Middle East Socioeconomic Overview

Report: November 2023

As the war is grounded to a halt for the sake of exchanging hostages, one cannot but help and wonder about the countless casualties that forced both sides to this decision. Media cover ups and the distortion of the truth were being exercised on a daily basis and therefore failed miserably. After all, one cannot suppress news of sheer brutality which has made its way to TV screens and social media accounts of many westerns thus prompting a just reaction. Nevertheless, more blatant lies are being spewed publicly and people are becoming ever so confused about the reality of the matter. What is even sadder is that all who have perished are nothing but pawns of a political game orchestrated by those who are in power and those who are inspired by greed and influence. So far, several theories have emanated about the rationale behind the destructive and violent bombings of Gaza, but none of them succeed in defining the whole picture. Arguably, most of these theories can be correct simultaneously. However, one thing is for certain, there is truly something evil behind these sequence of events that will define world history forever.

With the development of the modern world, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) follows with precautions the advanced technologies in order to benefit from it positively aiming at improving its work mechanisms and tasks and achieve the desired Ecumenical and humanitarian goals. Hence, MECC adopted a new financial system managed by the accounting team through an advanced financial program that facilitates the accounting work and financial transfers, reports, analyses, and everything that responds to the requirements of modern administration

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) organized a training course on this program. The MECC Secretary General participated in a part of this training.

At the invitation of WCC and MECC, Beside the Activities of the COP28 Conference of the Parties

At the invitation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and besides the convening of the COP28 activities, Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, held by the United Nations in Dubai, an Ecumenical Prayer Service related to the “Season of Creation” was held on Saturday 2 December 2023, in the Anglican Church of Christ, in Jebel Ali - Dubai. Hence, you can find in the video a report about this Prayer and the speech delivered by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Prof. Dr. Michel Abs.

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 statement issued by MECC on creation care, on behalf of the Churches of the Middle East. MECC addressed it to the officials at the Conference of the Parties on climate change COP28 held by the United Nations in Dubai. In the statement, MECC calls for accelerated and radical changes based on the following principles: Global Long-Term Commitment, Just Climate Financing, Just Management of Resources, Simpler Lifestyles, Just Transitions, Church Commitment, and Church and Government Cooperation.

As for the message of the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled this week “Christian Praxis in Creation Care”. It is the speech he delivered during the Ecumenical Prayer service that was held at the invitation of the World Council of Churches (MECC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on Saturday 2 December 2023, at the Anglican Church of Christ in the Jebel Ali region - Dubai. The Prayer took place in parallel with the activities of the COP28 Conference of the Parties.

When we realize the depth of the infiltration of pollution and the destruction it causes to creation, as well as the power of environmental polluters and their ability to influence major decisions, we almost feel helpless and overcome with despair!

But when we look at what is required from us to protect the Creator’s gift, we feel the challenge and the greatness of the mission towards the One who has entrusted us with it, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

The environment, gift of the Creator, handed-over to us to preserve and enhance, in order to have a better life, what did we do with it?

What the Creator has placed in our charge is not land, rock, water, or air, which we commodify and pollute according to our interests, neglect, and whims, but rather elements of life. It is a symbol of the Creator’s love for us and His desire for us to live within it and by it, not to destroy it, leaving for future generations a waste dump to the size of the Earth.

Participate in Seminars During the COP28 Conference in Dubai

Amidst a world suffering from severe environmental risks that threaten human lives as a result of environmental crises, the United Nations is holding the COP28 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in Dubai, between 30 November 30 and 12 December 2023. The conference’s activities include meetings between world presidents and official meetings, in addition to several environmental lectures and seminars from various parts of the world.

In this context and stemming from the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)’ belief in the importance of the environmental issue, the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Michel Abs, and the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, headed to Dubai, where they participated in a series of seminars held within the COP28 activities with Arab and Faith groups. All of these seminars centered around environmental, theological, and scientific topics and issues. Moreover, this tour aimed to build new relations aimed at strengthening communication with international and Arab parties in order to cooperate and work together in the future.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: The environmental burden has become immense!

The Church of Christ must intervene to curb the deterioration, deter the saboteurs from continuing in their wrongdoing, preserve and protect what remains of creation for us

At the invitation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and besides the convening of the COP28 activities, Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, held by the United Nations in Dubai, an Ecumenical Prayer Service related to the “Season of Creation” was held on Saturday 2 December 2023, in the Anglican Church of Christ, in Jebel Ali - Dubai. The Service emphasizes the importance of uniting together in Prayer and work to preserve the creation and our common home.

The Prayer which you can watch it in the video, was presided over by His Eminence Bishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, the Primate of the Episcopal Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and MECC Executive Committee Member. Participants were the WCC Secretary General Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Michel Abs, and the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar who led the Prayer. As well as, participants were a group of Heads of Churches and clergy from various Church Families, in addition to many Church organizations.

MECC Joins the 16 Days Campaign “UNITE to End Violence against Women”

And Interventions Stress the Importance of Women’s Protection and Men’s role in Societies

Amidst the high rate of violence against women around the world, the United Nations is sounding the alarm, especially through an annual international awareness campaign extending over 16 days that it launched in 2008 under the title “UNITE to End Violence against Women. It begins on 25 November with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and ends on 10 December with International Human Rights Day.

In its turn, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) joins this campaign, which this year took the slogan “No Excuse,” and emphasizes the necessity of facing the violence against women, preserving human dignity, and the importance of men’s role in protecting the family and contributing to building better societies. This is what was confirmed by the beneficiaries of the services provided by the “Our Lady Dispensary” in Beirut, and affiliated with MECC.

As part of the COP28 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change held by the United Nations in Dubai between 30 November and 12 December 2023, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) issued a statement on creation care on behalf of the Churches of the Middle East, which MECC addressed it to the officials at the Dubai conference. In the statement, MECC calls for accelerated and radical changes based on the following principles: Global Long-Term Commitment, Just Climate Financing, Just Management of Resources, Simpler Lifestyles, Just Transitions, Church Commitment, and Church and Government Cooperation.

You can find the full text of the MECC statement.

Reverend Refaat Fikry Saaid, the Associate Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), wrote an article entitled “The Middle East Council of Churches and the Palestinian Cause”, and published on the website of “Al Masri Al Yom” (which means the Egyptian Today) newspaper.

In his article, which you can read it in Arabic by clicking here, Reverend Fikry highlighted the MECC work regarding the Palestinian cause, as well as he shed lights on the latest MECC Executive Committee meeting which was held in Beirut on 17 and 18 November 2023 and on its agenda that included the war in Palestine and the difficult circumstance that the Middle East is passing through.

At the end of 2023, the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of December 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.

The New Monthly Webinar Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: child is the gift of the Creator and the continuation of life, and is a grace from God so that we must treat them well

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) pursues its series of monthly seminars, and held a new webinar entitled “Street Children and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 30 November 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 three interventions, moderated by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil who denounced in his opening speech the phenomenon of street children, highlighting their suffering and the social dangers resulting from this scourge. Dr. Abi Khalil also paid tribute to the souls of the martyrs of Gaza and the martyred children.

The webinar began with a speech by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, in which he also condemned the phenomenon of street children, pointing out that children and the streets are not compatible with each other. He said that a child is not born to work and live on the street, and this phenomenon contradicts the concept of human dignity.

As part of the regular meeting of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), which was held in Beirut, on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 November 2023, the video presents a highlight of this meeting in addition to some interviews with the participants in the meeting, members of the MECC Executive Committee, who stressed the necessity of concerted efforts to work to bring peace to the Middle East, which suffers from the scourge of war and its devastating repercussions, emphasizing the role of the church in times of distress.

Organized by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME)

Hosted by the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi, Headed by Father Bishoy Rasmi

With the aim of building bridges between students of Theological institutes and as part of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), the Association organized a sports day that brought together students from Theological institutes in Egypt, under the title “So that they may be one,” based on the Priestly Prayer of Jesus: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17: 11). This sport day took place on Saturday 25 November 2023, and was hosted by the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi, headed by Father Bishoy Rasmi, Dean of the Seminary.

Participants were His Eminence Anba Michael on behalf of the Coptic Orthodox Theological Seminaries at Bishop Royce, Reverend Dr. Samuel Rozvy Dean of the Evangelical Theological Seminary, Father Dr. Andrew Fahmy Dean of the Coptic Catholic Theological Seminary in Sakakini, Reverend Dr. Sherif Salah from the Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Father Yacobos Anba Bishoy the Spiritual supervisor of the day unit at Bishop Royce. As well as, participants were Dr. Gergis Ibrahim Saleh, Honorory Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Dr. Isaac Ajban, and Dr. Michael Adwar.

A few days ago, the media hinted at a forthcoming truce in Palestine. However, we continue to witness acts of war sporadically reported in the media, along with mutual threats suggesting that the embers of conflict are still smoldering beneath the ashes. There is a significant possibility that these embers could reignite into a full-blown fire at any moment.

Our region, naturally beautiful and diverse in its ethnic, cultural, racial, and religious composition, has not experienced stability for decades, let alone centuries.

Its geographical location has historically made it a passage for all conquerors, preventing its countries from experiencing stability. The conquerors were always stronger than the governments which governed the area. The most recent of these was the Ottoman Empire, which rule lasted for four centuries until the First World War came and eliminated it. The great powers dismantled it after flooding it with debt, referring to it as the “Sick Man.”

The colonialists further fragmented and harmed our societies and nations. Despite bringing us a wealth of science and culture – sometimes at the expense of our original culture’s growth – the culmination of this harm was the declaration under which British politician Arthur Balfour gave part of Palestine to groups displaced in batches from the West and settled in this area as part of a plan to seize the land, leading us to where we are today.

In a Media Interview Before the Beginning of the COP28 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change

In a media interview before the beginning of the COP28 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change held by the United Nations in Dubai between Thursday 30 November and Tuesday 12 December 2023, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, who is participating in this conference, talks in a media interview, which you can find in the video, about several climate issues, such as the impact of the climate crisis on societies and the risks that humans are facing due to the climate change. Dr. Abs also highlights the importance of the Church’s role in presenting purposeful environmental plans in addition to the environmental emergency plan. The media interview was made by the journalist Lea Adel Maamary.

Why is the climate crisis a societal crisis? What are the risks threatening human rights resulting from climate change? What is the importance of the Church’s participation and its fundamental role in presenting purposeful environmental ideas at various levels? Are we going to announce an environmental emergency plan?

These topics and other issues were discussed by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, before the 28th annual United Nations Conference on Climate Change COP28, which will be held in Dubai between 30 November and 12 December 2023.

This conference constitutes a global space that includes thousands of experts, analysts, journalists, experts in the field of the environment, and people concerned in Church affairs. The attendance will be special with the participation of Pope Francis, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) held its regular meeting in Beirut, on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 November 2023, during which it discussed several issues, especially the difficult circumstances happening in the region. In the video you can find some interviews in Arabic with the participants in this meeting, members of the MECC Executive Committee, who stressed the importance of the Christian’s presence in the region and the Church’s role in supporting the suffering people and standing by the wounded who are facing escalating crises.

Of the Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling Program in Lebanon

Spiritual and Psychological Support for Churches’ Ministers and their Assistants

Amidst the difficult living conditions that the countries of the Middle East are witnessing due to the various crises that cast their shadows over the region, people have become burdened with the daily life concerns and the challenges that surround them. Thus, they are searching for a space of hope that will alleviate their pain and sorrow for them positive vibes away from the troubles and negativities of this world.

In this context, many people of the region are in need of spiritual and psychological support to relieve the pressures that inbound them and reduce their usual activities. Therefore, the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches seeks to implement the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” program in various countries of the region, as it held a new session in Lebanon entitled “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6: 21).