With an Ecumenical Prayer Service at USEK - Lebanon

The Council Inaugurates in Cooperation with ATIME

The Symposium “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change”

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) concluded the “Season of Creation” for this year with an Ecumenical Prayer Service under the title “Let Justice and Peace Flow”, on Wednesday 4 October 2023, hosted by the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) - Lebanon.

You can find an article by Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, the Associate Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, in which she talked about the contribution of the Danish Church in restoring life to the “Birds’ Nest” orphanage, which is located in the Lebanese region of Byblos. She also highlighted the most important historical stages that led to its founding and how it was established, as Mrs. Maria Jacobsen worked to manage and develop it in cooperation with the "Near East Relief" organization.

The Near East Relief

The Near East Foundation is a charitable organization, formerly known as the Near East Relief, it was established in 1915 as a result to the atrocities committed against the Armenians and other minority groups in the Ottoman Empire during WWI. The Ambassador Henry Morgenthau’s request for immediate assistance speeded up the process. As the atrocities against the Armenians escalated, The Near East Relief launched a series of fund raising and public awareness campaigns to shed light on the plight of the Armenians in Ottoman Turkey and to collect funds for relief efforts in the Near East.

On a Visit to the MECC Headquarters in Beirut

As part of building bridges and strengthening Ecclesiastical ties between the East and West, a delegation from the Diocese of Aalborg, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, visited the offices of the Middle East Council of Churches’ General Secretariat, in Beirut, on Monday 2 October 2023. The delegation was received by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, along with the MECC Associate Secretary General Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, and the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar.

The visiting delegation, which is making a tour in Lebanon facilitated by the “Danmission” organization, included Bishop Thomas Reinholdt Rasmussen, Dean Niels Christian Scheel Lassen, Dean Lisbeth Damgren, Pastor Theis Kvesel Aaen, Pastor Ruth Smed Folmersen, Mr. Anders Brødbæk Hummelmose. The visitors were also accompanied by a delegation from the "Danmission" organization, which included the Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Mrs. Kristen Auken, the Program Manager Mr. Antoine Abdel Massih, the Partnership Consultant Mathias Notden Larsen, and the Project Coordinator Sarah Jane Kalaha Redmond.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, MECC issues its 2022 annual report which compiles in its pages the activities of the Middle East Council of Churches and the achievements it has accomplished at various Ecumenical, Theological and humanitarian levels. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled this week “School Dropouts: Booby-Trapping the Future of a Nation”. Dr. Abs delivered this speech at the MECC monthly webinar which was held under the title “School Dropout and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 28 September 2023. This webinar is part of the MECC monthly seminars and comes within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively.

In the issue, MECC invites you to participate in an Ecumenical Prayer it will organize on the occasion of the “Season of Creation” with the participation of Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and MECC President for the Evangelical Family. The Prayer Service will be held on Wednesday 4 October 2023, at 5 pm Beirut time, in the Pope John Paul II Amphitheater at the Holy Spirit University – Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon.

Senior Financial Officer

The Organization

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is a regional ecumenical organization, which brings together churches in the Middle East for a common Christian witness in a region where Christ was born, lived, spread His word, died and resurrected.

The purpose of the MECC is to deepen the spiritual fellowship among the churches of the Middle East, and to unite them in word and deed as they strive to achieve the unity of the churches and to serve humans on the basis of the Christian faith. The MECC works through its various structures to achieve this purpose by promoting dialogue amongst the churches (locally, regionally and internationally), and strengthening the spirit of fellowship and ecumenical awareness.

The Vacancy

MECC is Currently recruiting a Senior Financial Officer

There are two scenes that deeply wound my national pride and my feelings as an educator of several decades.

The first scene involves street children. They swarm around you when you halt at a red light, their pleas intended to prick your conscience. These children, often referred to as beggars, have learned to survive in the harsh environment of the streets. As an educator and an expert in labor and child labor issues, the first and most obvious question I find myself asking is, “Where are your parents, and why aren’t you in school?” which I complete by saying “go to your parents and ask them to enroll you at school”.

For decades, while practicing this preaching, I have received a variety of responses. These children are either pretend they are orphans supporting their siblings, or children of parents incapacitated by illness, or refugees aiding their families, or they have no parents at all. What’s important to note is that these young children have ready-made responses, taught to them by their employers who we see distributing them daily at various points for begging. These employers have done an excellent job indoctrinating these children to respond intelligently and cunningly.

The Middle East Council of Churches issues its annual report for the year 2022 under the title “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 14: 27), which was the title that MECC took for its Twelfth General Assembly held in May 2022. Hence, through this report and its title, the Middle East Council of Churches reaffirms the necessity of adhering to faith, continuing to Pray together, and relying on our Lord Jesus Christ, our only hope, in order to overcome all the difficulties and challenges that cast their shadows over the wounded Middle East.

The Monthly New Webinar Organized by MECC

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: School dropouts signify a society that has lost its ambition, sacrificing its aspirations at the altar of deprivation and hardship

As part of its monthly seminars, the Middle East Council of Churches held a new webinar entitled “School Dropout and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 28 September 2023, with the participation of specialists, academicians, universities’ students and interested attendees in the topic at hand. Noting that this webinar comes within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively.

The webinar, which was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook Page, included four interventions, moderated by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, who presented in her opening speech definitions about the phenomenon of school dropout, in addition to its causes and repercussions, as well as the problems to which the dropout is exposed.

The webinar began with a speech delivered by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, in which he spoke about the problems that lead to school dropout and the consequences of this phenomenon, and said “The existence of school dropouts, in such large numbers, is indicative of a society that is unwell, teetering on the brink of an abyss, and hurtling towards it at an alarming rate. School dropouts signify a society that has lost its ambition, sacrificing its aspirations at the altar of deprivation and hardship… The school may be out of touch with educational progress and may not know how to address or deal with the student body.”

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of October 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.

During September 2023, MECC organizes an Ecumenical Prayer Service, on the occasion of the “Season of Creation”, with the participation of Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and MECC President for the Evangelical Family.

The Prayer Service will be held on Wednesday 4 October 2023, which marks the “Season of Creation” closing, at 5 pm Beirut time, in the Pope John Paul II Amphitheater at the Holy Spirit University – Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon. Hence, MECC invites you to participate in the Prayer in person at USEK or through media and live on the MECC Facebook Page. Noting that MECC will held this Prayer annually.

MECC Contributes in Its Restoration in Cooperation with “Kerk in Actie”

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, inaugurated, in the presence of a delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches, the Monastery of St. Antonios in the Wilderness of Sadad. His Holiness also consecrated St. Antonios Church at the Monastery. The ceremony took place on Wednesday, September 27, 2023.

During the consecration, His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khoury, Archbishop of Homs, Hama, Tartous and Environs, Mor Theophilus George Saliba, Patriarchal Advisor, Mor Maurice Amsih, Archbishop of Jazeera and Euphrates, Mor Boutros Kassis, Archbishop of Aleppo and Environs, Mor Yacoub Babawi, Patriarchal Vicar for the Affairs of Monks and the Administration of Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary, Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Assistant, Mor Christophoros Markose Abraham, Patriarchal Secretary for the Affairs of the Church in India, Mor Augeen Al Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary, Bishop Mor Iwannis Boulos Al-Souqi, and Armenian Orthodox Archbishop of Damascus Armash Nalbandian.

On the Intention of the Synod’s 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Catholic Church

And celebrates the Feast of Saint Thecla

In preparation for the Synod’s 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Catholic Church, which will be held between 4 and 29 October 2023 in the Vatican, His Holiness Pope Francis calls for an Ecumenical Prayer service, which he will preside over, on Saturday 30 September 2023, in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, on the intention of this General Assembly’s work. His Beatitude the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, will participate in the Prayer, along with a group of Church Leaders and believers from various Church Families.

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) joins His Holiness Pope Francis in Praying on the intention of the Synod, as the Council’s General Secretariat team held a Prayer service, on Thursday 28 September 2023, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut.

“Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change”

Organized by MECC and ATIME

Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), was the guest of the journalist Roula Zeidan, in an episode of the morning show “Al Nour Maana” (the Light is with Us), on Télé Lumière and Noursat, on Thursday 21 September 2023, which you can watch it in the video.

During the episode, Father Dr. Kanbar highlighted the Symposium which is being organized by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in cooperation with the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), under the title “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change”. It will be held on Wednesday 4 October 2023, at 5:30 pm Beirut time, in the Pope John Paul II Amphitheater at the Holy Spirit University – Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon, and on Thursday 5 October 2023, starting 9 am Beirut time until 5:30 pm Beirut time, at the François Bassil Amphitheater in the Saint Joseph University (USJ) – Beirut.

“Renaissance of Reform for the Sake of Human, from the Prophets (PBUT) to Imam Hussein (PBUH)”

At the invitation of President of the Jaafari Cultural Foundation for Research, Islamic Studies and Interfaith Dialogue Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Al-Hajj, the Eighth Annual Conference of Imam Hussein, Peace Be Upon Him, was held under the title “Renaissance of Reform for the Sake of Human, from the Prophets (PBUT) to Imam Hussein (PBUH) - Human Values ​​Bring Us Together,” on Tuesday 19 September 2023. The conference stresses, according to its statement, that “there is no choice but cooperation and dialogue in order to build a state of citizenship and defend human dignity... Religious and humanitarian values ​​unite us regardless our differences in political or partisan opinions and positions.”

Attendees were the Representative of Sheikh Al-Aql of the Unitarian Druze Sect Sheikh Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, the Representative of His Eminence Bishop Issam Darwish, Archimandrite Nicolas Saghbini, the Coordinator of the Safety Network for Civil Peace Lawyer Omar Zein, the representative of the Middle East Council of Churches Professor Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the MECC Social Capital Rehabilitation Project, alongside intellectual, scientific and political personalities.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs which is entitled this week “Takla, the first among the female martyrs”, for the occasion of the Feast of Saint Takla celebrated on 24 September. In his message, Dr. Abs talked about the life of Saint Takla and her adherence to her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ despite all the challenges she faced.