Let us sing and praise the Lord together with one heart and great joy, glorifying His Holy Name!

We are saving the date for the Ecumenical music event “Beirut 2024” on Saturday 20 January 2024, at 5 pm, in the Forum de Beirut. An event that emphasizes the importance of Christian unity and the richness of diversity.

Below you can find the Prayer of the first day of the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2024, included in its booklet, and which you may publish and distribute.

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2024 Booklet

The daily Prayers and meditations of the Week of Prayer 2024

Like every year, the Week of Prayer for Unity arrives, bringing with it promises of togetherness and love that stem from the encounter of those who have embraced the faith of the beloved Redeemer. His message of salvation is so profound that no one has been able to surpass even a single letter of it.

Every year, Christians from all corners of the world gather around a text. This text, compiled and organized by a group of believers, is a testament to their decision to overcome doctrinal and jurisprudential differences and to act in accordance with the logic of the Savior’s unified church. This eternal pledge of allegiance, built on the rock, remains insurmountable despite persecutions, abuse, torture, and attempts at extermination, much like the Master whose kingdom knows no annihilation.

Each year, Christians produce a well-thought-out and well-coordinated biblical text. This text is translated into all the languages of the world and circulated among the faithful. It serves as a collective rallying point for hearts, minds, aspirations, and rules of conduct in everyday life, both near and far.

This year, the good news and the blessed text come from the “New Path” community in Burkina Faso, West Africa. This continent, brimming with faith, is home to faithful individuals who make precious efforts to preserve and disseminate their faith. The theme this year is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Luke 10:27).

With the beginning of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2024, let us unite together in Prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, on the intention of Christian unity and for peace in the Middle East and the world, carrying in our hearts and deed this year’s theme “You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Below you can find in Arabic the Prayer for Christian Unity.

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2024 Booklet

“You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27)

One of the most awaited Ecumenical occasions is starting. It is the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”, a week which includes a Prayer Octave that extends between 18 and 25 January every year. During this week, we unite in Prayer, reflection and hymns to our Lord Jesus Christ, on the intention of a unity awaited since decades, through a special international booklet that the Middle East Council of Churches translates annually into Arabic. This year’s title of the booklet is “You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

In an episode on Suboro TV

Today, Wednesday 17 January 2024, at 5:30 pm Beirut time\

Watch the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Professor Dr. Michel Abs, in an episode within the program “Kel Yom Bi Yawmo” (which means “Day by Day”) on Suboro TV, today, Wednesday 17 January 2024, at 5:30 pm Beirut time. Dr. Abs will talk about the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024” and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: Singing together constitutes a process of leaving the boundaries of the Ecclesiastical and Liturgical self that characterize every Church, to move towards other Churches and interact with them

Few days separate us from the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024”, as the Ecumenical choir prepares for this spiritual meeting which is full of hope and praise. It will be held on Saturday 20 January 2024, at the Forum de Beirut, on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches.

Since a year and the Churches of Beirut witnessed with great joy the choir rehearsals, where the choristers and musicians raised their voices and melodies in glorification of God and in confirmation of the bond of love that unites them in unity in our Lord Jesus Christ. Noting that the trainings took place in the Churches of Central Beirut and the Monasteries therein, in an attempt to revive them on the pastoral and spiritual levels, and with the aim of introducing the choir members to these places, their history, and the Ecclesiastical heritage that distinguishes each of them.

In the week before the expected event, the choir continues its training in order to perform on Saturday a collection of hymns selected from various Church Families and Liturgical melodies. During one of the rehearsals’ sessions held on Monday 15 January 2024, in the Armenian Catholic Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Central Beirut, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited the choristers as he motivated them to carry out their important mission, praising their efforts and perseverance.

The Ecumenical music event “Beirut 2024” will be held on Saturday 20 January 2024, at 5 pm Beirut Time, at the Forum de Beirut. What are its goals? And what does its program include?

You can find the answers in this report which sheds light on the spirituality of this event and the importance of singing together.

An Ecumenical Musical Event from Beirut to the Whole World

 What Are Its Goals and Characteristics?

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. He who has made known to us the mystery of his will, To be realized when the times reach their fulfilment, Bringing unity to all things in heaven and on Earth under Christ; Let us praise His glory… (Ep 1). With these Biblical Verses, Lebanon and the Middle East are saving the date for an Ecumenical musical event entitled “Beirut 2024”... an event that embodies the words of Saint Paul the Apostle at the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, where he indicates that praising the glory of God is the goal of the unity that has been granted to us in the fullness of time by Christ Jesus.

The Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Member of the Choir in the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024” Mrs. Sonia Samarani, were the guests of the journalist Rania Diab, in an episode within the program “Al Nour Maana” (which means “the Light Is With Us) broadcasted on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel, on Monday 15 January 2024. During the interview, this event was highlighted, noting that it will be held on Saturday 20 January 2024, at the Forum de Beirut, on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Fiftieth Year of the Middle East Council of Churches’ Founding.

This report sheds light on the message and purpose of the Ecumenical musical event that will be held in Beirut.

“Adequate Housing and Human Dignity”

Thursday 25 January 2024 - 7 pm Beirut time

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has the honor to invite you to participate in its monthly webinar, entitled “Adequate Housing and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 25 January 2024 – 7 pm Beirut Time.

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

The webinar, which includes two 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.

This report highlights the press conference held at the Catholic Information Center to announce the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Ecumenical musical event that will be held in Beirut on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

On the sixth of February 2023, Syrians woke up to a new disaster that exacerbated their suffering. In a moment everything changed, buildings and houses collapsed, the ground shook, and days unfolded with a harshness reminiscent of war.

The earthquake that struck several provinces in Syria caused a great humanitarian catastrophe by all standards, with great material and human losses. Whoever got out alive from under the rubble, and whoever escaped from death, re-experience displacement.

However, despite all this pain, there was a ray of light that illuminated the darkness of the people in the areas affected by the earthquake disaster. The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through its Diakonia and Social Service Department in Syria, quickly moved to stand by the affected people by providing food, health assistance, and financial aid in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, and Hama.

With Save the Children International

In the context of developing its work mechanisms as well as its future projects to achieve its desired Ecumenical and humanitarian goals, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is preparing for a new program with one of its international partners, which is Save the Children International. Thus, the program requires a specific training in order to get to know better the ways of its implementation.

Therefore, the Middle East Council of Churches’ team from the Offices of its General Secretariat in Beirut and its Syria’s Office, along with representatives of other organizations and entities working on the same program, participated in the kickoff of this program and in a training organized by Save the Children, between 14 and 16 January 2024, in Jordan. During the training, participants, accompanied by specialized trainers, acquired new skills about the techniques of this program and the necessary financial procedures to execute it.

Jerusalem, January 20 – 28

Theme: “You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27)

The materials for the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were prepared by an ecumenical team from Burkina Faso. This country is currently experiencing a serious security crisis, which affects all the communities of faith. Churches have been expressly targeted by armed attacks. Priests, pastors and catechists have been killed during worship and the fate of others who were kidnapped remains unknown. Nevertheless, a degree of solidarity is emerging between the Christian, Muslim and traditional religions. Their leaders are working together for peace, social cohesion and reconciliation.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Fiftieth Year of the MECC Founding

On LBCI TV Channel

The media coverage for the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024” continues, as the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Member of the Ecumenical Choir in this musical event Mrs. Sonia Samarani, were the guests of the journalist Maya Abou Al Hosn, in an episode within the “Morning Talk” program broadcasted on LBCI TV Channel, on Sunday 14 January 2024.

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Inaugurates the Monastery

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

On Charity Radio TV

The Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Lebanese Monk, Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, was the guest of the journalist Zouhour Abou Mansour, in an episode within “Hawana Hawak” program, which was broadcasted on Charity Radio TV, on Friday 12 January 2024.

During the episode, which you can watch it in the video, Father Dr. Antoine highlighted the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024”, that will be held on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches. Noting that this event will take place on Saturday 20 January 2024, at the Forum de Beirut. As well as, Al Ahmar talked about the launching of the event’s idea, its goals, and the most important segments which will be included in its program, that will be presented by an Ecumenical choir.