Joint Lebanese - German Worship Service

The Fifth International Consultation on Protestant Reformation organized by the Near East School of Theology (NEST) and "Studium im Mittleren Osten" (SiMO) from June 24 - 27, 2016 - Beirut, Lebanon. The theme of this consultation was focused on Protestant Reformation. Many significant lectures and profound analyses to Reformation and its impact in Middle East churches and culture took place at NEST.

On Sunday, June 26, a joint service between German and Lebanese worshippers held at our church.

The participants had the chance also to meet the grand Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, and Bishop Boulos Matar of the Maronite Diocese of Beirut.   

Rev. Uwe Gräbe, Bishop Dr. Jochen Cornelius-Bundschuh; Prof. Martin Tamcke; Rev. Dr. Habib Badr; Prof. George Sabra

Workshop on Diakonia

Our church participated—beside others (27 participants in all)—in a workshop on diakonia that took place between 6-9 June 2016, in 'Our Lady of the Well' Covent (dair Sayedet el-Beer) Metn, Lebanon. This workshop was organized by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) with the collaboration of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The participants gathered from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq as well as South Africa and Norway in order to to consolidate the cooperation among churches of the Middle East and empower the prophetic services to bring changes to the unfair political, economic and social structure that generates poverty oppression and violence.

The workshop called for ecumenical advocacy inscribing the reasons of violence and war in the region and the needs to support the massive numbers of internally displaced people, refugees and migrants. Diaknoia is the Church; it is the task of humankind toward creation and each other, as it was articulated by the speakers. This would contribute to bring a change to people's lives and to the poor, serving mainly the less fortunate ones. A second workshop will take place in November, 2016 with even more participants.

EMS Mission Council 2016

Rev. Habib Badr, as member of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) Presidium, attended the Spring Meeting of the EMS Mission Council in Hofgeismar, Germany, hosted by the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen - Waldeck. They will take the decision about their projects 2017 -2018. They will further support the Preschool in Kafroun (Syria), the education of refugee children in the Schneller School and the vocational training for women. 

EMS is an association of 23 churches and five mission societies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. It is active in mission and church cooperation worldwide. They work to enhance the living conditions worldwide. In particular, they advocate the rights of poor, marginalized and vulnerable people. They promote a respectful encounter over cultural and religious borders. They learn from each other and with each other, they take decisions in common and share their resources. They live a vivid and solidary partnership.