Under the theme “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27), the Arab Republic of Egypt inaugurated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, in a Prayer Service presided over His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, on Wednesday 13 March 2024, in the Church of Church of the Great Martyr Saint George and Anba Ebram - Heliopolis - Cairo.

Fifty

On the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Egypt, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel E. Abs attended the opening Prayer of this week, headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, during which he delivered a speech entitled “Fifty.” At its beginning, Dr. Michel Abs addressed His Holiness Pope Tawadros II with a word of love and condolence following the attack, on Monday 12 March 2024, on three monks from the Coptic Orthodox Church at the Monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Thursday 14 March 2024

On the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Arab Republic of Egypt and as part of the tour of the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs in Egypt, Dr. Abs will be the guest in a special episode on the Egyptian “Al Keraza” TV channel with the MECC Associate Secretary General Reverend Dr. Refaat Fikry.

Watch the episode live on Thursday 14 March 2024, at 8:00 pm Cairo time, 10:00 am California time, and 5:00 am Sydney time.

Together Towards Enhancing the Work Mechanisms!

Capabilities development and skills improvement are among the most prominent objectives of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) which seeks in every new opportunity to empower its team work and expand the horizons of its tasks in order to achieve the desired Ecumenical and humanitarian goals.

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches organized a training on the new policies and procedures prepared and adopted by the Council with the aim of developing its work mechanisms. The training, which was programmed with the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, extended over two days, Thursday 7 and Friday 8 March 2024, at the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut.

The training was moderated by the MECC Human Resources Senior Officer Mrs. Roula Saliba, in which participants were the team of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut, and the team of our Lady Dispensary, affiliated with the MECC, in the Sabtieh region –Mount Lebanon. Hence, the training included many sessions and practical exercises, all of which centered, in details, on the policies and procedures for the recruitment process, employee files and all issues related to their duties, rights and performance. In addition, the training highlighted the policies and procedures related to whistleblowing, and the protection from sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (PSEAH)…

The escalation occurring in the South, resulted in the displacement of several citizens in various areas of Lebanon. They were forced to abandon their homes, possessions, and sources of livelihood during a time when the economic crisis is still prevailing. Already, the government was not able to provide the right circumstances for ordinary citizens to maintain their livelihood and source of income as many of the Lebanese population have fallen below the poverty line.

According to recent estimates, 80% of the Lebanese live in poverty and 36% below the extreme poverty line.  As such, many are not able to acquire the basic necessities that encompass food, medication, heating equipment, and hygiene & dignity supplies etc... Expectations indicate, amidst the urgency of the situation, that between April and September 2024, about 1.14 million people are expected to face high levels of food insecurity and are likely to be in a crisis or emergency phase according to standards set by the Integrated Food Security Classification. As such the issue of the internally displaced people (IDPs) coming from the South, came at an unfavorable time during which humanitarian needs are already shocking.

Words Stressing the Need to Strengthen Relations Between the Churches

Cairo, 3-13-2024

In the context of strengthening relations between the Churches and emphasizing the role of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in spreading the spirit of love among all, and in preparation for the activities of the MECC Fiftieth Year of its Founding, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, visited, with a delegation from the Council, the Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Egypt, North Africa and the Horn of Africa  His Eminence Bishop Sami Fawzi Shehata at the headquarters of the Episcopal Church in Cairo.

The meeting was attended by the MECC Honorary Secretary General Dr. Gergis Saleh, the MECC Associate Secretary General Reverend Dr. Refaat Fikry, the Secretary General of the Egypt’s Council of Churches Father Yachouh Yacoub, and the journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Coordinator of Communication for Church Relations.

The meeting was characterized by a spirit of love, as Dr. Michel Abs spoke about the MECC role in strengthening relations between Churches, as well as the MECC work regarding lectures, programs and projects it implements embracing humanity and including everyone without exception.

With a Delegation from the Council, Emphasizing the Role of Media in Building Humanity

Cairo, 3-13-2024

Many topics, aspirations and important files were the highlight of the meeting of His Beatitude Patriarch Anba Ibrahim Isaac, Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, and Head of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Egypt, with the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, and the Council’s delegation, at the Patriarchate headquarters - Cairo.

The meeting was attended by the MECC Honorary Secretary General Dr. Gergis Saleh, the MECC Associate Secretary General Reverend Dr. Refaat Fikry, and the Coordinator of Communication for Church Relations the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary.  

Following the welcoming, the two parties discussed important topics related to the issues of the Christian role in the Middle East, Ecumenical witness, cooperation between Churches, the role of MECC in raising new problems at the humanitarian and social levels, and the MECC activities on the occasion of the Fiftieth Year of its Founding.

Wednesday 13 March 2024 - 6 pm, on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel

Watch with us the live streaming of the opening of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from the Church of the Great Martyr Saint George and Anba Ebram, Egypt, at 6:30 pm on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel. The opening Prayer will be headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Mark, and in the presence of the Heads of Churches.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs will deliver a speech during the opening Prayer.

Cairo, 3-12-2024

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs left Lebanon heading to the Arab Republic of Egypt, to participate in the opening of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Dr. Michel Abs will also have tours and visits to the Heads of Churches, lectures, and fruitful meetings with the aim of enhancing the activities of the Fiftieth Jubilee of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches.

He was received at Cairo International Airport by the MECC Associate Secretary General Reverend Dr. Refaat Fikry, amid great love and hospitality.

The Middle East Council of Churches Congratulates Him

The Media Office of the Patriarchal Edifice - Bkerke distributed the news issued by the Secretariat of the Maronite Patriarchate regarding the promotion of Father Michel Jalkh the Antonine, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in the Vatican and Honorary Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), to the Episcopal Rank, as it stated:

“His Holiness Pope Francis elevated the Antonine Monk Father Michel Jalakh, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in the Vatican, appointed since February 2023, to the Episcopal Rank with the title of “Titular Archbishop of Nisibis dei Maroniti.” His Episcopal Ordination will be celebrated in Bkerke on Saturday 8 June 2024. ".

On this occasion, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) extends its warmest congratulations to Father Jalakh, Honorary Secretary General, wishing him good health and continued success, raising Prayers to God to bless his testimony and his service in the field of the Lord.

I found no better description of the state of addiction than some sections of the poem “Al-Maslool” (The Tuberculous) by the Lebanese poet Al-Akhtal Al-Saghir. In this poem, the poet considers that the current state of the tuberculous is the result of his addiction to the love of a woman of “passion”, describing him as being “killed by the passion of a girl of passion”. And his advice is, “If you pass by her alike, then change your way.”

Al-Akhtal begins his poem saying, “A year has passed, and if you venture out to that road in the countryside, and turn your face right, you see a face that makes you tremble when remembered.”

He continues, describing the condition of addiction: “The man of yesterday has become a lean creature with a stripped body, his words are confused, his breath unsteady.”

On the occasion of the “World Day of Prayer,” which women around the world celebrate as an annual Ecumenical day on the first of March, the Women’s Committee of the Armenian Evangelical Church “Nor Marash” in Bourj Hammoud - Lebanon, organized a Prayer Service on the morning of Friday 1 March 2024. Participants were women from various Armenian Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox Churches, in the presence of the Church’s Pastor Reverend Raffi Messerlian, the Coordinator of Church Relations at the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) Reverend Nishan Bakalian, and the Associate Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Mrs. Seta Hadeshian.

Under the theme that was adopted for the year 2024, “I Beg You... Bear With One Another in Love,” based on the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians 4:1- 7. The Prayer Service included a special program prepared by the “World Day of Prayer” Committee in Palestine, the country that was chosen this year for the Day of Prayer. Noting that some women wore Palestinian traditional cloths, as well as some objects symbolizing the Palestinian tradition were placed on a table.

The program included a presentation about Palestine, the most prominent historical stations it passed through and the traditions that characterize it, in addition to Prayers and Reflections that brought a lot of hope on the intentions of Palestine, Lebanon, Armenia and the world. Participants also listened to the stories of three Palestinian women, highlighting their courage, perseverance, and dedication to not giving up in the face of life’s challenges and their determination to return to their homeland.

Under the theme adopted for the “World Day of Prayer” 2024, “I Beg You... Bear With One Another in Love,” based on the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians 4: 1-7, and in celebration of this World Ecumenical Day, the Women’s Committee of the Armenian Evangelical Church “Nor Marash” in Bourj Hammoud - Lebanon, organized a Prayer Service on the morning of Friday 1 March 2024. Hence, the video highlights this Prayer and what it included.

A delegation from the ACT Church of Sweden visited the offices of the Middle East Council of Churches, on Monday 4 March 2024. It included the Programme Manager of the Middle East Unit of the ACT Church of Sweden Mrs. Anna Levin, and the Regional Representative in the Middle East of ACT Church of Sweden based in Amman, Jordan, Mrs. Jessica Lindberg Dik.

The delegation met with the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, the Associate Secretary General Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Director of the Lebanon’s Office at the Diakonia and Social Service Department Ms. Nina Hallak, the Director of the Financial Department Ms. Laudy Al Khoury, and the Executive Assistant to the Secretary General Mrs. Caroline Haddad.

A New Afforestation Campaign in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley

Within the series of the “Environmental Days” that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) had previously launched, the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department continues to implement various environmental, educational and agricultural activities in many countries of the Middle East, in order to promote environmental culture and work for the creation care. Noting that this program is being executed with the support of “Danmission” organization, and the participation of young people from youth, Apostolic and scout movements and groups.

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches organized an environmental day in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, specifically in the villages of Terbol and Ablah, on Saturday 2 March 2024. It was implemented in cooperation with Youth For Christ and Manara Youth Center students, and in collaboration with the Order of Saint Basil the Great, the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, the Association for Forests, Development and Conservation (AFDC), the Think Environmental Initiative, and the Engineer Georges Hanna. Participants were young people from the Manara Youth Center, the National Education Scouts, the Environmental Youth of Our Lady of Ablah, and the Saint Takla School in Terbol.

In Terbol, the environmental day was attended by the President of Michel Daher Foundation Mrs. Marleine Daher, and the Head of the Ecumenical Committee for Youth in Egypt Mr. Medhat Fayez Obaid, where the Head of the Coordinator of the MECC environmental programs Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, welcomed them and the participants. He also taught the youth how to plant the “Gharse” tree. As well as, the attendees named the garden of Saint Takla School “The Garden of the Fruits of Hope,” in preparation for the “Season of Creation” 2024, which carries the theme "To hope and act with Creation".

On the occasion of the “World Day of Prayer,” which women around the world celebrate as an annual Ecumenical day on the first of March, the “Day of Prayer” Committee in Lebanon held a Prayer Service in the Grace Chapel of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut, on the evening of Friday 1 March 2024, under the theme, “I Beg You... Bear With One Another in Love,” based on the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians 4: 1-7. Thus, the video highlights this Prayer and the program of celebration of the “World Day of Prayer”.

On the first of March every year, women around the world celebrate the “World Day of Prayer” as an international Ecumenical Day. How did it start?

The video presents an answer and highlights the goals of this day and the theme that was adopted this year.

The Monthly Webinar Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: Immunization must be achieved through constant awareness and education because treatment after a fall means losing half the battle - a battle for the future

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) held a new webinar entitled “Human dignity of the Addicted Youth”, on Thursday 29 February 2024, with the participation of specialists, academicians, universities’ students and interested attendees in the topic at hand. Noting that this webinar comes as part of the monthly seminar which MECC is organizing within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively.

The webinar, which was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook Page, included three interventions, moderated by Dr. Lubna Tarabey, who denounced in her opening speech the phenomenon of drug addiction, mentioning its causes and repercussions, stressing the role of states in reducing it and the importance of preserving human dignity.

The webinar began with a speech delivered by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, in which he said, “We know that the forms of addiction are diverse, as are the types of drugs, human failures, environmental compositions, and the follow-up and immunization that can be obtained during or after treatment. If drug abuse constitutes a major social scourge that indicates a structural, socio-economic, political, and psychological imbalance, its promotion and the failure to eliminate it indicate one of two things: either the complicity of those in charge of this matter in the government, or the state’s weakness, which is unable to protect the youth of its society. Either way, it is a sad and major disappointment for the concerned observer.”

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 a news about the visit of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs to His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus Georgios, on Wednesday 28 February 2024, at the Patriarchate headquarters in Nicosia. The meeting was attended by the Member of the MECC Executive Committee Father Younes Nikolaou, and the Director of His Beatitude’s Office Mr. Michael Spiro, Alternative Member of the MECC Executive Committee.

As for the weekly message of the Secretary General Dr. Abs, it is entitled this week “Modern society in its socio-economic challenges and contradictions”, in which he talked about the contradictions that we witness on a daily basis in the modern world that pose a challenge to any person in terms of the values he was raised with.

Egypt is preparing to launch the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity under the theme “You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Hence, the video presents a highlight of the Prayers that will be held in Egypt in celebration of this week.