Thursday 27 July 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. The seminar is part of the series of monthly seminars launched by MECC, within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”.

The issue also includes a news about the evening of Prayer for Iraq and the beleaguered Chaldean Catholic Church at the invitation and organization of the Chaldean Eparchy of Beirut, on Saturday 13 August 2023, at the Cathedral of Archangel Raphael in Baabda - Brasilia, Lebanon. The Prayer was held under the auspices and with the presence of His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and with the Blessings of His Eminence Bishop Michel Kassarji, Head of the Chaldean Community in Lebanon.

This speech was delivered at the round table organized by the Middle East Council of Churches under the title "Human Dignity and Palestinian Refugees”, on Thursday 27 July 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. The seminar is part of the series of monthly seminars launched by MECC, within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”

Living on a land and among people in a society that marginalizes you, thrusts you into poverty, extinguishes your hopes, and stifles your aspirations is the epitome of social euthanasia.

Ever since the hordes of colonizers set foot on the land of the Antiochian Levant and divided it into vulnerable entities through an earthly promise based on a so called divine one, the path has been the same: loss of civilization, social disintegration, displacement, asylum, and professional and economic marginalization. This leads to the loss of victims’ lives and their descent into the furnace of migration and misery.

“Human Dignity for Newborns of Unknown Parents”

31 August 2023 – 7 pm

The Middle East Council of Churches has the honor to invite you to participate in its new monthly webinar, entitled “Human Dignity for Newborns of Unknown Parents”, on Thursday 31 August 2023, at 7:00 pm.

You can participate in the webinar via the following Zoom link https://shorturl.at/djosI, and live on the MECC Facebook Page.

The webinar, which includes three interventions, will start with an opening speech by its moderator Dr. Chawki Attieh, which will be followed with a speech by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs.

The family of the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches bids farewell to the colleague, the Financial Director Mrs. Manal Bechara Bou Habib, after a journey in the Ecumenical world that lasted for eight years of giving, dedication, and loyalty to the MECC mission. She was known for her service, love, and continuous support for all colleagues, partners, and friends.

The family of the MECC General Secretariat gathered around a farewell lunch to our colleague Manal, on Wednesday 16 August 2023. During the gathering, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs offered to Manal an honorary trophy as a token of love and appreciation. He also addressed her with a speech in which he praised her competence, experience and performance, thanking her for her efforts and diligence, and wishing her success in her new journey.

The Department of Diakonia and Social Service, of the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, organized health and psychosocial support sessions for women in reproductive age from Damascus, its countryside, and Dara’a Governorates. 

250 women from Damascus and its countryside, and 250 women from Dara’a participated in the 7 days sessions. These sessions were divided into 5 days of health awareness sessions during which the women were educated about the most prominent diseases in society, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, cholera, high blood pressure, diabetes discussing the underlying reasons, prevention methods and treatment in addition to the importance of following a healthy lifestyle. They also learned the proper way to use a blood pressure measurement device.

Strengthening Hope Despite all Challenges

Amidst the difficult living crises that cast a shadow over Lebanon, many families struggle to make ends meet and secure a source of income that enables them to face the daily challenges which are surrounding them. In light of this bitter reality, children are negatively and greatly affected by the socioeconomic pressures that their parents have to pass through. Sometimes, children are unconsciously abandoned and develop poor coping strategies to deal with this reality.

In this context, the Department of Diakonia and Social Service Department at the Middle East Council of Churches, Lebanon’s Office, in cooperation with the international humanitarian organization Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), organized, during July, new psychosocial support sessions with the aim of helping children overcome the difficulties that they may face in their daily lives.

Restoration of WASH Facilities in 7 Schools in Dara’a

School WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities that are not properly equipped and do not meet health and cleanliness standards the fact that puts a threat to the physical and psychological well-being of the students. Such conditions facilitate the spread of diseases among them and can negatively impact the educational process. It may lead students, especially girls, to drop out of school.

Recognizing that every child deserves to live in a safe and clean environment, and acknowledging the importance of ensuring a healthy school environment for students, the Department of Diakonia and Social Service, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, focused on restoring the WASH facilities in seven schools in the Dara’a Province.