Global Ministries

The Theological and Ecumenical Department of the Middle East Council of Churches has launched its process entitled " Kairos Middle East Towards Churches Global Compact " in a first consultation seminar that brought together about 25 experts in theology and geopolitics from Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and Jordan. The seminar took place over a three-day period from 6 till 8 December 2019 in Bethania, Lebanon.

Lampedusa: Events of the last few weeks

Leggi in italiano Rome (NEV), 18 October 2019 – After the commemorations of 3 October, Lampedusa has fallen back into its tragic routine. In the last two weeks, 20 people died in the Mediterranean, their bodies were recovered by the coastguard and brought to the island. As for the landings, in the same period 21 fortunate people made it safely.  Read more....

This summer, the Orthodox Initiative (OI) has continued to serve Syrian and Iraqi refugees throughout the Kingdom. The OI has also provided support for Jordanian families in the areas surrounding refugee camps, especially in the vicinity of the Al-Faisaliya Refugee Camp at the Northern Badia (Northern Desert) region of the Mafraq Governorate. We also continued to serve Iraqi refugees who remain the country. The OI has provided support for low-income Jordanians, especially in the area of education.

The new issue of the Middle East Council of Churches' quarterly magazine, al-Muntada, (September-October 2019) is now available.  Al-Muntada is a platform where all free voices can be heard with your participation and support!

Click here to read the magazine.

Seventy-one Palestinian civilians, including 28 children, were injured due to Israeli soldiers’ excessive use of force against peaceful protestors at the 78th Great March of Return, on Friday, 11 October 2019. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) fieldworkers documented 33 injuries with live-bullet wounds; 3 civilians, including 2 children, with critical wounds; and others with wounds in the upper body due to direct targeting with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters.

Lord, we come before you ready to lay our anxieties and fears at your feet and ask that you would guard our hearts with your peace which surpasses all understanding. We pray for the peaceful protestors in Gaza and that others would be led to express their grievances using non-violent means. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

The General Secretary of the National Evangelical [Presbyterian] Synod of Syria and Lebanon, the Rev. Joseph Kassab, has provided the following update on the situation in northeast Syria.

The latest invasion by Turkey to the Syrian territories at the Northeast opened a new phase of the war in Syria. The U.S administration decided to leave the fate Kurds in the hand of Turkey after they used them in the last four years in fighting ISIS. 60,000 fighter, mostly Kurds, were recruited by the US and armed under the title of “Democratic Syrian Forces”. Today, the Trump administration strikes a deal with Turkey to create a 30 Km “safe zone” alongside the Syrian-Turkish borders. The claimed target of this operation is to push the anti-Turkey Kurdish militias away from disturbing the national security of Turkey. The second is to move about 2 million Syrian refugees from Turkey into the safe zone.

WASHINGTON: The National Council of Churches joins the Middle East Council of Churches in raising prayers for peace and for an end to the cycle of violence now expressed through Turkish attacks on northeast Syria. While the primary target of the Turkish invasion is the Kurdish population, for whom we are urgently concerned, we also have serious concerns for the Christian communities that are in the path of the Turkish military, including Syrian Orthodox, Armenian, and Assyrian Christians, as well as for the plight of the Yazidi peoples.

As a result of armed struggles and conflict, the beginning of the 21st century was branded as an era of forced migration. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes and belongings, in an attempt to escape the violence and merely rekindle hope for a brighter future. This led to unforeseen socioeconomic ramifications and pressures on host communities; a point which in no ways whatsoever should be blamed on those forced to displace.

The Middle East Council of Churches condemns the terrorist bombing which took place on Thursday July 11, 2019, in front of the Church of Our Lady in Qamishli-Syria. In a phone call to His Holiness Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, MECC Secretary General Dr Souraya Bechealany denounced this criminal act and declared complete solidarity with the Syriac Orthodox Church, especially the faithful in Qamishli. Dr Bechealany said that “our faith will not falter before this treacherous crime nor will our determination waver. We will still defend human dignity and support the efforts to establish peace and spread the culture of dialogue, love and reconciliation “.

Dr. Bechealany and His Holiness Aphrem lifted common prayers for the victims of the bombing to be healed. Together with the Churches of the Middle East they invoked God’s grace for security and peace for the Euphrates and Al-Jazira regions.

Migrants Rescued by the Sea Watch: the FCEI Writes to the European, Canadian and US Churches

LEGGI IN ITALIANO “A Coherent and Sustainable Management for The Migration Flow of the Mediterranean Sea is Needed.” Rome (NEV), May 21th, 2019 – The president of the FCEI, pastor Luca Maria Negro, together with Paolo Naso and Fiona Kendall, the coordinator and legal advisor of the Mediterranean Hope project promoted by FCEI,  sent a letter to sister churches.  Read more...