A Prayer Service in the Grace Chapel at the Near East School of Theology (NEST) - Beirut

Under the theme adopted for the “World Day of Prayer” 2024, “I Beg You... Bear With One Another in Love,” based on the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians 4: 1-7, and in celebration of this World Ecumenical Day, the “Day of Prayer” Committee in Lebanon held a Prayer Service in the Grace Chapel at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, on the evening of Friday 1 March 2024.

Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Evangelical Family, participated in the Prayer. As well as, participants were the “World Day of Prayer” Committee in Lebanon, women from various Church Families in Beirut, and Pastors.

With a lot of hope, the participants united in Prayer through a special program prepared by the “World Day of Prayer” Committee in Palestine, the country that was chosen this year for the Day of Prayer. The program included a presentation on the history of Palestine, and the most prominent customs and traditions that characterize it, in addition to Prayers and Reflections on the intention of justice and peace in Palestine, the Middle East and the world. Moreover, stories of three Palestinian women were also read, highlighting their faith, courage, and efforts to work in order to face all the challenges that surround them.

On the occasion of the “World Day of Prayer,” which women around the world celebrate as an annual Ecumenical day on the first of March, the “Day of Prayer” Committee in Lebanon held a Prayer Service in the Grace Chapel of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut, on the evening of Friday 1 March 2024, under the theme, “I Beg You... Bear With One Another in Love,” based on the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians 4: 1-7. Thus, the video highlights this Prayer and the program of celebration of the “World Day of Prayer”.

“I Beg You... Bear With One Another in Love” (Ephesians 4:1-7)

What Does this Day Symbolize?

From different countries of the world and the Middle East, they come together with one heart and humble spirit in a unity of Prayer that gathers them in the Church from which they derive heavenly hope in Jesus Christ and in which they feel secure on the contrary of the outside community. They are women from different cultures and traditions who decided to celebrate the “World Day of Prayer” together on the first of March of every year. It is an Ecumenical day that emphasizes fraternal relations which build bridges between them, and stresses their support for each other amidst all the troubles of life.

But how did the day of Prayer begin? And what does it symbolize?

On the first of March every year, women around the world celebrate the “World Day of Prayer” as an international Ecumenical Day. How did it start?

The video presents an answer and highlights the goals of this day and the theme that was adopted this year.

The Monthly Webinar Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: Immunization must be achieved through constant awareness and education because treatment after a fall means losing half the battle - a battle for the future

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) held a new webinar entitled “Human dignity of the Addicted Youth”, on Thursday 29 February 2024, with the participation of specialists, academicians, universities’ students and interested attendees in the topic at hand. Noting that this webinar comes as part of the monthly seminar which MECC is organizing 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. Lubna Tarabey, who denounced in her opening speech the phenomenon of drug addiction, mentioning its causes and repercussions, stressing the role of states in reducing it and the importance of preserving human dignity.

The webinar began with a speech delivered by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, in which he said, “We know that the forms of addiction are diverse, as are the types of drugs, human failures, environmental compositions, and the follow-up and immunization that can be obtained during or after treatment. If drug abuse constitutes a major social scourge that indicates a structural, socio-economic, political, and psychological imbalance, its promotion and the failure to eliminate it indicate one of two things: either the complicity of those in charge of this matter in the government, or the state’s weakness, which is unable to protect the youth of its society. Either way, it is a sad and major disappointment for the concerned observer.”

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 a news about the visit of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs to His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus Georgios, on Wednesday 28 February 2024, at the Patriarchate headquarters in Nicosia. The meeting was attended by the Member of the MECC Executive Committee Father Younes Nikolaou, and the Director of His Beatitude’s Office Mr. Michael Spiro, Alternative Member of the MECC Executive Committee.

As for the weekly message of the Secretary General Dr. Abs, it is entitled this week “Modern society in its socio-economic challenges and contradictions”, in which he talked about the contradictions that we witness on a daily basis in the modern world that pose a challenge to any person in terms of the values he was raised with.

Egypt is preparing to launch the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity under the theme “You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Hence, the video presents a highlight of the Prayers that will be held in Egypt in celebration of this week.

The official investigation into the remains of the Servant of God, Cardinal Krikor Pedros XV Agagianian, was concluded. The seals were placed on the wooden coffin, which contains a crystal box containing the relics of the Servant of God, that were placed with great piety in the Shrine of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.

Thus, this video highlights the official ending of the investigation.

There is no doubt that the contradictions that we witness on a daily basis in the modern world pose a challenge to any person in terms of the values he was raised with, which he was proud of, and which determined the course of his life.

The transformations that began with the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of the modern colonial era are still ravaging humanity with great momentum, and the changes that dominate our lives on a daily basis are too fast and powerful for humans to understand or be able to adapt to.

Man in modernity today destroys what he built yesterday, citing the necessity of change, not caring about what this does to his values, his psychological stability, his harmony with his surroundings, and his future. Man in modernity no longer lives under any control, to the point that it appears as if he has lost his reference and the parameters of his life.

Riding on the machine and its derivatives, he is sweeping the globe in search of natural resources or new markets. On his way, he is destroying whatever societies and civilizations he can find, and displacing or annihilating peoples.

At the same time, we read writings and principles produced by modern people that stimulate the conscience, distributing values left and right to the peoples of the world, to the point that you almost ask yourself: Is it the same person who did this and that?

His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus Georgios

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs visited His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus Georgios, on Wednesday 28 February 2024, at the Patriarchate headquarters in Nicosia. The meeting was attended by the Member of the MECC Executive Committee Father Younes Nikolaou, and the Director of His Beatitude’s Office Mr. Michael Spiro, Alternative Member of the MECC Executive Committee.

During the meeting, the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs briefed His Beatitude Archbishop Georgios, on the program of activities that the MECC is implementing in the Fiftieth Year of its Founding. The attendees also discussed the type of activity that the MECC will implement in Cyprus during this Year which is also the Commemoration of the division and occupation of Cyprus. His Beatitude blessed the suggestion which a specialized committee will develop the program of the activity that had been agreed upon.

In addition, the attendees discussed the circumstances that the Middle East is passing through, talking about the plight of the Christians of the region, their role and the challenges they are facing at various levels, especially in the issue of their presence and rootedness in their land.

With great hope, 270 students from Theological Institutes in Lebanon participated in a gathering organized by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), under the title “The Deposit of Faith, So That We May Know What We Have Received and How to Transfer It.” It was held on Tuesday 20 February 2024 at La Sagesse University – Beirut.

The video sheds light on this gathering full of love and fraternity, as its participants stressed the importance of the Ecumenical dialogue and building bridges between them, in preparation for future Leaders and Managers in the Church and the Ecumenical movement.

Standing Together for a Decent Life and a Better Future

Lebanon’s dire economic crisis has impacted the poorest areas in Lebanon such as the Akkar District where the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has recently launched an Early Recovery and Livelihood Business Development project. Because of the absence of adequate government policies to develop rural areas in the country, people residing in the area have limited livelihood options which have forced them into elevated levels of poverty and food insecurity.

For this reason, the Middle East Council of Churches, supported by Kerk in Actie, decided to intervene in this particular area by supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in an effort to drive economic growth and create more job opportunities. Through Business Development, which is a strategic priority of MECC’s Diakonia and Social Service Department, the Council aims to provide various kinds of support which can encompass training, capacity building, mentoring, and access to resources, enabling the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to improve their business practices, operational efficiency, and product/service quality.

And Celebrates the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” in Egypt 

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of March 2024. 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 Middle East Council of Churches will celebrate the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2024 in Egypt through a program of celebrations and Prayers that will be held in partnership with the Egyptian Council of Churches, between Wednesday 13 and Friday 22 March 2024. 

Within the “Reflections Sessions” Series in “Ilmolmabdaa” Quarterly Journal

“The Values of the West in their Cognitive and Moral Integration” (Current Evidence)

As part of the “Reflections Sessions” series organized by the “Ilmolmabdaa” quarterly journal, the first seminar was held in cooperation with the “Tahawoulat” (Transformations) Center and the “Delta Center for In-depth Research,” under the title “The Values ​​of the West in Their Cognitive and Moral Incoherence” (Current Evidence), on Friday 23 February 2024, at the journal’s conference room in Beirut. It was held in the presence of intellectual and cultural personalities and interested people in the topic at hand. 

The seminar was moderated and presented by Professor Sarkis Abou Zeid, and included two interventions by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, and the Researcher and Professor of Sociology Professor Talal Atrissi. 

In partnership with Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel 

On the occasion of the fiftieth year of its founding, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), in partnership with Télé Lumière and Noursat TV channel, is launching a new TV program entitled “Ecumenicals”, presented by Tony Chedid, which will be broadcasted every Sunday at 9:30 pm Beirut time and 7:30 GMT. 

Organized by ATIME

This video report presents a highlight of the opening session of the gathering of the students of Theological Institutes in Lebanon, which was organized by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), in addition to excerpts from the speeches delivered during the session. Noting that this gathering was held on Tuesday 20 February 2024, at La Sagesse University – Beirut.

With the rise of the gender-based violence (GBV) rate in the Middle East and the world, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) seeks to reduce this phenomenon through its various humanitarian programs. The MECC Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, implements, throughout the year, awareness sessions on the types of violence and its risks. In this context, the video highlights the importance of these sessions and their goals, emphasizing the necessity of living in dignity and gender equality. 

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs received a delegation from the international organization “Danmission”, an MECC partner, on Thursday 22 February 2024, at the offices of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. The delegation included Danmission's Regional Director in the Middle East Mrs. Kristen Auken, the Programme Director Mr. Martin Rosenkilde Pedersen, and the Senior Advisor, Sustainable, Just and Equitable Stewardship Mr. Ernst Jürgensen. 

Attendees were also the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Administrative and Project Assistant in the Department Ms. Maria Bzdigian, and Member of the MECC Eco-Justice Committee Deacon Garen Yosolkanian. 

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 “Mother tongue, multilingualism, and knowledge acquisition”, and it is for the occasion of International Mother Language Day which the United Nations has designated on February 21st. Hence, Dr. Abs talked about multilingualism and its importance in the progress of societies.

The issue also presents a news, videos and interviews about the gathering of the students of Theological Institutes in Lebanon organized by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) under the title “The Deposit of Faith, So That We May Know What We Have Received and How to Transfer It.” It was held on Tuesday 20 February 2024, at La Sagesse University - Beirut.

As well as, the issue includes the invitation of the journal “Ilmolmabdaa”, “Tahawoulat” (Transformations) Center and the Delta Center for In-depth Research, to participate in the first episode entitled “The Values of the West in their Cognitive and Moral Integration” (Current Evidence), within the “Reflection Sessions” series. The episode includes two interventions with Professor Michel Abs, Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and Professor Talal Atrissi, a Researcher and Professor of sociology. The episode is moderated and presented by the Researcher Sarkis Abou Zeid, and the two interventions are followed by an open discussion. The seminar will be held on Friday 23 February 2024, at 3 pm Beirut Time, at the headquarters of the journal “Ilmolmabdaa” - Sami El Solh Street - Badaro - from the side of Tayouneh Roundabout - opposite to Marsaco Company - Nouwaihed Building - sixth floor.

Under the title “The Deposit of Faith, So That We May Know What We Have Received and How to Transfer It,” students of Theological Institutes in Lebanon met in a general gathering held by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), on Tuesday 20 February 2024, at La Sagesse University - Beirut. During the meeting, the participants stressed the need to meet together and exchange experiences.