Farewell to Rev. Nabil Maamarbashi
On Sunday, March 17, 2019 Rev. Nabil Maamarbashi gave his last sermon in our church. Rev. Maamarbashi served the church for more than 10 years pastoring the community of the National Evangelical Church of Hadath and assisting Rev. Habib Badr in the community of Beirut. Now he is going to join his family in Germany and stay there. After the sermon, Rev. Badr with Mrs. Aida Abdel Samad, secretary of the Church Council, decorated Rev. Maamarbashi with a Medal of Service and a pin on which the biblical verse John 3:16 is written.
Rev. Maamarbashi was born in Aleppo and graduated from its University with a BS in Physics. In 1993 he came to Beirut to study at the Near East School of Theology (NEST). He graduated in 1998 with a Masters degree in Theology and got married to Sylvie Avakian. Together, Rev. Maamarbashi and his wife served in the Armenian Evangelical Church of Anjar, Lebanon, and in its Boarding School. At the same time, Rev. Maamarbashi served the Armenian Evangelical Community in Damascus for more than 4 years. In August 2006, he moved with his family to serve at the Johann Ludwig Schneller school in Bekaa-Lebanon as a Chaplain and Boarding Director, caring for the Christian Education there. In August 2008 he moved to Beirut and got ordained at the National Evangelical Church of Beirut and since then he has been pastoring the National Evangelical Church community of Hadath and assisting Rev. Habib Badr in his various church-commitments.
Documentary on Wadi3 Philisteen
The Helping Hand Association hosted in Mach 7, 2019 a special event to view a half hour documentary that tells the story of how the famous Egyption journalist, author and literary critic Wadi3 Philisteen donated his extremely valuable library and personal correspondence to his former student Mrs Selma Mirshaq Sleem. Selma is a member of Helping Hand and our church. It's worth noting that Wadi3, who is now 98, belongs to the Evangelical church in Egypt.
Lutheran Evangelical Church of Denmark Visiting our Church
Rev. Henrik Weigh-Poulsen, bishop of the diocese of Aarhus, which belongs to the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Denmark, preached the sermon at NECB on Sunday, February 24, 2019. The bishop, accompanied by a group of 16 District Deans (Provosts) and 2 staff members of the diocese, are in Lebanon on a study tour organized for them by the Danmission Organization. One of the Deans joined Rev. Badr in offering the pastoral prayer and the whole group sang a hymn in Danish during the service. Rev. Badr and members of the church council met with the group before and after worship to introduce them to NECB and to discuss the situation of the church in Lebanon and the region. Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah also spoke to the group on the same issues afterwards.
4th Lebanese Pipe Organ Week at our Church
For the fourth year, the Lebanese Pipe Organ Week, organized by Notre Dame University (NDU) and Terra Sancta Organ Festival of the Holy Land, the closing concert took place at our church, the National Evangelical Church of Beirut on the 10th of February 2019 (PROGRAM). The organist was Ulrich Walther.
Rev. Badr on Human Fraternity Conference in Abu Dhabi
As president of the Evangelical Family in Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Rev. Habib Badr participated in the International Conference on Human Fraternity from 3-5 of Feb. 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab of Emirates. Many of religious leaders from the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist faiths spoke in Abu Dhabi over peace and brotherhood among religions and challenges that face them. Rev. Badr call to confront the challenges by reviewing the constitutions and laws in all countries in the region that harm the principles of human fraternity and change what can be changed in a way that protects human rights and freedoms.
This conference marked also a historical moment when the Pope Francis signed a Joint Statement with Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar. The document, entitled “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” invited all people who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to work together for peace and free society. Francis is the first Pope ever to visit the Arabian peninsula and celebrating the mass in Sheikh Zayed Sport City Stadium with 120,000 worshipers.
