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, you can find the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs which is entitled this week “Takla, the first among the female martyrs”, for the occasion of the Feast of Saint Takla celebrated on 24 September. In his message, Dr. Abs talked about the life of Saint Takla and her adherence to her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ despite all the challenges she faced.

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, MECC invites you to participate in its monthly webinar, entitled “School Dropout and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 28 September 2023, at 7 pm Beirut Time. You can participate in the webinar via the following Zoom link https://shorturl.at/bnqG6, and live on the MECC Facebook Page. The webinar, which includes four interventions, will start with an opening speech by its moderator Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, which will be followed with a speech by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs.

The issue also presents a news about the online Ecumenical Prayer organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), on Monday 18 September, focusing on the World Week for Peace in the Holy Land, which is held every year between 16 and 23 September, and taking up this year the theme of “No place to lay my head.” The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) participated in the Prayer and was represented by the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar who gave the final blessing.

As well as, the issue includes a video that highlights one of the relief programs that MECC implements in Syria to support the affected people due to the earthquake which hit the North of the Antiochian Levant. The video shows how MECC team distributed a batch of medicines for chronic diseases and cancer patients in the Latakia region, in addition to providing essential medical devices, such as blood glucose measuring devices, wheelchairs, and hearing aids.

You can also find a news about a training organized by the MECC General Secretariat, in which its team participated, with the international organization “Tearfund”, on “Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.” This training was held on Tuesday 19 September 2023, at the offices of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut.

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.

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