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, Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs which is entitled this week “O Holy Cross!”. It is for the occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross celebrated by the Church on September 14th, marking the end of the Forty Days’ Journey. This journey begins with the Feast of Transfiguration and culminates in this celebration, affirming God’s love for mankind. It signifies the extent of His love, to the point of incarnation and crucifixion, serving as an atonement for our sins.

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.

Moreover, the issue includes a news about the ceremony presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, to launch the founding document for the Synodal path “Women’s Vocation and Mission in God’s Plan and the Life of the Church and Society”, which was prepared by the Women’s Pastoral Office in the Patriarchal Department in Bkerke. The celebration was held on Saturday 9 September 2023, in the Church of the Resurrection at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke – Lebanon. During it, the MECC Secretary general received this document from His Beatitude, as a token of partnership with the Churches of the Middle East.

On the occasion of the “Season of Creation”, the issue presents a video including the Sermon delivered by Reverend Dr. Habib Badr, President of the National Evangelical Union in Lebanon, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, during the Divine Service he presided over, on the second Sunday of the “Season of Creation”, on Sunday 10 September 2023, at the National Evangelical Church in Beirut. This is in addition, to a video including a Prayer addressed by Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, a Professor of Practical Theology at the Near East School of Theology, during this Divine Service.

As well as, the issue includes a news about the participation of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs in a conference entitled “Migration and Adaption in the Context of Climate Change: A Pragmatic Approach Towards Removing Barriers and Enhancing Opportunities”. It was jointly organized by the United Nations Network on Migration and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), on Thursday 7 September 2023.

In addition, the issue presents a news about an online meeting held between MECC and SAT 7, on Thursday 7 September 2023. The meeting included the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Member of the MECC Eco Justice Committee, and expert in the environmental issues, Deacon Garen Yosulkanian, alongside the Director of Development Programs at SAT 7 Mr. Rafik George, and the Coordinator of Development Projects at SAT 7 Mrs. Margaret Magid.

In the context of the “Season of Creation”, you can find 2 interviews via video made by “Danmission” organization with Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar who highlighted the meanings and goals of the “Season of Creation.” As well as with Deacon Garen Yosulkanian who talked about the forestation campaigns that MECC implements as part of its environmental activities.

You can also find details and photos about the celebration held by the Youth of Our Lady of Ebleh Church in Lebanon, on Friday 1 September 2023. During the celebration this group of youth launched its environmental work in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, as the first Church youth group concerned in environmental issues.

The issue also includes the latest humanitarian updates of the work of the Diakonia and Social Service Department at the Middle East Council of Churches, Lebanon’s Office.

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 “Season of Creation” 2023 celebration guide translated by MECC into Arabic, the MECC Ecumenical Calendar for September 2023, 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.