Momentum, the Weekly Newsletter from the Middle East Council of Churches

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, MECC issues its 2022 annual report which compiles in its pages the activities of the Middle East Council of Churches and the achievements it has accomplished at various Ecumenical, Theological and humanitarian levels. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled this week “School Dropouts: Booby-Trapping the Future of a Nation”. Dr. Abs delivered this speech at the MECC monthly webinar which was held under the title “School Dropout and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 28 September 2023. This webinar is part of the MECC monthly seminars and comes within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively.

In the issue, MECC invites you to participate in an Ecumenical Prayer it will organize on the occasion of the “Season of Creation” with the participation of Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and MECC President for the Evangelical Family. The Prayer Service will be held on Wednesday 4 October 2023, at 5 pm Beirut time, in the Pope John Paul II Amphitheater at the Holy Spirit University – Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon.

MECC also invites you to participate in a symposium it organizes in cooperation with the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), under the title “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change”. It will be held on Wednesday 4 October 2023, at 5:30 pm Beirut time, in the Pope John Paul II Amphitheater at the Holy Spirit University – Kaslik (USEK), and Thursday 5 October 2023, from 9 am to 5:30 pm Beirut time, at the François Bassil Amphitheater in the Saint Joseph University (USJ) – Beirut.

As well as, the issue includes a news about the inauguration of the Monastery of St. Antonios in the Wilderness of Sadad, Syria, by His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, in the presence of a delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches. Noting that the Monastery was rehabilitated by MECC in cooperation with “Kerk in Actie” organization in the Netherlands, in the context of the “Restoration Fund for Rehabilitation of Faith-based Social Services & Religious Infrastructure Damaged During the Crisis in Syria”.

Moreover, the issue presents details about the monthly webinar held by MECC under the title “School Dropout and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 28 September 2023, with the participation of specialists, academicians, universities’ students and interested attendees in the topic at hand. The webinar, which was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook Page, included four interventions, moderated by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil who presented an opening speech, as well as a speech delivered by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs.

The issue also includes a news about the Prayer held by the MECC General Secretariat’s team in through which it joined His Holiness Pope Francis in Prayer after he called for an Ecumenical Prayer service, which he presided over, on Saturday 30 September 2023, in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, on the intention of the Synod’s 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Catholic Church. Noting that this general Assembly will be held between 4 and 29 October 2023 in the Vatican.

Furthermore, you can find an interview with Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), who was the guest of the journalist Roula Zeidan, in an episode of the morning show “Al Nour Maana” (the Light is with Us), on Télé Lumière and Noursat, on Thursday 21 September 2023. In the interview, Father Kanbar highlighted the Symposium which is being organized by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in cooperation with the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), under the title “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change”.

The issue also presents a news about the participation of Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of the MECC Social Capital Rehabilitation Project, representing MECC, the Eighth Annual Conference of Imam Hussein, Peace Be Upon Him, was held under the title “Renaissance of Reform for the Sake of Human, from the Prophets (PBUT) to Imam Hussein (PBUH) - Human Values Bring Us Together,” on Tuesday 19 September 2023. It was held at the the invitation of President of the Jaafari Cultural Foundation for Research, Islamic Studies and Interfaith Dialogue Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Al-Hajj.

Furthermore, the issue includes many reports issued by MECC after the earthquake that hit the North of the Antiochian Levant, under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. The MECC will be also publishing other periodical and updated reports. This is in addition to photo albums showing the difficult humanitarian situations in Syria.

Additionally, the issue presents the Ecumenical calendar for the month of October 2023, issued by MECC, as well as the “Season of Creation” 2023 celebration guide translated by MECC into Arabic, Ecumenical reports, the weekly Prayer, videos, and news of the Middle Eastern Churches. As well as a socio-economic overview of the Middle East during August 2023 and the latest updates of the Coronavirus in the region.