Middle East Council of Churches in an Ecumenical Meeting with Christian Youth in the Middle East
Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: The Council Plants Seeds in Infertile Grounds between Churches so it Blooms
We Need to Cooperate with the New Generations
The World Student Christian Federation organized an online Ecumenical meeting hosting the Middle East Council of Churches Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs. This meeting was held within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity framework under the title of “The Ecumenical Interaction of Churches”. More than 40 people attended the meeting from youth and people interested in Ecumenical affairs from different middle eastern countries.
The meeting started with a warm welcoming and introduction of Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs and his career. Dr. Abs then briefly spoke about the MECC, its history, mission, goals and the duties it is responsible for through its different departments. He described the MECC as a place for collective Christian work and interaction between all churches, adding: “it’s the only platform connecting Christians in the Middle East… as it is a Christian institution interacting with non-Christian entities.” He noted that the main role of the Council was the joint work between churches as he said: “the Council plants seeds in unfertile grounds between churches so it blooms.”
Dr. Abs spoke in details about both official and humanitarian approaches of the MECC explaining the formal and unformal sectors through personal links between people. He mentioned the organizational structure of the Council shedding the light on its Executive Committee and its General Assembly. He said: “the biggest challenge today is to establish an Ecumenical interaction between different Council departments to recreate an Ecumenical culture and project it upon all Christians.”
The second part of the online meeting was focused on the Ecumenical movement and its work. Dr. Abs answered questions about the presence and existence of Christianity in the Middle East, the obstacles the Council is facing, its partnership with the Christian Federation and the role of youth in the Council’s mission… Dr. Abs also welcomed the Federation’s initiative to help the Council achieve the set goals and encourage youth to take part in the Ecumenical path. Dr. Abs said during the meeting: “We need to cooperate with the new generation.”
Before the closing prayer of the meeting, many participants expressed their appreciation for the important dialogue with Dr. Abs and how close he was to the youth. One of them even pointed out: “these are rich information that we need to use in order to enrich our churches”, another said: “this is an important meeting, upon which we hope to set plans and activities between the Council and the Federation promoting the Ecumenical work and the presence of Christianity in the Middle East,” others added: “this meeting is a light of hope during these obscure times,” “Dr. Abs, you have given us hope to revive the Ecumenical movement,” “you are the voice of hope beating in the heart of Lebanon to the heart of the East and the perfect example of testimony today…”