Video – A Reflection by Fr. Dr. Michel Kanbar

Pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, Al-Hajje, Lebanon

University Professor, Writer, and Historian

“Ecumenical Horizons” is a weekly program that features spiritual, cultural, intellectual, educational, youth and environmental topics.

Chanted by the Seminarians of Saint Paul’ Seminary Harissa, Lebanon

Meets with the President of the Lebanese University Professor Bassam Badran

Discussions Centered on Prospects for Cooperation

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, accompanied by Professor Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the MECC Programs for Dialogue, Social Cohesion and the Restoration of Human Dignity, met with the President of the Lebanese University Professor Bassam Badran. The meeting was attended by Dean Professor Marlene Haidar, Dean Professor Habib Kazzi, Professor Ali Rammal, Professor Hassan Zein El-Dine, and Professor Nadim Mansoury.

The meeting focused on ways to strengthen cooperation between the Middle East Council of Churches and the Lebanese University, as well as on developing partnership opportunities between the two institutions in the academic, research, cultural, and social fields.

During the meeting, Professor Abs presented an overview about the history of the Middle East Council of Churches and the circumstances surrounding its establishment, highlighting the major milestones that have shaped its work over the past five decades. He also outlined its mission and role in promoting dialogue, mutual understanding, and social cohesion, as well as in serving people and safeguarding their dignity in the societies of the region.

Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt

Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

Interview with Professor Laure Abi Khalil; Prepared and Presented by the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary

The Armenian Relief Cross Association – Lebanon

Produced By MECC

“Momentum”

11-9-2026

This issue includes reports, videos, news, articles, and a full coverage of the latest developments of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as well as the Church, Ecumenical, and social events…

This is in addition to the weekly word of the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs which is entitled in this issue "Water for Life". It is the word he delivered at the MECC Celebration for the “Season of Creation”, on Sunday 6 September 2026, at the National Evangelical Church of Beirut.

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/41b112cd3fee/momentum-mecc-weekly-newsletter.

You can also subscribe to the Momentum Newsletter via the following link:
https://mecc.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?id=fd3381352a&u=1db32cafe9ea32b38eb90480a.

Chanted by the Seminarians of Saint Paul’ Seminary Harissa, Lebanon

Address by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches
Professor Michel Abs
at the Celebration of the Season of Creation

Sunday, September 6, 2026
National Evangelical Church of Beirut

Your Eminences and Reverend Fathers,

Your Eminences and distinguished religious leaders,

Dear sisters and brothers,

We gather today at the National Evangelical Church of Beirut to inaugurate together the Season of Creation, this time during which the Church invites us to reconsider our relationship with creation—not merely as the material setting in which we live, but as a gift from God and a trust placed in our hands by the Creator, so that we may use it wisely, preserve it, and pass it on to generations yet unborn.

At the heart of our reflection this year stands water—that substance which appears so simple, yet is so profound in meaning, and without which life cannot exist.

But before speaking about water, we must stand in reverence before the majesty of the Creator and the greatness of the very act of creation. Creation is not merely the shaping of what already exists. In the understanding of faith, it is the passage from nothingness into existence. That something should exist where previously there was nothing, and that life, order, beauty, and diversity should emerge, is a mystery beyond the human capacity fully to comprehend or grasp. When we contemplate creation, from the smallest cell to the vastest ocean, we are not simply contemplating silent matter; we stand before the traces of a divine act that brought existence out of nothingness and endowed life with the capacity to continue and renew itself…

Discussions Focus on Strengthening Future Partnership

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, welcomed, on Wednesday 9 September 2026, a delegation from Kerk in Actie (KIA), including Mr. Dick Loendersloot, the new KiA's Humanitarian Representative for the Africa Region, and Mrs. Kirsten Kok, the new KiA's Humanitarian Representative for the MENA Region. They also visited the Council on Friday, September 11, 2026, at the MECC General Secretariat offices in Beirut.

The visit aimed to strengthen the existing partnership between KIA and the MECC. The delegation met with the Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, in addition to holding meetings with many colleagues from the MECC various departments. The visit also provided an opportunity to meet Mrs. Kirsten Kok, who has recently assumed her new responsibility, succeeding Mr. Dick Loendersloot.

As part of strengthening Ecumenical relations, the General Secretary of the Bible Society in the Gulf Dr. Hrayr Jebejian, visited the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut.

During the meeting, both sides held a discussion focusing on the general situation in the Middle East and the key challenges that the people of the region are facing. They also discussed the activities of the Bible Society in the Gulf and its various programs, as well as its relationship with the Middle East Council of Churches and ways to enhance cooperation between the two sides.

In this context, Dr. Hrayr Jebejian invited Professor Michel Abs to participate in an upcoming meeting with the Churches of the Gulf.

Chanted by the Seminarians of Saint Paul’ Seminary Harissa, Lebanon

Video - A Reflection by Reverend Rifaat Fikry, MECC Associate Secretary General

Basilica of Saint Paul, Harissa – Lebanon

Produced By MECC

“Ecumenical Horizons” is a weekly program that features spiritual, cultural, intellectual, educational, youth and environmental topics.

Under the Theme "Living Water"

His Eminence Archbishop Boutros Marayati, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, and Member of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of

Churches (MECC), presented his book, “We Remain in Hope…”, to the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, and colleagues.

Issued by Naaman Publishing House for Culture, the book is a new addition to Archbishop Marayati’s intellectual and spiritual works. Its pages offer reflections on hope in human life and the Christian faith.

The Secretary General Professor Michel Abs expressed his appreciation for this initiative, wishing His Eminence Archbishop Boutros Marayati many years filled with goodness, blessings, and holiness in service to the Church and humanity, as well as intellectual production.

Under the Theme “Living Water”

Beirut – Sunday, September 6, 2026

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) inaugurated the Season of Creation 2026 in Lebanon on the evening of Sunday, September 6, at the National Evangelical Church in Beirut, through an Ecumenical Prayer Service held under this year’s theme, “Living Water.” The Service brought together representatives of various Church Families in an encounter of Prayer, fellowship, and reflection on the gift of water and humanity’s responsibility to care for creation.

The celebration was attended by Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and MECC President for the Evangelical Family, and the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, along with Bishops, Priests, Pastors, Monks and Nuns, Representatives of Churches, organizations and youth movements, as well as many believers.

The Prayer Service included hymns performed by choirs and chanters from different Christian traditions: the Laudato Si’ Choir with Subdeacon Charbel Bou Machrek Chanter Deacon Ghazar Koushkrian, accompanied on the piano by Hampik Marderosian, a choir from the National Evangelical Church’s youth, and the St. Theophan the Hymnographer Choir. Together, they presented a rich musical tapestry reflecting the diversity of Christian traditions in the unity of Prayer and praise.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) concluded the Ecumenical Youth Camp in Lebanon, organized as part of the Youth Leadership Building (YLB) Program, in cooperation with the Bible Society, Ithraa’ Center, and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), with the support of Kerk in Actie. The camp brought together young men and women from various Christian Church Families.

The fourth and final days of the camp featured a diverse program combining learning and interaction, along with opportunities for participants to express their talents and exchange experiences.