“Christmas is quite difficult, we are worried about our fate, and we see the image of Christ in every child who is killed”

Exclusive: Media of the Middle East Council of Churches

In a time when the world is floundering with various updates and scenarios, and amidst the lack of accountability and silence about what is happening in Gaza and the fear that this barbaric war and genocide will spread to more than one place, Christmas is quite difficult in Palestine, the Cradle of Christ, where children are killed, and families are displaced and starved to death without any accountability and punishment of the murderer. Enough war and genocide.

Amidst this pain and suffering and in light of harsh human circumstances, Reverend Dr. Munther Isaac, Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, spoke about the painful reality that Palestine is passing through today, which has led to the cancellation of all aspects of Christmas celebrations and decorations. Only Prayers will sorrow hope and will help people to seek solace in God.

He added:"

The nativity scene this year 2023 has expressed the reality of children being killed under the rubble, as well as the destroyed homes and displaced families, while the world continues to justify the killing of these innocent children. Therefore, our message in this time is a message of solidarity with the oppressed people, a message in which we affirm that God is with us, in our pain, sorrows, and suffering, even if Christ will be born under the rubble in Gaza.

A Word From Dr. Jean Salmanian, MECC Executive Committee Member

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From Lawyer Professor Ibrahim Traboulsi, MECC Executive Committee Member

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From His Eminence Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf, Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Mosul, Kurdistan & Environs

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From Fr. Rifaat Bader, Head of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media and Publisher of Abouna Website

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From His Grace Archbishop Hermina, Coptic Orthodox General Bishop of East Alexandria

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From Mgrs. Habib Mrad, General Patriarchal Economus & Patriarchal Secretary of the Syriac Catholic Church

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From his Eminence Bishop Basilios Yaldo, Auxiliary Bishop of the Chaldeans

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

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 “Between safe migration and despair suicidal migration...a homeland”, for the occasion of the International Day for Safe Migration, designated by the United Nations on December 18 every year. In its word, Dr. Abs talked about the phenomenon of migration and its risks, and highlighted the Lebanese situation amidst the increase of the migration rate.

A Word From Reverend Nadi Labib, Head of the Evangelical Synod of the Nile in Egypt

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From His Eminence Joseph Mouawad, Bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Zahle

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From Reverend Rifaat Fikry, MECC Associate Secretary General

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Word From Archmandrite Saba Hourani, Spiritual Head of Karak Governorate - Jordan

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

A Poem Shared in Honor of the Voiceless people of Gaza During the Churches for Middle East Peace Christmas Ceasefire Service

GAZA

Kathryn Habib

Does anyone hear me?

Does anyone hear me

as I lie here

buried

The United Nations has designated December 18 as the International Day for Safe Migration, and has launched the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” in order to preserve the safety and dignity of people forced by economic, social, political, and security conditions to leave their homelands.

United Nations statistics indicate that there are approximately 300 million international migrants in the world, and that there are 50,000 migrants who have perished during their migration, most of which is illegal, during the last decade.

What drives a person to disbelieve in his homeland and seek to leave it as quickly as possible and by all means, forgetting or ignoring the dangers that characterize many forms of migration?

It is misery, lack of dignity, lack of security, injustice, and many other reasons that make a person feel alienated in his homeland to the point of hating this homeland and wanting to deny it.

What drives people to sneak across land borders or across oceans in search of a better life? It is also misery and the search for a lost human, political and economic dignity.

A Word From Fr. Dr. Nicolas Bustros, MECC Associate Secretary General

The “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

 A Word From 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 “Messages of Hope During Christmas” program is a Christmas program prepared by the Media and Communication team at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through which clergy and laypersons, Members of the MECC Executive Committee, deliver Christmas messages that highlight the human meanings of Christmas, love, service, giving and mercy despite the harsh conditions that our region is passing through. Thus, they confirm, via these messages, that we are children of the light and hope.

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Since its establishment, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has sought to embody its slogan, “Building Bridges, Standing Together” to be a unified platform for all Church Families and religions, reflecting the Christian reality in the Middle East in a unified voice emanating from the cradle of Christianity towards all the world in the context of sharing a common life with the different social components.

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Believing in the importance of preserving creation, the Eco Justice Unit at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) organized an environmental day in the Bekaa - Lebanon, on Saturday 25 November 2023. It was implemented under the auspices of the Heads of Churches, with the participation of the General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Louis Lahoud, and in the presence of the region’s officials and Parishes’ Servants from various Churches, with the contribution of Michel Daher Foundation. Hence, you can find in the video a report presenting details about this environmental activity in which a group of Bekaa Schools’ students participated.