Conference of European Churches (CEC) Delegation in Lebanon
The delegation of five included Reverend Jean Arnold de Clermont, CEC President, the Very Reverend Margarethe Isberg, CEC Deputy Vice-President, H.E. Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and member of the CEC Presidium and Central Committee, the Venerable Colin Williams, CEC General Secretary, and Reverend Arlington Trotman, Moderator of the Churches¹ Commission for Migrants in Europe. The visit which extende d from January 9-12, 2007, aimed at promoting and developing cooperation and collaboration between the CEC and the MECC, and at defining the type suppor t CEC can offer to the MECC member churches and act as conduit for MECC¹s voice within the European Churches.
The three-day visit included meetings with heads of Churches, Religious Leaders of the Sunni and Shiite communities in Lebanon, the MECC Executive Committee members and senior staff. The delegation heard the concerns of th e different Religious Leaders and their suggestions as to the role they could play in Europe to promote justice and peace in the Middle East region.
Two working sessions with the MECC senior staff lead to the identification of areas of collaboration between the CEC and the MECC, namely, the areas o f advocacy for Middle Eastern issues, Inter-Church and Christian-Muslim dialogue, Migration, Human Rights, and the identification of Funding possibilities.
The delegation extended an official invitation to the MECC to attend the 3r d European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu-Transylvania in November 2007.
Middle East Council of Churches Office of International Ecumenical Relations P.O. Box 5376, Beirut, Lebanon
Guirgis Ibrahim Saleh, General Secretary
mecc@cyberia.net.lb or guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb
+961-1-353-938 http://www.mec-churches.org/