National Evangelical Church of Beirut

► 'Helping Hand' Society Welcomed Rev. Suheil Sauod

On Friday the 16th of November, the 'Helping-Hand' society in its regular meeting welcomed Rev. Suheil Sauod. During the worship service Rev. Sauod presented his book "The Gospel: Doctrine and Life" الانجيل عقيدة وحياة which was published recently.

Rev. Sauod said that the book is divided into two parts. The first part includes sermons which he had preached during his ministry as pastor in the Presbyterian church. These sermons are following the regular church calendar. The second part is about Evangelical doctrines which help Christians to live their faith devotedly.

Mrs Salwa el-Shab also meditated from the Gospel of Matthew ch. 25. She stressed on stretching the hand to the sick, the prisoner, the naked and to all who are in need.

► EMS First General Assembly

Rev. Habib attended the first General Meeting of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) in Germany on 10 November 2012. The General Assembly elected Chair of the General Meeting and of the Mission Council, Rev. Marianne Wagner, Pastor for World Mission and Ecumenism in the Protestant Church of the Palatinate. The assembly elected the deputies too. Dr. Habib Badr, senior pastor of NEC, and Rev. Klaus Rieth, responsible for Mission, Ecumenism and Development Cooperation in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Wuerttemberg.

The EMS Fellowship has defined priorities for the next two years which are to have particular significance for all members. Thus it is planned to strengthen sharing the gospel and interfaith dialogue, for example in Indonesia, as well as the commitment to peace and justice especially on the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East. Conferences will be held for missiological education and training. The Women’s and Youth Networks are planning international consultations, whilst special attention will be paid to the exchange of personnel both in the Ecumenical Volunteers and Study Programmes.

(Information are taken from Gerd Sander, Press Relations Officer, www.ems-online.org)

For more details, please CLICK THIS LINK

► Confirmation Service

On Sunday the 4th of November 2012, parents and large congregation of our church participated in the confirmation service of six confirmands, who joined the church membership on the occasion of All Saints Sunday.

The confirmands are: Maya Asfour, Nadia Asfour, Mounir Moadieh, Ramzi Katoul, Lara Sabra, and Nour bou Malham.

The confirmation-candidates had attended earlier (past spring-summer period) a series of special classes, where they had the chance to reflect on the meaning of Christian faith and studied different topics, such as baptism, church creeds, communion and other important themes of the Christian faith.

Confirmation refers to the decision a person makes in response to God’s grace, with intentional commitment and public affirmation of one’s baptismal vows before the congregation. Confirmation is finally endorsed through the participation of the confirmands in the communion service, through which they claim full membership of their church.

May God lead the new members of our church in their paths of life to be good, loving and caring Christians in their church and society.

► Forum on "The Pope Benedict XVI's Visit to Lebanon"

Rev. Habib Badr participated in a forum on the Pope’s visit to Lebanon. The forum was held at St. Joseph University, Social Science Department, on Wednesday 31^st of Oct., 2012. The speakers presented non-Catholic views concerning the Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Lebanon, last September.

The participants, beside Rev. Badr, were notable guests: Dr. Ibrahim Shams El-din (president of the Imam Shams El-din Foundation for Dialogue), Metropolitan George Saliba (Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Mount Lebanon), sheikh Khaldoun Araimet (secretary general of the Supreme Judicial Islamic Council), sheikh Aamer Zen El-din (media consultant and social activist), Mr. Fouad Daaboul (managing editor of Al-Anwar Lebanese newspaper) and the moderator was Prof. George Khadige (director of the Center for Human Rights Studies in the Arab World, CEDROMA).

All speakers considered the Pope’s visit a significant contribution for the relations between all Lebanese religious and social components.

Rev. Badr concentrated in his word on the purpose of the visit, i.e., to hand the Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Medio Oriente" to the Catholic Church in the Orient. The Apostolic Exhortation was documented and elaborated by Benedict XVI, based on the forty-four final propositions of the special Synod for the Middle East, which was held in Vatican City from 10 to 26 October 2010 with the theme: "The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness”.

However, Rev. Badr maintained that Protestant churches were, unintentionally, not represented in some stages of the event.

At the end of the presentations some questions were asked by the audience and a celebration concluded the forum.

► The Installation of Dr. George Sabra at N.E.S.T.

Dr George Sabra, in a beautiful service at the Near East School of Theology, was installed as the 9^th president of the Near East School of Theology last Sunday, the 7^th of October, 2012. The Board of Managers and many distinguished guests attended the ceremony, during which Rev. Dr. Salim Sahiouny (President of the Supreme Council of Protestant Churches in Syria and Lebanon) presented the Symbol of the Office to Dr Sabra, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian (President of Haigazian University) presented Dr. Sabra's academic biography, and Rev. Megerdich Karagoezian (President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East) presented the charge to the president.

On the occasion of his installation as president, Dr. Sabra delivered an insightful address: "Serving, Coping, Transforming: The Three Tasks of a Theological Seminary". The address was presented and developed in a profound way providing a historical overview of the mission and the future prospect of the N.E.S.T.

After the service the audience congratulated Dr. Sabra wishing him a fruitful and a blessed leadership and contribution to the mission of the N.E.S.T.

Dr. George Sabra was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He received his Bachelor of Philosophy from the American University in Beirut (1977). Then he obtained his Master of Divinity (1980) from Princeton Theological Seminary, USA, and a Master of Arts in Medieval Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies (1981) at the University of Toronto, Canada. In 1986, he was awarded the Doctorate of Theology from the Faculty of Theology in the University of Tübingen, Germany.

Dr. Sabra is the professor of Systematic Theology at the Near East School of Theology and has been its Academic Dean since 1995. He represented the Reformed Churches in the Middle East at the World Alliance of Reformed Churches from 1993 to 2001 and is currently a permanent member of the International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. He has represented his church, the National Evangelical Church of Beirut, in different committees.

He is also a lecturer in the Civilization Sequence Program at American University of Beirut, and has lectured at the Lebanese American University, the Faculty of Theology in University of the Holy Spirit, Kaslik, and the Antonine University, Lebanon.

He is married to Lydia Nseir, and they have two daughters, Maria (23) and Julia (18).

► Dr. J Andrew Kirk on Migration and Globalization

A valuable and an interesting discussion took place at our church on October 5, 2012. Dr. J Andrew Kirk presented a subject on the impact of migration and globalization on our churches nowadays. Dr. Kirk traced the discussions on the human rights to Aquinas and to the early discussions in the 21st century in the Church. He emphasized the Christians’ role in rising above violence and injustice. Making peace is an indispensible aspect of the Church’s calling and mission. Thus, it has been always a fundamental characteristic of the spread of the Good News to reconcile hostile communities and be hospitable to migrants by indigenous people.

J. Andrew Kirk has spent his life in theological education in South America and the United Kingdom. Recently retired from a teaching position at the University of Birmingham, England, he is the former Dean and Head of the School of Mission and World Christianity at Selly Oak Colleges. With degrees from the University of London and Cambridge, he is the author of thirteen books, including The Mission of Theology and Theology as Mission (1997), What is Mission? Theological Explorations (1999), and Mission under Scrutiny: Confronting Current Challenges (2006).

Refreshment followed and discussions continued.

► Hope 4Lebanon

Rev. Robert Hamd and his wife Joyce have delivered a recent news of their ministry and services among migrants in Lebanon. See the NEWSLETTER.

► Summer Camp 2012

SonGames 2012: God's Team in Action was the title of our childern's Summer Camp at Schneller School - Bekaa.

The camp was from Wednesday July 25 to Sunday July 29, 2012. More than 35 kids, 20 helpers and leader participated in this camp.

It was a blessing time and a wonderful experience that all participants have enjoyed.

At the end of the camp, a special celebration took place last Sunday in the Church Hall of the National Evangelical Church where all kids performed a great presentation to their parents.

► NEST Sunday

On the 22^nd of April a group of theological students from Near East School of Theology (NEST) took part in our worship service. It was the occasion of NEST Sunday.  Pastor Habib Badr welcomed the group and congratulate Dr. George Sabra who was unanimously elected as new President of NEST last February. Dr. Sabra preached that Sunday, and other students played music (violin + piano).

► Helping Hand Trip

Helping Hand Society organized a trip to the South of Lebanon - Marjayoun and Hasbani. The trip took place on Saturday 19th of May 2012.