On the twenty-fourth of March every year, the Church celebrates the feast of the Annunciation, the Annunciation of our Lady, the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of Man, and the Mother of the Believers.

The act of the Annunciation in itself constitutes a unique event in the course of the Christian faith as well as in the course of human salvation, as the Lord chose His servant Mary from among all the women of the world to bear in her womb the child who will bear the sins of the world.

How great is the good news and how great were those moments, when the angel of the Lord came to Mary, and announced to her that she would be the mother of God, the mother of the Savior.

No mind and no words can describe the feelings that may have stirred in the heart and soul of Mary as she ascended the path of holiness.

She is the chosen one who will give the world what it has not tired of waiting for and this for many millennia.

How meek and wise are you  O Mary, for the Lord to choose you as a mediator for the coming of the Savior into the world!

MECC Implements an Afforestation Campaign in Kfar Falous, Lebanon

Together for a Safer Home!

With the aim of enhancing environmental awareness and working to protect nature and God's creation, the Middle East Council of Churches continues its green activities with the Ecumenical youth in various countries of the Middle East. Thus, MECC implemented a new forestation campaign, in cooperation with the international humanitarian organization "Danmission", in Kfar Falous region in Lebanon, under the slogan "Plant a tree that will protect ten trees", on Saturday 18 March 2023, with the blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Elie Haddad of the Greek Catholic Melkite Diocese of Sidon and Deir El-Qamar.

A Forestation Campaign in Mahrada, Syria, with MECC

Together for a Green Environment!

Amidst all the dangers that threaten the environment and human life today, it is necessary to enhance environmental awareness and increase green activities with the aim to build a better future and a more sustainable environment. Hence, and as part of the "Season of Creation" program, the Middle East Council of Churches works with the youth in various countries of the Middle East in order to achieve the desired goals through environmental awareness and activities.

Within its ecological mission, the Middle East Council of Churches organized, with the support of the humanitarian international organization “Danmission”, a forestation campaign in the Mahrada region in Syria, as part of the “Forestation Days” project, on Saturday 11 March 2023. Participants were 50 young women and men from the Church accompanied by Father Elias Najjar and Reverend Maan Bachour.

Visits MECC in Beirut

A delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), including Reverend Gabi Aelabouni, Director of the ELCA Middle East and North Africa Department, and Ms. Marie Anne Sliwinski, Senior Director, ELCA Building Resilient Communities office, visited the offices of the Middle East Council of Churches’ General Secretariat in Beirut, on Monday 20 March 2023. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Abs welcomed the delegation.

On the occasion of Mother's Day, Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, Coordinator of the Eco Justice Unit at the Middle East Council of Churches, prepared a special Prayer and recited it during the Sunday Service, on Sunday 19 March 2023, at the National Evangelical Church in Beirut.

Below you can find the text of the Prayer:

God, you have loved us as a father and a mother. You gave us life and sheltered us with your compassionate wings. We come to you with our concerns trusting in your care.

We thank you on this Mothers’ Day, for the gift of motherhood and the intimate bond that unites a person with a mother. We thank you for all the mother around us and for their efforts to preserve the life of their children and guide them towards you.

We confess that the role of the mother is a very difficult these days. We therefore pray for all the mothers who are trying to balance between the demands of life, work and care for their children…

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 a news about the meeting of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs and an MECC delegation with His Holiness Pope Francis, after the General Audience of His Holiness in the Vatican. You can also find the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, which title is “The Antiochian Levant of Life”. In his message, Dr. Abs talked about the tragedies that the people in the East have always suffered from, the East of Christianity, where the disciples were first called Christians. He also condemned all divisions, conflicts and crises, hoping that our Christianity, in the image and likeness of our Christ, is unshakable.

Report: March 17th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report 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. 

As if man-made destruction was not enough, nature came to add to the tragedies of our people in the East, the East of Christianity, where the disciples were  first called Christians, and from which the message spread from its shores and across the ruggedness of its mountains, to the whole world.

Siege, destruction and homelessness, for which the East of Antioch has always been a scene, starting with the devastation of Palestine, to the devastation of Lebanon, to the dismemberment of Iraq and the Levant, were all man-made, and  this according to previous staging and design.

What is this coincidence that these countries, one after the other, were systematically destroyed, their societies disintegrated, their economies dissolved, and their peoples displaced, thus becoming a theater of military operations, a habitat for terrorism, and a scope of violence that is unparalleled in modern history?

Within the activities of an international conference held in Rome and in which the Middle East Council of Churches participated, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs and a delegation from the Council, met His Holiness Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican in Rome, after the General Audience of His Holiness gave, on Wednesday 8 March 2023.

During the meeting, the Secretary General, Dr. Abs and the MECC delegation saluted His Holiness Pope Francis and expressed their appreciation for His Holiness and their intention to ask for an appointment in order to visit His Holiness at a later time.

Meet His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch and a Delegation from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs was accompanied by His Eminence Bishop Munib Younan, Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, in a visit to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome. They met with His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, His Eminence Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Father Hyacinthe Desteville, an official in the Eastern section at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

A Cultural Gathering for Students of Theological Institutes in Egypt

Organized by ATIME

Under the patronage of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and in the presence of His Eminence Bishop Michael, General Bishop and Vice Dean of the Theological Seminary in Anba Ruwais, Egypt, the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) organized a cultural gathering entitled "Care for Nature and Creation". Hence, 150 students from Theological Institutes in Egypt participated in the activity which was held on Friday 3 March 2023, and hosted by the Theological Seminary in Anba Ruwais.

on Charity TV

Father Nicolas Bustros the Paulist, Doctor of Dogmatic Theology and Associate Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, was the guest of Father George Salloum, Lebanese Missionary, in an episode entitled “Trust, You Are the Church” on Charity TV, as part of “Trust and Arise” program, prepared by the Congregation of Consecrated Men and Women in Lebanon. You can watch this episode, in which Father Bustros spoke about the Theological concept of the Church, in the video.

Report: February, 2023

1. Introduction

During February, a catastrophe in the form of an earthquake occurred in Turkey and Syria causing at least 46,400 casualties. As images of the horrifying news spread across television sets and other forms of mass media, one cannot help but wonder: Can the region bear any more calamities? Already, the region’s economy is hanging by a thread and its inhabitants have seen enough death and destruction. Although Turkey’s economy might be in a better spot to handle the earthquake’s ramification, Syria’s war-burdened economy will be unable to handle rehabilitation expenses.

Following the Earthquake that Shook the North of the Antiochian Levant

After the devastating earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, the Middle East Council of Churches’ team in Syria made an interview with His Eminence Archbishop Mor Boutros Kassis, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, in which, and via the following video, he describes the suffering of the Syrian people due to the war and today as a result of the catastrophic earthquake.

on Basics of Organizational Behavior and Work Relations

for the MECC team

With the aim of improving the capabilities of the Middle East Council of Churches’ team and developing its skills at various administrative, professional, cultural and intellectual levels, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs pursues the training program he had launched on the basics of organizational behavior and its foundations, as well as its importance, especially in the institutions’ management.

Hence, Dr. Abs held the second session of the training, which includes several monthly sessions, on Thursday 2 March 2023, with the participation of the MECC team from Beirut in the offices of the Council’s General Secretariat and online from various MECC offices in the region. The session focused on the attitudes that people adopt on many life issues, including work matters. Dr. Abs analyzed the attitudes’ sources and types, as well as their management in the workplace.

The Middle East Council of Churches Stresses that

Women Are Innovative and Creative

“We are innovators, we are creative, we are strong women” was the main theme of the session held by the Middle East Council of Churches, Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, on the occasion of women’s day. It was held on the 8th of March at Our Lady dispensary affiliated to MECC and located in the Sabtieh region, a suburb of Beirut.

Several women gathered to learn how to produce handmade items, useful for various home decorations and recreational purposes. Additionally, the session allowed the women to remedy to the loneliness they feel at home and gave them a chance to bond with each other.

Approaches, Tools and Cautions

Man is an integrated whole, a social, economic and psychological being at the same time. Moreover,  it is not possible to separate these dimensions from each other, nor to work on one of them without working on the other. The same could be said about the main dimension which is religion: it enshrines the story of creation and the path of salvation for the human being who has been discovering his weakness day after day, and his helplessness before the greatness of the Creator and of creation, despite the progress of science and knowledge. This statement is moresow true of humankind, the greater is his knowledge, the greater is his realization of the greatness of his Creator and the more he becomes conscious of his weakness as he ignores the necessity of His support.

As part of its endeavor to support the affected people of the city of Lattakia and with the aim to alleviate the repercussions of the earthquake disaster, the Middle East Council of Churches’ team, Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, visited the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Lattakia. The team met His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasisos Fahed, Metropolitan of Lattakia and Dependencies, as well as representatives of Churches and members of the "Follow-up and Coordination" Committee in the Archdiocese, in order to discuss how to provide support and assistance to the people and mitigate the effects of the earthquake.

Report: March 8th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report 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.