The Ecumenical Committee for the relief of Beirut is still coordinating the relief and field work
Dr. Michel Abs: this experience is unique in the region
The Ecumenical Committee for the relief of Beirut held its virtual regular meeting in order to follow up on the relief process that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is leading in cooperation with representatives of the Member Churches, along with a team from the council’s various departments. The meeting was chaired for the first time by Dr. Michel Abs, the new MECC Secretary General, who praised this Ecumenical experience, saying in his opening speech: “This experience is unique in the region and should not remain elitist, which means at the level of the highest spiritual leaders, but it should be generalized at the level of local communities and parishes. This committee is a new experience and it is first of its kind. We are looking forward to institutionalize its work so that we can widen its range within our Churches”.
The meeting started by presenting the latest update on the donations’ campaign from the Council's partners and international and Ecclesiastical organizations, headed by the Diakonia regional director engineer Samer Laham. Mr. Laham and Mrs. Nina Hallak the department’s coordinator in Beirut shed the light on the relief work they continue to carry out in the field. In addition, the first reading of the questionnaire’s results based on the Churches needs was presented. Noting that this questionnaire was sent from the Council to all the Member Churches in the Ecumenical Committee, and it would indicate all kinds of needs according to the damaged areas and the number of the affected people. This step will be followed by a study of the necessities at the level of each Church which will be updated as the implementation progresses. Moreover, activities in coordination with the Churches need to be carried out subsequently.
Afterwards, Fr. Gabriel Hachem, the MECC Associate Secretary General and director of the Theological and Ecumenical department, presented a brief report of the activities carried out by the department through the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” program. It was organized following the Blast in order to support the affected people psychologically and spiritually, noting that the department is working on implementing this program again to assist children who have been traumatized by this disaster.
The journalist Huguette Salameh, director of the Communication and Public Relations department, presented a summary about the media and social media response to the tragic explosion. She then explained how the department is working to support and cover the two relief appeals launched by the Council, by releasing the “Beirut weekly newsletter” dedicated to the latest updates of the blast and how the Churches are responding to its repercussions. She also highlighted the Beirut documentaries produced by the department, and mentioned the latest one, which was done in partnership with the Dutch organization "Kerk in Actie".
During the meeting, each Church’s representative presented to the participants the latest developments and services provided by their Churches to the believers in their parishes who were psychologically, morally and financially affected. Noting that the committee continues its virtual meetings to assist and help the largest number of Beiruties.