Speech of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs at the Closing Prayer of the "Season of Creation" 2021
This speech is also available in Arabic.
At the invitation of the Middle East Council of Churches, the “Season of Creation” 2021 was concluded in an Ecumenical Prayer service under the patronage of His Beatitude Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al Rai, on Sunday October 3, 2021, at the Visitation Monastery, Philokalia Institute and Organization in Aintoura, Keserwan - Lebanon. For the occasion, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs delivered a speech entitled "Priceless Moments", in which he presented the Council’s role in launching the season's activities for the first time in the East and the work the MECC did to implement the season. As well as he stressed on the environmental problems and culture in the Middle East.
You can find below the full speech:
Priceless Moments
Deir El Zyara – Aintoura
On 03-10-2021
HE Bishop Paul Rouhana,
Representing His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al Raii,
HE Reverend Dr Habib Badr, President of the Middle East Council of Churches,
Your eminences and reverends,
Reverend Sister Manara Saad,
Today we are witnessing the end of a journey that started the day we hosted Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, Dr. Dany El-Obeid, and Mr. Collins Gipson at the Council in May, participating in our project: The Season of Creation. A brief but meaningful and deeply touching journey that promised to bare much fruit.
Protecting the environment was one of the Council’s goals from the start. Part of it was entrusted to the Association of Institutes and Faculties of Theology before I was appointed as Secretary-General, then I added to it the chapter on agriculture as well as awareness campaigns to be launched that I had discussed with religious leaders and civil environmental organizations.
The Season of Creation had a perfect timing, for God grants good things to those who love Him.
We rushed to contact the publication sponsoring bodies of the Season of Creation document and obtained an authorization to translate the booklet and adapt it to our oriental culture. And this we did, entrusting the translation to Miss Loulou Saiba, and got the job done quickly and meticulously.
Then, in coordination with Reverend Rima, we created the Environmental Justice Chairperson, entrusting her with it. A coordination committee was formed with the following persons as members :Dean Father Tanios Khalil, Pastor Timon Al Siriani, Father Elias Marswanian, Dr. Dany Al-Obeid, colleague Mrs. Huguette Salameh, Head of the Communication and Public Relations Department, and colleague Jean-Pierre Eid from the Theological and Ecumenical Department. Before launching the work process, a delegation from the committee visited His Beatitude Patriarch John X and His Beatitude Cardinal Patriarch Mar Beshara Boutros Al Raii to inform them about the Season of Creation campaign and get their blessing.
Meanwhile, we recorded an electronic communiqué that was broadcasted on different channels, announcing the Season of Creation campaign and inviting churches and the Middle Eastern community to contribute to it.
We also contacted the Danmission Foundation to secure a small fund for the project, and our colleague Manal Beshara Abi Habib set up the small budget that was entirely covered by the said foundation. I say small because most of the project is based on local contributions and the largest percentage support work lies in the knowledge, energy and motivation of the people involved.
At start project off, Ms. Mira Kasarji also joined us in order to coordinate communication and public relations.
In communication and synthesis, we mention the hard work of the Communication Department of the Council, spearheaded by the Head of the Department my colleague Huguette who handled reviewing and coordinating the text, with colleague Maria Karkour who worked on the cover, pictures and photography, and colleague Elia Nasrallah on media coverage and dissemination of media and cultural materials related to the Season of Creation.
Everything started in the National Evangelical Church in Beirut, with the generous hosting of Reverend Dr. Habib Badr, Middle East Council of Churches President and Treasurer, as a suggestion from Reverend Rima. At the time, I wrote the editorial for the weekly newsletter, Momentum, with an article on this day, the 4th of September, in which I highlighted the success of this initiative and the depth of its ecumenical spirit.
After that, the work continued during the Season of Creation, from the first of September to the fourth of October, and institutions, parishes and people interested in preserving the environment participated in these activities. Noursat supported these activities with television episodes raising environmental issues and discussing them in depth and from all aspects.
It is worth noting that the booklet was sent to all member churches from the Levant to Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt. It was also sent to the Gulf and Irani Churches Association. Our colleagues in Egypt formed a special committee to coordinate the celebration of the Season of Creation, with the participation of the Anaphora Environmental Center, founded and supervised by his Eminence Bishop Thomas.
It has been a month – a little more – of full of activities, initiatives and communication, which cannot all be put into one speech, but they are all available on the Council's website as well as on its social media pages.
Today, at the end of the season, the end of the beginning, we celebrate the event in the monastery of Al Zyara, the Institute and community of Philokalia, thanks to the generous hosting of Sister Marana Saad and the loving patronage of His Beatitude Cardinal Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, represented by the good former Secretary General Metropolitan Paul Rouhana.
Today is the end of the beginning, or the first chapter of the book of the environment, God’s gift to humanity. He honored him with this environment, as he honored him with many things, hoping we would know its value and do as its Creator desires. Today we open the following chapters of the Book of Creation, as we have an essential role in protecting this gift, by all means, these gifts that are abundant in the hands of the Church of Christ.
To all of those I mentioned in my brief speech, and to all the unknown soldiers I did not mention, many thanks and deep appreciation to everyone who put a brick in the edifice of this work.
This is a model of faithful and purposeful collective action based on love and competence. This is a proof of what the Christians of the East - and indeed all the people of the East - can create if they cooperate, support one another, and join hands. The children of our nation, regardless of in-built existing differences, are called to join hands to protect the environment, our nurturing home, and preserve it for future generations.
A difficult time was predicted to our region’s environmental, economic and social situation, as a result of the desertification bound to happen due to the lack of control on our countries’ water and irrigation resources like the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, not to mention the wars we witnessed, causing fires as green areas were hit. In the light of this, it surely is needless to stress the urgency of taking the environmental cause seriously and putting environmental protection, reform, and development as priorities among our daily and future goals.
Prevention is the best treatment.