Report from the Diakonia Department at the Middle East Council of Churches

The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abd Participates in this Consultation

The World Council of Churches (WCC) convened an online consultation on 6 March with heads of member Churches in the Middle East. Under the theme “Standing Together in Faith and Discernment in a Time of War,” participants met to reflect on the unfolding developments and the widening escalation of violence in the region.

“We are acutely conscious that in times such as these, the churches are called to stand at the crossroads of suffering and hope — accompanying the fearful, sheltering the vulnerable, and bearing witness to the God of life in the midst of destruction,” said WCC General Secretary Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay, describing the impetus behind the meeting. “Please know that the global ecumenical fellowship stands with you in solidarity and support.”

The online consultation provided space to hear the church leaders’ assessment of the broader geopolitical situation, including how they perceive current dynamics evolving in the days and weeks ahead. The WCC also listened carefully to the pastoral, humanitarian, security, and institutional challenges confronting Churches and communities, and created space for sharing these realities openly. The meeting provided an opportunity to discern together, in a spirit of prayer and ecclesial responsibility, how these developments affect all people in the region, and to reflect collectively on the role the World Council of Churches is called to play at this moment. 

“Momentum”

6-3-2026

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 ‘“The Necessity of War” and the Weakest Link’.

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/35684b009297/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

Professor Michel Abs

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

Analysts compete to explain the causes of wars, their trajectories, and the outcomes they will produce. People try to understand why their loved ones were killed, displaced from their homes, impoverished, or thrown into the depths of misery, often believing that what they see on the surface may answer their questions.

On the other hand, the social sciences attempt to analyze or explain wars in a scholarly effort to derive theories that provide an appropriate interpretation of this human madness called war. Yet, none of this erases or justifies the tragedies inflicted on people by the crimes of others.

Some researchers consider war a necessity of industrial or modern society, based on two justifications:

First, war is an economic necessity, as it stimulates the economy through wartime consumption, primarily the use of ammunition and weapons, and later drives investments when the war subsides, on the basis that reconstruction of destroyed areas or repair of damaged infrastructure is required. Victims are rarely mentioned in this context.

Second, war is a necessity of modernity, as it dismantles social structures that certain social groups may have grown weary of, replacing them with new structures acceptable to those previously dissatisfied with prior conditions.

The difference between the two interpretations is that in the first case, the beneficiary is the active participant in the war, who then reaps whatever gains are possible. In the second case, the beneficiary is often not an actor but gains secondary benefits from the actions of others. In other words, their gain comes incidentally or as a byproduct rather than as a primary reward…

مرصد فلسطين - تقرير الجمعة 6 آذار/ مارس 202

In light of the worsening humanitarian and social conditions in the region due to the escalation of security operations, the Middle East Council of Churches presents a weekly report entitled "Palestine Monitor," which includes the latest developments in Palestine, especially amid the deteriorating living, social, and security conditions in the country. Some texts will be in Arabic, and some others in English, depending on the source.

في ظلّ تفاقم الظروف الإنسانيّة والاجتماعيّة في المنطقة جرّاء تصاعد العمليّات الأمنيّة فيها، يقدّم مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط تقريرًا أسبوعيًّا بعنوان "مرصد فلسطين" حيث يتضمّن آخر المستجدّات الّتي تشهدها فلسطين خصوصًا وسط تدهور الظروف المعيشيّة والاجتماعيّة والأمنيّة في البلاد. ستكون بعض النصوص باللغة العربية، وبعضها الآخر باللّغة الإنكليزيّة، وذلك حسب المصدر.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has launched "Light of Hope," a new bulletin series dedicated to documenting the ongoing ordeal in the Middle East, with a primary focus on the catastrophic situation in Lebanon. This publication serves as a "cry" for the people of the Antiochian Levant who have endured decades of pain.

The Middle East Council of Churches is closely monitoring with great concern the serious developments currently taking place in the region, amid escalating military tensions, which are accompanied by severe humanitarian consequences affecting civilians and local communities in several countries across the Middle East. The recent events, in addition to those that preceded them, have led to painful human losses and damages, resulting in a humanitarian situation that can only be described as catastrophic.

What the region is witnessing today is part of a series of accumulated crises that its peoples have faced over the past years, with many communities already suffering from difficult economic conditions and increasing vulnerability in their social fabric. The recent escalation has exacerbated the scale of the humanitarian tragedy, particularly with the damage to essential facilities such as hospitals, schools, and vital service networks. This situation threatens all social groups, particularly the most vulnerable, with special impacts on children, the elderly, patients, and those with special needs.

The Middle East Council of Churches is closely following the reality of the affected communities through its networks, which include churches and partner institutions spread across the region. The churches and their institutions have proactively provided emergency humanitarian aid to needy families without discrimination, based on their mission to serve humanity, preserve dignity, and foster solidarity among local communities…

At the Recital "Your Sight On Our Homeland"

MECC Archive 2024

Under the patronage and blessings of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, represented by His Eminence Bishop Hanna Alwan, the Patriarchal Vicar General, a spiritual recital was held under the title “Your Sight On Our Homeland”, during which the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs delivered a word that carried the title "Your Endowment Oh God".

The recital was performed by the Journalist and Artist Dalia Freyfer, accompanied by the Musician Mr. Fadi Abi Hachem, on Friday 11 October 2024, in the Church of Christ the King - Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon. Noting that it took place at the invitation and organization of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Pastoral Office for Persons with Disabilities (POPD) in the Maronite Patriarchate – Bkerke, Lebanon.

Oh Spring of love, an hymn that was born in the most difficult circumstances that Lebanon faced during the crisis between 1975-1990, and entered into the core of memory, and continued to call upon Jesus in every difficult period that passed through Lebanon.