National Evangelical Church of Beirut

Guests from Uniting Church in Australia

Delegates from Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) visited our church on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. Stuart McMillan, the president of UCA, explained the aim of their visit to Lebanon. They wanted to show solidarity with Protestants in Lebanon and extend their relationship with other Christians in the Middle East. They also were interested to know more about people in this area of the world. They spoke about UCA and its ministries. Rev. Badr talked as well about our church, its history and mission. 

The guests also had the chance to attend the closing Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service on Sunday, Jan. 22, at St. Louis in downtown of Beirut. Pastor McMillan introduced the UCA during the worship service stressing the love of Christ that unites us regardless of our race, nation, color and gender. The delegates met as well the church leaders (Patriarch John X, Patriarch Raee, Patriarch Aphrem II) and the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, accompanied by the Australian Ambassador in Lebanon.

From left: Rev. Emmanuel Audisho, Rev, Krikor Youmshakian, Pastor Stuart McMillan, Rev. Habib Badr, Rev. Nabil Mamarbashi, Rev. Rob Floyd, Rev. Gabi Kobrossi. 

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017

As every year of this time between 18th and 25th of January churches of different denominations come together to pray for their unity. This year was a special one since it is the year of 500th anniversary of Reformation. The opening prayer was at the Evangelical Church in Rabieh, Beirut on Sunday 15th, 2017. The patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox church, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II attended the worship service with many bishops, pastors and faithful people. 

Rev. Habib Badr preached from the Prodigal Son parable (Lk15:11-24) on the chosen theme of reconciliation. "We ALL went astray from the Father," said Rev. Badr, "we turned every one to his own way... but the Father, and out of His mercy, went out after them both: the younger son and the elder". Therefore, reconciliation is necessary to come back to ourselves and to the Father again.

Executive Committee of MECC in our Church

Our church hosted the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) on the 16th and 17th of January 2017. Rev. Habib Badr as president of the Evangelical Family in MECC welcomed the Patriarch Youhanna X, the president of the Orthodox Family and Patriarch Aphram II, the president of the Oriental Orthodox Family along with the General Secretary Fr. Michel Jalakh.

Rev. Badr underlined 5 important points concerning the future of MECC. First, the necessity to make MECC activities known to churches, after 42 years of services. Second, the image of MECC for the international organizations needs to be crystallized through united and standard documents on crucial issues that concern us as churches in the ME. Third, a kind of reforming the MECC relationship with Muslims is needed, since MECC played a significant role in strengthening the connection with them. Fourth, MECC played a major role in the diakonia among churches and therefore this should be improved and expanded. Finally, the potential for MECC’s advocacy in different issues, as the issue of Palestine in the past, should also be given much attention.

The MECC executive members also had the chance to visit the Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace.

Intercultural Bible Reading 2016

In December 2016 the Youth Group of our church participated in the Intercultural Bible Reading project. The project was organized for our church and some of Evangelical churches in Nederland. Different youth groups in the two countries exchanged Biblical reflections and also friendship via email. Some of the youth from Nederland even had the chance to visit Lebanon, last summer, and shared many experiences with our youths in order to learn about the Christians, their faith and traditions in the Middle East. And now, it was the term for our youth to do the visit to Nederland. So, three representatives of our church youths visited Nederland at Christmas time in 2016. This was an occasion for them to learn about the churches there, their culture and faith-traditions. This was an enriching experience for our youths and an occasion to widen their perspective about faith and people in the world.

Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches: General Assembly

The 7th General Assembly of the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC) took place in Beirut from 22nd of November to 25th, 2016. FMEEC consists of three Evangelical churches in the ME: Anglican, Lutheran and Reformed. The General Assembly was also combined with the 3rd International Conference on the Evangelicals and Christian Presence in the Middle East. This conference comes as a continuation to FMEEC's previous conferences on the same topic (Cairo - Egypt, 2014 and Beirut 2012).

The opening session took place in Haigazian University of Beirut while the Conference was at Gefinor Hotel. The speakers presented the theme in two days and focused on the complex role of Protestant Churches in bridging the gap between East and West and promoting understanding between different societies.

Lutheran-Catholic Commemoration of Reformation

A Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation took place at Lund Cathedral in Sweden on 31st of Oct. 2016. The theme of the common prayer was taken from John 15: “From Conflict to Communion”. Both Pope Francis and Bishop Younan (president of The Lutheran World Federation) signed a joint declaration aiming at deepening cooperation and solidarity between the two churches. 

Rev. Habib Badr attended the celebration as the president of the Evangelical Family in the Middle East Council of Churches to witness this ecumenical moment in history between the Protestant and the Catholic churches.

While the past cannot be changed, what is remembered and how it is remembered can be transformed. So, the document stated: “We pray for the healing of our wounds and of the memories that cloud our view of one another. We emphatically reject all hatred and violence, past and present, especially that expressed in the name of religion. Today, we hear God’s command to set aside all conflict. We recognize that we are freed by grace to move towards the communion to which God continually calls us.”

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15:4).

Read the JOINT STATEMENT HERE

To see the YouTube of the whole service CLICK HERE

Launching the 500th Anniversary of Reformation in Lebanon

Through a press-conference, hosted by Bishop Boulos Matar, Maronite Bishop of Beirut with Father Abdo Abou Kassm the head of the Catholic Media Center (C.E.C.S) in Lebanon, the Protestant Churches launched the celebrative event of the 500th anniversary of Reformation. This step came as the outcome of long ecumenical relations between Catholic and Protestant churches in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon. In the line of celebrating the Reformation-anniversary Pope Francis also will visit Sweden on 31st of October, 2016 to join an ecumenical commemoration of Reformation. At that time Rev. Habib Badr similarly will travel to Sweden, Lund (where the Lutheran World Federation was formed), to participate in that event. The joint commemoration is a witness to the love and hope in the One Lord, and a sign of reconciliation and cooperation between the two communities.

(Rev. Adeeb Awad, vice president of the Evangelical Synod in Syria and Lebanon, and Rev. Nabil Mamarbashi attended the press conference with some ladies of our NEC Church). 

Memorial Service for Kenneth Bailey

Kenneth E. Bailey is a Biblical scholar, professor, author, Presbyterian missionary and international lecturer. He passed away on 23 May, 2016. The Near East School of Theology (NEST), family and friends who loved Kenneth and his teaching remembered him on Sunday 9th of Oct. 2016 at special memorial service at NEST. 

"Many of us who new Kenneth," said Rev. Badr in his words of comfort, "his steadfast faith, his contentedness in life, his penetrating way of thinking specially as a teacher and Biblical exeget, as well as his creative artistic work... all these show his lasting effect on many of us." Rev. Badr  mentioned also the cross that Kenneth made from the nails of the Old Mission Compound in Downtown of Beirut which is still in the National Evangelical Church. He (and Dr. George Sabra) mentioned about another cross made by Kenneth from two big pieces of wood taken from Dhour Shweir (Mount Lebanon) and is placed in the small chapel of NEST, and is still there. Dr. Kenneth was indeed a source of strength and inspiration. May Kenneth's memory live eternally!

You may see the service on YouTube

Culture of the Word

On the occasion of celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the founding the American University of Beirut (The Syrian Protestant College) Rev. Habib Badr participated in the celebration organized by Abey-Ain Drafil municipality at the old Evangelical seminary in the town, at the cradle of AUB. The ceremony took place on Monday, October 3, 2016. President of AUB, Dr. Fadlo Khouri unveiled a memorial plaque for the occasion. The ceremony included speeches by Rev. Badr, Dr. Khouri, Mr. Ghassan Hamze (Mayer of Abey), and Mr. Mounir Hamze (Association for Revival of Abey Heritage). Music by Ihab Jamal also accompanied the event.

“The Evangelical ethos is based in the culture of the "Word" ”, said Rev. Badr, “therefore, the educating and learning process is an integral part of the Evangelical church since the beginning of the Reformation”. Rev. Badr also encouraged educational institutions in Lebanon to train their students to resolve the conflicts in peaceful and constructive ways. 

The General Assembly of the MECC

The four families of the Middle East Council of Churches (Orthodox, Oriental, Catholic and Evangelical) gathered in Amman for its 11th General Assembly from 6th to 8th of October 2016. The General Assembly was hosted by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and was supported by the welcoming of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

The Assembly has elected Rev. Badr as president of MECC on behalf of the Evangelical Family. He will serve a 4-year term along with Patriarchs Youhanna X Yaziji of the Orthodox (Antiochene) Family, Ignatius Aphrem II of the Oriental (Syrian) Orthodox Family and Louis Roufael Sako of the (Chaldean) Catholic Family. Father Michel Jalkh (far right) was elected General Secretary of MECC for a second term.

The Council reasserted the unity of the churches and called to strengthen the relationship between them and the Churches in the West, having in mind particularly the mass Christian immigration from the Middle East to the West, which has escalated and reached dangerous limits in the last 5 years. However, "we are not hopeless.. because Christ is in our midst".

See the Final Communique (ARABIC)

(Left: Bp. Munib Younan, Patr. Yussef Younan, Rev. Dr. Habib Badr, Patr. Afrem Karim, Patr. Theophilos, Patr. Youhanna Yaziji, Catholicos Aram Keshishian, Fr. Michel Jalkh)