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International Ecumenical Relations Email: mecc@cyberia.net.lb May, 2007
Preparations for MECC General Assembly have started The preparations for the MECC General Assembly have started by sending out the invitations to member churches, partners, and ecumenical councils. For this purpose, the General Secretary had several meetings with Heads of Churches in Lebanon. The Assembly will be the 9th in the life of the Council and will take place in Cyprus (26 – 30 November 2007). The Executive Committee in its last meeting in Cairo has chosen the following theme for the Assembly “..speaking for Christ, as though God Himself were making His Appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). The Assembly sets the general guidelines and ecumenical strategy of the council for the next four years, elects a General Secretary, and nominates members of the Central committee. Attendance of the Assembly will be MECC Presidents, Heads of Churches in the Middle East, MECC Executive Members representatives of MECC member churches, partners, representatives of other world ecumenical councils, and special guests. Donations to this event are welcomed. For further details contact the General Secretariat office: guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb
General Secretary meets with the Higher Imam of Azhar Aiming at sustaining the Christian – Muslim dialogue and empowering the relationships of MECC with Muslim leadership in the Middle East, the general Secretary visited on May 14th the Higher Imam of Azhar Mosque (HE Sheikh Dr Muhamad Said Tantawi). The meeting tackled the preparations for the third joint conference of MECC and the Higher International Islamic Forum (HIIF), as well as the forthcoming visit of the ecumenical church leaders of Germany to Egypt and Lebanon. It is worth mentioning that the Higher Imam of Azhar is the President of the (HIIF). For further details contact the General Secretariat office: guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb
The Fifth Doha Inter-Faith Conference The MECC General Secretary, HE Bishop Yohanna Kolta - MECC President from Egypt, HE Archbishop George Saliba – Syrian Orthodox Church of Mount Lebanon and MECC Executive Committee member; participated in the fifth Doha (Qatar) Inter-Faith Conference which took place between 7–10 May, and under the theme: “Spiritual Values & World Peace”. The conference aimed at establishing a common platform of dialogue between the three Monotheistic religions. The Conference was focusing on the challenges of dialogue between religions, and the commonalities in spiritualities between religions and its impact on peaceful coexistence. More than 150 religious and non-religious personalities participated in the Conference. In his opening speech, Archbishop Saliba talked about the religious values which are reflected in the Human Rights charter, and about the international peace which can be achieved through the implementation of the spiritual values that religions have given. Archbishop Kolta stated that human beings are in need for each others and conflicts between nations cannot be solved without joining hands together. Among the important recommendations of the Conference are the encouragement of spreading the culture of understanding, reconciliation and dialogue among the nations; and the establishment of the International Centre for Inter-Faith Dialogue in Doha. Archbishop Saliba was elected as a member of the International Consultation Council for Inter-faith Dialogue. For reference and further details click on: www.qatar-conferenes.com
NCCCUSA Women delegation visited the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan A delegation of women from the National Council of Churches in USA (NCCUSA) visited the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during the period of May 10 – 14, 2007. The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the situation in Jordan as a place of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence, gain immense perspectives and insights about the overall situation of the Middle East conflict, and shed light on the plight of women and children in the Middle East and to lift up their voices to be heard around the world. The NCCUSA delegation comprises of 15 women church leaders from several denominations in USA affiliated with PCUSA. During their pilgrimage in Jordan, the delegation had several visits and meetings: meeting with RHR Prince Hassan Bin Talal, the MECC General Secretary, the former spokeswoman for the Jordanian Government and the minister for information and media, the Orthodox Women Society, leading Jordanian women, church leaders, and visited the Gaza Palestinian refugee camp accompanied by the DSPR Chair Person, the Jordanian Inter-Faith Coexistence research Centre in Amman, and the King Abdullah II Center for Excellence. In his meeting with the group, RHR Prince Hassan highlighted the overall situation in the Middle East stressing on the investment in dialogue and peace. One of the most profound meetings in their pilgrimage was meeting with Iraqi women who were living as guests in Jordan. The MECC Office Director in Amman Ms Wafa Gousous organized the visit and accompanied the group. The ecumenical women delegation continues its visit to Palestine/Israel and heard difficulties of Palestinian women and children under Israeli strict security measures. For further details contact Ms Wafa Gousous: wafa_mecc@go.com.jo
MECC Holds its Annual Partners’ Meeting in Harisa, Lebanon The MECC Partners’ meeting held in Lebanon from May, 22-23 2006, and came at another difficult time where Lebanon was undergoing a round of armed conflict which this time is between the Lebanese army and a terrorist organization called “Fateh Al-Islam”. Nevertheless, many of MECC partners were able to come, meet and express their solidarity and support to the churches of the Middle East and to their Council. But due to the insecure situation, a field visit to the South was canceled.
The two-day meeting addressed significant issues of concerns related to the life of the Council. In addition to the usual business agenda that included narrative, auditing and financial reporting, a report from the MECC General Secretary was presented by Mr Guirgis Saleh who reflected on the situation of the Middle East, highlighted the unique role of MECC amidst the conflicts, the importance of maintaining the Christian presence, the financial situation of the Council, and the emergency relief work that MECC handled in Lebanon last year. An overview of the situation in region and the challenges facing the Christians in the Middle East in general was contributed by Mr. Sameh Fawzi, a journalist and political analyst from Egypt.
Four of the Executive Committee members sat on a forum to present the role of MECC in the region and the importance of MECC to member churches. The speakers were HE Archbishop Bolos Mattar of the Maronite Church, HE Archbishop George Saliba of the Syrian Orthodox Church, HE rev Dr Salim Sahyouni Head of the Evangelical Union of Syria & Lebanon. The fourth member was absent due to security situation.
The “Restructuring and Reprogramming” paper, which was approved by the Executive Special Committee, was discussed at length. Partners have indicated their remarks about the changes that will take place and hoped that it will be considered.
High on the agenda was the issue of ICNDR (Inter-Church network for Development & relief in Lebanon) proposed restructuring visions. A draft paper was formulated at the meeting which combined the two visions of MECC Executive Committee and the partners on restructuring the ICNDR. The paper is considered as an “understanding” which will be circulated to MECC Special Committee for further discussion. For further details contact: mecc@cyberia.net.lb
HB Cardinal Botros Sfeir receives MECC Partners The MECC General Secretary and a delegation of MECC partners and staff visited His Beatitude Cardinal Botros Sfeir Head of the Maronite Church in Lebanon. The meeting on the 21st of May came at a time when Lebanon was undergoing a tragic situation of conflict. HB expressed his wishes for peace in Lebanon.
MECC Amman office hosted the ACT CO regional meeting ACT members involved in the humanitarian situation and response in and out of Iraq met in Amman - Jordan from May 28th till June the 1st, 2007, and hosted by MECC Amman office. Participants in the meeting from the global network of ACT and the Middle East discussed the possibilities of future involvement of local partners such as MECC in operational relief work inside Iraq, what kind of urgent responses can be in accordance with the situation there, what are the needs and the situation of Iraqi displaced people in Jordan and Syria, and who can be the target group of Iraqis that most need assistant (women, students, children etc..). For further details contact Ms Wafa Ghousous: wafa_mecc@go.com.jo
MECC General Secretary Inaugurated an Exhibition of Icons On its 17th year memorial of its establishment and on the occasion of the Month of the Lady in the Catholic churches, the “Tele Lumiere – Nour Sat” satellite TV organized on 21st of May an exhibition of the Icons of the Lady under the name “This is Your Mother”. The MECC General Secretary inaugurated the exhibition and congratulated the leaders of the “Tele Lumiere” by saying that the “Tele Lumiere is an important Christian Arabic TV channel which proclaims the message of love, peace and justice to all people in the Middle East and abroad. It enforces the Christian presence in the ME and the coexistence”. Other speakers on this occasion stressed the importance of such world icons exhibition in proclaiming the Good News. For further information click on: www.mec-churches.org
Family Counseling Training Seminar in Syria The Unit on Education & Renewal held the second phase training seminar on “family counseling” in Aleppo – Syria (3 – 5 May, 2007). The training was a follow up process of training seminars for ministers and lay people from local churches who are nominated to be trained on family counseling. The MECC hired a trainer from Egypt to do the training and a follow up meeting was scheduled to reflect on the impact of such training in the local churches. For further details contact Mr Razek Siriani: rsiriani@scs-net.org
JPHR Coordinator participates in two consultations on May 24 The JPHR coordinator attended on 24/5/2007 two successive consultations organized by the "Assemblée des Patriarches Catholiques et des Eveques Catholiques au Liban" at the main siege in Jounieh – Lebanon. Present were the active NGO's that deal with development in Lebanon and those who are active in lobbying for rights in the field of civil and political rights, citizenship and belonging. The meeting aimed at shaping out a mechanism of coordination between the different actors in the civil society in the hope of providing a better result for the benefit of the person, the community and the society in general. An affirmed recommendation has been formulated aiming at follow up on regular basis, and to work on a data base that help the members of the steering committees which were formed at the founding meeting in April 2007. The role of the said committees is to select and decide on the activities in order to avoid duplication and complement the work between the different NGOs and to know who is doing what in Lebanon in the targeted fields and what we can do together for the best interest of society. Participants designed a moderator to each committee and decided on a fixed date to meet once per month. For further details contact Ms Alexa Abi-Habib: mecccypr@spidernet.com.cy
The DSPR Central Committee met in Amman The Central Committee of the Department of Services for Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) met in Amman – Jordan (25 – 26 May) to review its work and services to the Palestinian refugees. The DSPR Executive Secretary reported to the CC on the DSPR work in Jerusalem, West bank, Galilee, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan. The MECC General Secretary praised the work of DSPR and encouraged further services to Palestinians especially in Gaza and Lebanon after the escalation of the security situation in the camps, and further coordination with the MECC/ICNDR program.
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