National Evangelical Church of Beirut

Interview with Rev. Habib Badr by 'Ajras Al Mashreq'

An Interview with Rev. Habib Badr, on 'Al-Mayadeen' TV channel in Ajras Al Mashreq program (Bells of the Orient), took place last Sunday 20th of January 2013.

Rev. Badr addressed various contemporary topics and responded to different questions on failures and successes of the Christian – Christian dialogue, Christian – Muslim dialogue, Middle East Council of Churches, the relation between Protestant Churches and Antiochian theology, women’s ordination, the mission of Sat7, science and religion, and finally on the winds of changes that are occurring in the region.

CLICK HERE to watch the interview.

Sunday School Activity

On December 22, the Sunday school children came for 3 hours where they made, with the help of teachers and the youth, Christmas crafts, played games, made Christmas snacks then invited the parents after the Church Service to come and join them in singing Christmas hymns and attend the nativity scene that they performed. Santa Claus came along and distributed gifts to the children. Then parents and children were invited to some delicious snacks and refreshments.

Cake Sale

The 'Helping Hand' Society planned a cake sale on Sunday morning 23rd of December 2012. After the church service the ladies put their yummy bakes on the tables selling them to support those in need. Thank you for those who came down and for their donations.

Contact us if you would like to support.

LAU Christmas Choir

The Lebanese American University organized its annual Christmas Choral Concert on the 21st of December which was hosted by our church. The concert was directed by Leila Dabaghi and accompanied by Fadi Kallab on the piano.

The Concert of 'Gargatch' Choir

The 'Gargatch' children's choir of the Hamazkayin Cultural Association performed a concert of Christmas carols with multi-lingual classical and contemporary songs. The concert was on Sunday, the 23rd of December 2012, and the maestro was Zakar Keshishian.

The 'Four Knights' at Our Church

The Four Knights, a famous Lebanese vocal group, presented at our church on Saturday the 22nd of December a concert of wonderful traditional Christmas songs. They also presented a beautiful collection of canticles from Eastern liturgy.

The four singers are: Simon Obeid, Nader Khoury, Elie Khayat and Ziad Imaz. As usual, they combined the Christmas songs with light humor.

Classical Music Concert at Our Church

Piacevole Trio presented on Tuesday 18th of December a wonderful collection of musical pieces. The concert was entitled: "A Journey Through Different Musical Eras" and performed by Eleonore Schulz (violin), Shushan Artinian (cello) and Lory Aintablian (piano).

The program included works by Haydn (Gypsy Trio No.39 in G Major), Beethoven (10 Variations on 'Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu' Op.121a), Schumann (Fantasiestüche op.88), Komitas ('My Red Handkerchief') and Khatchaturian ('The Dance of the Pink Maidens').

A Friendly Meeting of SAT-7 at our Church

Chairman of the International Board Council of SAT-7, Rev. Habib Badr has invited the Evangelical churches in Beirut to meet at the National Evangelical Church in the morning of Saturday 15, December 2012.

Many Evangelical pastors and local religious workers in Beirut and its suburb regions came together to hear about the future vision of SAT-7 and to support the mission and the ministry of this TV channel. The hope for SAT-7 is, according to Rev. Badr, to be supported by local Evangelical churches and to share its burdens with the international partners, who are dedicated to run this channel.

Then, Mr. Naji Daoud, the Lebanese executive director of SAT-7, reviewed with the participants the vision and mission statement of SAT-7. SAT-7 has currently five channels: SAT-7 Arabic, SAT-7 Pars (Farsi programming), SAT-7 Plus, SAT-7 kids, and SAT-7 Turkey. The ministry and the aim of these channels are to show God’s love, give local churches a platform to educate and encourage their communities, correct the misconceptions about Christian faith in the region, work inter-denominationally, and foster bridges of understanding with non-Christian majority.

At the end, the friendly meeting was concluded with a breakfast and a blessings from Rev. Salim Sahyouni, the president of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Churches in Syria and Lebanon.

► Advent at 'Helping Hand' Society

With Christmas atmosphere and joyful spirit, 'Helping Hand' Society gathered together on Friday, 14th of December at 3:30 p.m. in Charles Saad Hall. The guest speaker was the director of Middle East Lutheran Ministry (MELM), Mr. Moris Jahshan.

Mr. Jahshan told us the beautiful story behind the famous Christmas hymn, Silent Night, which was originally written in German language. He called our attention to the richness of the Evangelical hymns which were handed to us.

At the meeting Miss Catherine Batrouni sang a wonderful Christmas song and Santa Claus visited the group. At the end, all enjoyed delicious Christmas cookies at the reception which was prepared by Ms Mouna Takla and the church ladies.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

► Potluck Dinner - Thanksgiving Day

On the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, the Helping Hand Society in the church organized a potluck dinner on Friday 23rd of November 2012.

It was a time of joy and happiness to thank God for every blessing that comes from His hand, and particularly, for the generous service embraced by the 'Helping Hand' Society. Several people shared their thankful heart for the lovely spirit in the church.

The contributions will be set out for buying foodstuffs and distribute it to needy people.

Happy Thanksgiving Day.