Under the patronage of Reverend Dr. Haroutian Souleiman, head of the Armenian Church in Syria, the Armenian Protestant Church, and in cooperation with the Middle East Council of Churches, held a graduation ceremony for the participants in the professional courses organized in Aleppo Governorate, with the presence of the President of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce Amer Hamwi.

During the ceremony, professional tool kits were distributed to 87 outstanding beneficiaries of the professional courses in order to help them start their own businesses.

Standing Together Towards a More Sustainable Partnership

The General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches held its annual meeting with its international and regional partner organizations and institutions, online, on Thursday, March 24, 2022. The meeting aimed at exchanging point of views and experiences in order to develop the MECC role and to ameliorate the work mechanisms in order to achieve the desired goals, and work together for a more effective future partnership.

Saint Georges’ School Bsalim: A Model of the Struggle of Lebanese Schools

Turn to the abyss! These words were said years ago about a sector considered one of the most crucial basic facilities for building societies. The Lebanese education sector has always formed a major lifeline and has been a factor for prosperity and progress, but today it is reaching rock bottom. This is a bitter reality that the educational institutions in the Middle East must now faceat the ional, especially following the outbreak of the economic and cost-of-living crises in the midst of the dangerous health conditions that were manifested by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches distributed food and hygiene kits to poor families in Dara’a Al Balad in Dara’a Governorate.

In addition to the food and hygiene kits, the families having children aged 4 and below received infant kits so that each of these families received a maximum of three kits.

Read Sajida’s Story

White mask, palette of 6 colors: yellow, pink, blue, violet, black and gold.

A 12-year-old girl took a brush and chose the blue and black. She painted the mask with these two colors and then chose the yellow to paint the remaining white part of the mask.

The story of the mask and colors was narrated by Sajida Ismail Dib who hid her sadness by her smile.

You can find a video about the MECC activities in support of Iraqi refugees in Syria since the beginning of the war in Iraq until the end of 2011, with the support of the MECC’s partners and local Churches in Syria. The video was presented during the Council’s 10th General Assembly, held between 29 and 30 November 2011 in Paphos, Cyprus, under the title of “And all who believed were one heart” (Acts 4: 32).

You can find a video prepared by the Middle East Council of Churches in Syria shedding light on the reconstruction work at the Private Secondary School of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Aleppo, Syria. The school was restored and rehabilitated within the “Restoration Fund for Rehabilitation of Faith-based Social Services & Religious Infrastructure Damaged During the Crisis in Syria” program implemented by MECC in cooperation with Kerk in Actie in Netherlands, in various Syrian governorates.

Many thanks to H.H Pope Tawadros II for hosting the next General Assembly

We must work together to contain the post-Coronavirus poverty, unemployment and crises

On Friday, February 11, 2022, the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches held an online meeting in compliance with the ongoing preventive measures during the Corona pandemic. Members of the Committee from Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, and Lebanon attended the meeting.

The meeting was presided by the heads of the Church families of the Council: President of the Council for the Eastern Orthodox family His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, President of the Council for the Greek Orthodox family His Beatitude Patriarch John X, President of the Council for the Catholic family His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael Sako, President of the Council for the Evangelical family Reverend Dr. Habib Badr. Other participants were members of the Executive Committee, the General Secretariat team, and the invitees of Secretary General Dr. Michel E. Abs.

The Service and Relief Department- Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Damascus office, distributed various in-kind kits to students in six schools in Rural Damascus, Aleppo and Homs in order to support the most vulnerable groups.

The students of a school in Bloudan and another in Madaya in Rural Damascus received hygiene and school kits in addition to children clothing kits. In addition, the students of other two schools in Homs and two in Aleppo, received school and hygiene kits.

Desde hace dos años, los ciudadanos libaneses sufren el agravamiento de la crisis económica y el colapso del sistema bancario y de la moneda libanesa. Con el objetivo de hacer frente a esta situación urgente, el Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio sigue apoyando a los grupos más afectados por este desastre económico y de vida para preservar su dignidad y proteger su derecho a una vida digna. Por ello, el Departamento de Servicio y Ayuda – Diakonia, oficina de Beirut, implementó un programa de asistencia en dinero, en asociación y cooperación con la organización humanitaria internacional Norwegian Church Aid – NCA.

MECC distribuye ropa y calzado de invierno a los niños

Con el objetivo de ayudar a las familias a superar uno de los principales problemas del invierno, el Departamento de Servicio y Ayuda – Diakonia, oficina de Damasco, del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio distribuyó ropa de invierno para los niños de Dara'a Al Balad y Um Al-Mayazen, en la gobernación de Dara'a.

Since two years, Lebanese citizens are suffering from worsening economic crises, and the collapse of the banking system and the Lebanese currency. Aiming at facing this urgent situation, the Middle East Council of Churches continues to support the most affected groups by this economic and living disaster in order to preserve their dignity and protect their right to a decent life. Hence, the Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, Beirut office, implemented a cash assistance program, in partnership and cooperation with the international humanitarian organization Norwegian Church Aid – NCA.

MECC Distributed Winter Clothes and Shoes to Children

Aiming at helping families to overcome one of the major winter challenges, the Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, Damascus office, at the Middle East Council of Churches distributed winter clothes for children in Dara’a Al Balad and Um Al-Mayazen in Dara’a Governorate.

“How lovely it is to get together in love our Lord teaches us, When two meet in my name together I will always be in between their gather” (from the “How Lovely” hymn).

On the occasion of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2022, the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches united in prayer, at the invitation of the team of the World Ecumenical Center in Geneva.

The Service and Relief Department- Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s office, implemented sessions on positive parenting for mothers in order to help them deal in a better way with their children and families and to break their daily routine cycle through enabling them to engage in a new positive activity.

In total, the activity targeted 80 mothers whose children were participants in the summer school in July and August.

«ÚNETE para poner fin a la violencia contra las mujeres»

Una de cada dos mujeres declaró que ella o una mujer que conocía había sufrido algún tipo de violencia, y casi una de cada cuatro mujeres se siente insegura en casa... [1]. Son cifras registradas por ONU-Mujeres a partir de los datos de 13 países desde el brote de coronavirus. Pero también son cifras impactantes que describen una dura realidad. De ahí que el peligro sobre la vida de las mujeres sea cada vez mayor, sobre todo porque a menudo se las considera uno de los grupos más débiles de las sociedades.

"UNiTE to End Violence against Women"

One in two women reported that they or a woman they know experienced some type of violence, and nearly one in 4 women feel unsafe at home... These are numbers recorded by the UN Women based on data from 13 countries since the Coronavirus outbreak. But these are also shocking numbers that describe a harsh reality. Hence, danger on women’s life is increasing, specially that they are often considered one of the weakest groups in societies.

A delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches headed by Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs visited His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and president of the Council for the Eastern Orthodox Family, on Wednesday 29 December 2021 at the Patriarchal Headquarters in Atchane, Lebanon.

MECC Distributed Summer Seeds to Farmers in Dara’a

In order to continue supporting poor and affected families through enabling them to participate in the economic life; the Service and Relief Department - Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s office, provided summer seeds to farmers in Samej and Um Al Mayathen villages in Daraa Governorate.

With the aim of restoring livestock- hens breeding which was depleted during war in Syria, and in order to help rural families improve their income; the team of the Service and Relief Department- Diakonia at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria office distributed 30 laying to each of 180 families in Um El Mayathen town in Dara’a Governorate. Some families included female-headed households and others persons with disabilities.