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International
Ecumenical Relations
Email:
mecc@cyberia.net.lb
October,
2007
On the Way to
Paphos/MECC 9th Assembly
The MECC is busy
with the final preparations for its 9th General Assembly
which will take place in St. George Hotel, in the town of Paphos/Cyprus
(26 – 30 November). The agenda of Assembly will include a report from
the General Secretary, reports of the Units and Departments for the past
four years, business sessions of election of the General Secretary, the
election of the Presidents, as well as the appointment of the new
Executive Committee members who will be meeting right after the
Assembly. The Assembly will have a half day of reporting and in depth
discussions regarding the restructuring of the Council. Hundred and
twenty persons are expected to attend the Assembly including Patriarchs
(Heads of Churches), sixty four representatives of member churches
(Eastern Orthodox – Oriental Orthodox – Catholic – Evangelicals) who are
eligible for voting, as well as guests, international partners and media
personnel. The Assembly have chosen the theme from 2 Corinthians 5:20
“So we are
ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us”,
which will be
reflected in morning prayers and Bible reflections. Since its
establishment in 1974, the Council is representing the ecumenical
movement in the Middle East and became an instrument for churches to
witness their unity in diversity. The MECC website:
www.mec-churches.org will report on daily basis the events of the
Assembly.

Assembly’s Moto
The Holy Pontiff
of Rome named Patriarch Dalli of the Chaldean Church as Cardinal
The Holy Pontiff of
Rome His Holiness Pope Benedictos named His Beatitude Patriarch Emanuel
Dalli of the Chaldean Catholic church as “Cardinal”. This step was
considered by many Catholic churches as a unique jest from the Holy
Pontiff for Christians in Iraq, and represents an appreciation for the
efforts that the Patriarch is bringing about peace. Patriarch Cardinal
Dalli is residing in Iraq and he is the Head Spiritual leader of the
biggest Christian Community in Iraq.
The MECC General
Secretary congratulated His Beatitude in a special letter on this
consecration, and wishes that peace may prevail soon in Iraq.
MECC General
Secretary Congratulated Muslims on Fitr Islamic Feast
After the fasting
month of Ramadan, Muslims celebrated the feast of “Fitr”. On this
occasion, the MECC General Secretary issued a statement, in which he
congratulated Muslims all over the Islamic world on this feast, and
stressed on the importance of maintaining values of coexistence and
tolerance as a good example for the world to live.
MECC Director of
Amman Office meets with NCA Director
The Director of MECC
Amman office met with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) Head Quarter Staff and
the Finance Manager on Oct. 4th. The discussion was about
MECC latest activities in Jordan, the preparations for the General
Assembly, and exchange information about the work with Iraqi Refugees.
For further
information contact Ms Wafa Ghousous:
wafa_mecc@go.com.jo
NCA Delegation’s
visit to Syria
Between (6 – 9
October), a delegation from the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) visited Syria
aiming at learning about churches in Syria and the situation of Iraqi
refugees. The delegation met with Heads of Churches, church leaders,
Iraqi Christian families who thanked the Syrian Government for hosting
them and talked about their sufferings being forced to be displaced from
their home country. The NCA supports a project for Iraqis in Syria. The
MECC office in Damascus facilitated the program of the visit.
For further
information contact Mr Samer Laham and Mr Razek Siriani:
laham-s@scs-net.org,
rsiriani@scs-net.org
MECC Offices in
Syria Distributed Food Relief Items to Iraqis
During the first
week of October, the MECC offices in Syria implemented the first phase
of distributing food relief items to Iraqi refugees’ families in the
areas of Damascus, Damascus suburbs, and Aleppo. The (1500) boxes
contained (15) food items of different materials such as: sugar, rice,
tomato past, cooking oil, tea etc… The relief food distribution was a
project supported by “Diakonie” organization in Germany. The MECC
offices in Syria will carry a second phase of distribution of food
relief to Iraqi families during the month of November and it is
supported by ACT.
Annual Ecumenical
Women Seminar in Syria
The Women Program in
Syria held its annual seminar at St Thomas Catholic Retreat House –
Saydnaya near Damascus (3 – 7 October). Fifty five women attended the
seminar under the theme “women and men are partners in decision
making”. Women discussed the participation of women in decision
making at the personal level and in society.
For further
information contact:
rsiriani@scs-net.org,
chiniara@scs-net.org
7th
Christian-Muslim Youth Seminar in Jordan
Under the theme:
“Christian & Muslim Youth between Religious Commitment and Changing
Culture”, the MECC General Secretariat office in cooperation with
the Unit on Education & Renewal organized in Amman – Jordan the 7th
Christian-Muslim Youth Seminar (17 – 21 October). Forty five Christian
and Muslim, young women and men from Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Egypt and
Lebanon met to further enhance their learning about each others
religion, build bridges of trust, understanding, respect and tolerance,
and establish a network of communication and flow of information. Since
four years, the MECC is investing in bringing young Christians and
Muslims in a sort of dialogue about common issues of social and
religious concerns. The MECC is committed to further develop a young
generation who carries the values of tolerance, acceptance and respect.
A final communiqué was produced at the end of the seminar.
For further
information contact:
wafa_mecc@go.com.jo,
shaher.luka@gmail.com,
rsiriani@scs-net.org

Christian-Muslim
Youth Encounter in Amman-Jordan 2007
Catholic Churches
Agreed on a Joint Human Right Forum with MECC
The “Council of
Catholic Churches in the Middle East” convened in Lebanon (15 – 19
October) under the theme: “Blessed are those who make peace”. The
Council studied in depth documents on the Christian presence in the
Middle East within the political and religious conflicts that the region
is undertaking, and other related spiritual and pastoral issues
affiliated to the mission of the Catholic churches. The MECC General
Secretary Mr Guirgis Saleh and Ms Alexa Abi-Habib the coordinator of the
Human Rights Program were present during the session on ecumenical
relations. The MECC prepared and presented a project to the Catholic
Council on establishing a joint “Christian Forum on Human Rights”.
The Heads of the Catholic churches and their Council encouraged and
approved the establishment of such an important “Forum” in cooperation
with MECC because it will ultimately help and advocate for peace and
stability.
For further
information contact:guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb,mecccypr@spidernet.com.cy
Church Leaders
Condemn the Killing of a Palestinian Christian in Gaza
As leaders of the
Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical (Lutheran and Anglican) Churches, we
condemn with deep sorrow the deliberate murder of Mr. Rami Ayyad. Mr.
Ayyad, a Christian, used to work at the Palestinian Bible Society
bookshop which was burned six weeks ago by unidentified gunmen. This
tragic incident is the first of its kind. We appreciate the Islamic, and
National leaderships that joined us in condemning this terrible
crime. At the same time, we remind all to continue to pay serious
attention to the overwhelming daily escalation of human rights' abuses
that hurts the whole Palestinian Society, both Muslims and Christians.
We call on all to unite as one and resist this and all kinds of
extremism and to commit to learn together as faithful Christians and
Muslims to respect one another. We also request the relevant
authorities to take all necessary measures in bringing the attackers to
justice and end such atrocities. Finally, we ask God to strengthen the
efforts to build peace and stability so that we can achieve security,
justice and independence for all in this troubled region. To this end,
we pray for the protection of our people and an end to the embargo and
isolation of Gaza that is threatening the well-being of the entire area.
Text copied from
resource: Mr Yusef Daher, Executive Secretary of Jerusalem Inter-Church
Centre (JIC):
yusf66jrs@yahoo.com
A delegation from
the Church of Sweden visited Syria & Jordan
Three persons from
the Church of Sweden: Rev Kjell Jonasson Associate Executive Secretary
and Liaison Officer with MECC and WCC; Carolina Grelsson, Programme
Officer for Humanitarian Assistance, Thomas; a press officer; visited
Syria and Jordan between 22 – 26th of October. The visit
aimed at learning about the situation of Iraqi refugees in these two
countries. In Syria, the delegation met with many Iraqi Christian
families, listened to their sad stories and sufferings, witnessed the
distribution of food items, and met with MECC officers and other
organizations that are providing the facilitation for the relief. In
Jordan, the delegation met with MECC office Director in Amman, Caritas
officers and Iraqi families at the Syrian Orthodox Church. The MECC and
the CS delegation agreed on furthering the advocacy work on Iraqi
Christian refugees
For further
information contact:
laham-s@scs-net.org,
rsiriani@scs-net.org,
wafa_mecc@go.com.jo

Church of Sweden’s
Delegation in Syria
MECC office in
Amman received a delegation from PCUSA
On the 25th October
the MECC Amman office received a delegation from the Presbyterian Church
of USA. The delegation was informed about the work of MECC in Jordan and
the situation of Iraqis.
For further
information contact:
wafa_mecc@go.com.jo
MECC Life &
Service Director becomes a member on ACT – SDSG
The Action by
Churches Together (ACT) has approved the nomination of Mrs Seta
Hadeshian (Director of the Unit on Life & Service) to be a Middle East
representative on the ACT Alliance Capacity Development Steering Group
for 2008 – 2009.
The MECC
congratulates Mrs Hadeshian on this selection.
Ecumenical
Christian Pilgrimage to Antioch
Churches in Aleppo –
Syria are organizing an ecumenical pilgrimage to Antioch on the 27th
of October to celebrate the 1700 years memorial on the death of St John
the Chrysostomos. The pilgrimage which will be headed by some church
leaders and with the participation of no less than 1500 faithful
Christians from different denominations, will reach Antioch (South
Turkey), have an ecumenical worship, and see the place where St John
used to live and did his Christian mission. The Pilgrimage is part of
series of activities that churches together carried during 2007
including lectures, seminars, exhibitions, dramas and establishing a
special website for the occasion:
www.johnchrysostom.com
5th
Ecumenical Training Seminar on Nursing
The Unit on Life &
Service and in cooperation with the local Committee on Health in Egypt
organized the fifth training seminar on skills of nursing under the
theme: “Improving the Efficiency of Nursing in all its Specialization”,
(18 – 21/10/2007). The training seminar tackled issues related to theme
such as: nursing the mother after delivery, new medial inventions for
nursing, and the ethics of nursing…The (120) participants represented
(14) regions in Egypt.
For further
information contact:
meccls@cyberia.net.lb
Reception of
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The General
Secretary and some MECC senior staff met in Beirut office (26 October)
with the President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the
Interim Dean of the Lexington Theological Seminary, and the Executive
Secretary for Middle Eat and Europe in the Global Ministries. The one
hour meeting informed the group about the work and activities of MECC
and discussed briefly the challenges.

MECC General
Secretary is welcoming the President of the Disciples of Christ’s Church
Christian
Education in Syria
The Unit on Life and
Service/Human Resource Development (HRD) Program organized a training
workshop in Damascus/Syria (25 – 27/October/2007) on “Christian
Education – Towards its Comprehensiveness”. The workshop targeted
(46) Sunday Scholl teachers, religious educators, Priests and Pastors.
The workshop through its introductory sessions enlightened the
participants about new theories of education and its responsibilities.
Through workshops, group discussions, and role playing participants were
trained on new methodologies of cooperative and effective learning, and
on skills of dialogue and problem solving.
Or further
information contact:
meccls@cyberia.net.lb
Ecumenical Day of
Prayer for Youth
On the 30th
of October, the Youth Program in Egypt organized the annual ecumenical
day of prayer for young people and under the theme: “No for
Fundamentalism”. Young participants prayed for peace and refused
acts of fundamentalism.
For further
information contact:
jouna@link.net
Thank you for
reading the MECC NewsBrief. If you have any comments, questions or
suggestions, please let us know at
mecc@cyberia.net.lb
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