Together for a Cleaner and Safer Environment!

Environment, justice, climate, reducing environmental injustice... are all issues that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is keen to raise awareness about, stemming from its belief in the importance of preserving the creation that God has entrusted us with and protecting our common home. Therefore, within the series of “Environmental Days” that MECC had previously launched, the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department, EcoJustice Unit, continues its environmental work in various countries of the Middle East, emphasizing the need to join hands and pray together for a safer and more prosperous future.

In this context, MECC implemented several environmental activities in Egypt, including awareness campaigns on environmental justice, which were held by the Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, Manager of the MECC EcoJustice Unit. This is in addition to ecotheological think-meeting held by Yosolkanian with many groups, associations, Theological centers, and interested people with the aim of empowering Church leaders, servants, and educational workers and developing their environmental capabilities.

As A Follow-Up to the “Spiritual and Psychological Support” Program

Amidst a world burdened by wars, crises, hate speech, injustice..., the Church today faces great challenges, especially in responding to humanitarian emergencies, securing the needs of its children, and supporting the neediest people. Therefore, the Parish servants and their assistants seek to heal the wounds of those affected by the difficult living conditions to help them regain their hope and consolidate their faith. However, they, in turn, are facing many psychological pressures as a result of all the painful situations surrounding them.

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Theological and Ecumenical Department, continues to implement several sessions of the “Spiritual and Psychological Support” program for the Parish servants, and active people working in Churches, in order to support them psychologically and spiritually so that they can complete their mission and perform their mission in a better way.

Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of the Social Capital Rehabilitation Project at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and Professor of Public Policy and Strategy at the Lebanese University, was the guest the journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Coordinator of Communication for Church Relations at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), in an episode of the program “Initiative”, via Voice of Van Radio, on Thursday 16 May 2024. 

Within the framework of enhancing environmental awareness through various environmental and theological programs, an online meeting was held between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on Friday 17 May 2024. 

From the MECC side, participants were the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, the MECC Associate Secretary General, Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department, and the Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, the Manager of the MECC EcoJustice Unit. As for the WCC side, Ms. Frederique Seidel, WCC Leader in child rights, climate solutions and peace-building participated.  

A Round Table at the Invitation of the Hayat Al Howayek Foundation for Cultural Studies

Thursday 23 May 2024, at the Independence House in Bchamoun - Lebanon

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Will Participate and Moderate It

Stemming from its belief that the history and massacres of peoples are indivisible, and that the repetition of certain experiences such as wars and genocides indicate patterns that are not coincidental, Hayat Al Howayek Foundation for Cultural Studies invites you to a round table entitled “From Taurus to Gaza, 110 Years Since the Bleeding of the East.” It will be held on Thursday 23 May 2024, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, at the Independence House in Bchamoun, Aley District - Lebanon. His Eminence Archbishop Atallah Hanna will participate in the round table, as well as the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs who will deliver a speech at the opening session and will moderate the gathering.

Dr. Michel E. Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

Embeddedness of Peace in Christianity

Jesus was named the Prince of Peace because He chose to be sacrificed for our sins to reconcile human beings with God. He mended our broken relationship to God & restored it so we can have peace. Receiving Jesus’ gift of eternal life restores our peace with God and allows us to love others as God loves us, therefore, our relationship with others is restored too. Therefore, He became the way for humans to reconcile with God and have peace with themselves first before having it with other human beings.

This is the foundation of peace in the church.

This way we become peacemakers, as Jesus, our Lord, is called the Prince of Peace – this puts a Historical responsibility on Christians and the church. 

At the same time, Jesus reassures the faithful: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”–John 16:33

Middle East Socioeconomic

Overview Report: April 2024

During this month, opposing forces escalated the magnitude of the armed conflict almost clashing with one another in a full-blown war. For the time being, diplomatic efforts have halted any further escalation but have failed to address the great divide between foes. Moreover, humanitarian conditions remain dire and are at risk of getting worse, knowingly an incursion into Rafah may occur sooner or later. Currently, diplomatic efforts are underway to stall the planned ground invasion by implementing a truce in Gaza. Yet, as always, nothing is guaranteed.

The Church should be a precocious warning voice for harmful trends that take place in society and a catalyst for mutual maturation between different groups

The ACT Alliance MENA Forum held its annual meeting in Amman and online, on Monday 13 May 2024, in the presence of the concerned officers of the ACT Alliance, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, the Director of the MECC Diakonia and Social Service Department at Mr. Samer Laham, and members of the ACT Alliance MENA Forum representatives of local and international organizations. 

During the meeting, the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs delivered a lecture entitled “Church’s Role in Peace Building, A Middle Eastern Experience”, in which he spoke about many  topics centered around embeddedness of peace in Christian Faith, essence and ingredients of peacebuilding, the modalities of Church’s action in peacebuilding, the Logos: "word, discourse, & reason", the Praxis:  Joint Actions in Society & Culture, and working towards a paradigm of Church peacebuilding. 

The Middle East Council of Churches Participates in it

The Head of the Episcopal Committee for the Media Institutions and the Maronite Patriarchal Vicar of Jounieh His Eminence Bishop Antoine Nabil Al Andari, presided over a Mass in Our Lady Church in Amchit, Lebanon, on Sunday 12 May 2024, on the intention of journalists and media workers, on the occasion of the 58th World Communications Day. Noting that His Eminence was assisted by the Head of the Catholic Information Center Monsignor Abdo Abou Kasem, the Media Officer in the Maronite Diocese of Byblos Father Antoine Atallah, and the Parish Servant Father Charbel Al Khoury.

At the invitation of the United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada (UCC) organization, held on Thursday 9 May 2024, an online farewell meeting for Mrs. Patti Talbot, who retired after 30 years of working at the UCC and contributing to strengthening the ecumenical spirit. The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs and the Director of the MECC Diakonia and Social Service Department Mr. Samer Laham, participated in the meeting.

A Prayer Service Organized by Al Sabeel Center with the Participation of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs

On the occasion of Easter according to the Eastern calendar and Ascension according to the Western calendar, Al Sabeel Center, which is an ecumenical theology movement in the Holy Land, organized an online prayer service, entitled “Hope in the Midst of Hopelessness,” on Thursday 9 May 2024. Participants were Church leaders, clergy, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, and guests.

During the Easter season 2024, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, held an awareness day camp on gender-based violence (GBV), Our Lady Dispensary, affiliated with the MECC, in the Sabtieh region –Mount Lebanon, where recreational activities were carried out.  

The social worker used music to better deliver her message to the kids and to create a joyful atmosphere for them to enjoy. As for the activities, they included games such as hula hoops, jumping, playing with balloons, doing handcrafts such as decorating cakes and coloring pictures. Most importantly however, was the gender-based violence awareness messages that the social worker infused with the session as the kids engaged in the activities.   

Believing in the importance of environmental awareness, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) continues its theological environmental missions in various countries of the region to emphasize the necessity of prayer and working together in order to preserve God’s creation that we are entrusted with. 

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches had an environmental presence within the activities of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” in Egypt last March, where the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs traveled to the Arab Republic of Egypt to participate in it. He was accompanied by the journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Coordinator of Communication for Church Relations at MECC, and the Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, Manager of the EcoJustice Unit at MECC. 

On the first anniversary of the launch of the

Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and Forcibly Absented

Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

And the 11th anniversary of the abduction of the two Archbishops of Aleppo

Being abducted by another human being or a group, and being removed from your daily life, family, and loved ones, to be confined to a place haunted by terror and suspicion, is a return to primitive life. By what right, heavenly, or earthly, does one creature seize another, equal in dignity and the right to life and freedom, remove him from society and throw him into the jungle of abduction?

This “right” that the kidnapper grants to himself cannot be only explained by his sense of belonging to the forest and not to society. It is the logic of the jungle that still occupies a large place in our modern societal life, which still harbors a lot of primitiveness.

On the occasion of the feast of Saint John the Beloved apostle, the Evangelist Theologian, patron saint of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Orthodox, the thirteenth of the Holy Pure Apostles, and the President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox family, the MECC family, in the name of its Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, extends heartfelt congratulations to His Beatitude, wishing him continued health, well-being, goodness, blessing, and holiness, through the intercession of Saint John the Beloved Evangelist and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Family Empowerment - The Social Foundation of Human Civilization”

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Calls for Organizing an Islamic-Christian Conference to Defend the Family, Empower it and Enhance Its Role in the Crisis-ridden Society

The Faculty of Religions and Human Sciences and the Research Center for Humanities and Religious Sciences at Al Maaref University - Lebanon held the fourth international conference under the title “Empowering the Family - The Social Foundation of Human Civilization,” on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 April 2024, in the conference hall on the university campus - Beirut.

Participants were specialized researchers from Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Uganda and Germany. As well as attendees were religious, social and political figures, as well as diplomatic, judicial and cultural personalities.

The conference included five panels, spread over two days, which revolved around many topics: first, the impact of intellectual and social transformations on the disintegration of the Western family, second, the disintegration of the family in the service of the capitalist economy, third, the paths and agreements for dismantling the family, fourth, the family is the basis of human society, and fifth, empowering the family is a human civilizational project.

On the occasion of the "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented"

MECC holds a Webinar About “Wars, Abduction, Absence, and Ways to Reduce Harm”

The Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: abduction is still rampant in many places in the world and there is no one to deter the perpetrators, because their actions are only part of the crime that humanity has not succeeded, and may not succeed, to curb

On the commemoration of the kidnapping of the two Archbishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Boulos Yaziji and Metropolitan Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim, and on the commemoration of the "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented", which the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) had launched and designated on 22 April of each year, MECC held its monthly webinar, entitled “Wars, Abduction, Absence, and Ways to Reduce Harm”, on Thursday 25 April 2024. The webinar took place with the participation of expert speakers from various fields and the presence of a group of specialists, university students, and interested attendees in the topic at hand.

The webinar, which was broadcast live on the MECC Facebook page, included two interventions, moderated by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, who spoke in her opening speech about the cases of violence in the region amidst the difficult circumstances it is going through, denouncing this bitter reality and stressing the role of states and governments in the context of this issue.

In this Easter we lift our Hope stemming from the Resurrection of Jesus, so may we join together in humility and ecumenical spirit and preach the transforming Love of the Incarnated Son of God to the world. Christ Risen!