Lebanon crisis and the Church as priesthood
February 2020Since the start of nationwide protests last autumn, Lebanon has entered a new and uncertain chapter. Elie Haddad, President of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, highlights the biblical model of priesthood as the key to how Christians should respond in an uncomfortable time for all Lebanese including believers. We have been living through an uprising in Lebanon since […]
Sudan: of the people by the people for the people
New government heralds an epoch of change After popular protests removed President Omar al-Bashir last year, Sudan has been engaged in a three-year transition towards democracry. Teresa Sfeir, who lectures at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, examines the progress made and the significant challenges still to be overcome. The people of Sudan refused to back down this time. […]
ALGERIA: “THEY CAME WITH GUNS, BUT WE TOLD THEM ABOUT JESUS”
February 2020When armed authorities came to close down Riki Church in north-eastern Algeria, they were met with the peace of Christ. In a new SAT-7 documentary, Riki Church’s leader and other Algerian pastors speak out, sharing their stories of injustice and how believers are standing for their rights while remaining peacemakers in their communities. “Three cars showed up here with men […]
Egypt’s Maher Fayez brings worship of the East to West Sussex
January 2020It’s not every night that a small church in a Worthing side street is filled with Middle Eastern melodies. But this was the night when Maher Fayez, Egypt’s best-known Christian musician and worship leader and a sometime presenter on SAT-7 ARABIC, was in town. SAT-7 UK Communications Officer Lindsay Shaw seized the opportunity to hear him and chat about his […]
A Door of Hope for Syria’s Forgotten Refugees
January 2020The news cycle has moved on, but in Lebanon over a million Syrian refugees remain. Some 350,000 are camped in the Zahle region of the Bekaa Valley alone. In a recent visit to two families there, Katerina Parpa, a Communications Officer in SAT-7’s International Office, saw the possibility of change amongst their very real struggles. Imagine you have spent a […]
JORDAN CHURCHES REACH OUT TO REFUGEES FOR CHRISTMAS
December 2019Storytelling is at the heart of a special SAT-7 series filmed in Jordan for this Christmas. In Christmas Stories, leaders from various churches in Jordan and Iraq tell real-life stories that demonstrate how their churches are sharing the message and values of Christ among needy communities. One of the simplest and most striking comes from St George Greek Melkite Catholic […]
Building Peace at Ground Level
November 2019Bold initiatives are taking place in Lebanon to build peace between Christians and Muslims in a society where religious identity often defines where you live and go to school, as well as where you worship. Dr Martin Accad, a specialist in Christian-Muslim relations, spoke on SAT-7 ARABIC’s On the Go programme about the initiative “Bread and Salt”, an exciting project that promotes respect […]
A Year of Tolerance in the United Arab Emirates
What has it meant for the country and for the Christian guest workers who represent 9% of the population? For the 10 million people living in the United Arab Emirates, 2019 has been the Gulf state’s “Year of Tolerance”. In a country where 89 per cent of the population are expatriates, the government initiative aims to “reject extremism” and “entrench […]