Canon David Porter, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Director of Reconciliation was the keynote speaker at “The Untold Story: the Middle East behind the Headlines”, a SAT-7-sponsored event in Belfast last Saturday. Canon Porter began by speaking of his experiences of visiting the Middle East on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury and hinting at what it can teach Christians in […]
CANTERBURY RECONCILIATION DIRECTOR HIGHLIGHTS THE GIFT OF THE MIDDLE EAST CHURCH AND ITS CHALLENGES
FROM SYRIA TO EGYPT – A FEAST OF EASTER WORSHIP FOR MIDDLE EAST VIEWERS
In a year when the Easter festival falls at the same time in the Eastern and Western church calendars, Christian satellite TV broadcaster SAT-7 will transmit worship services from all the main denominations and from churches in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Through its Arabic, Farsi and Turkish language channels it will give Christian viewers and others across the region access […]
RECORD NUMBERS HEAR HOW TV BRINGS HOPE TO MIDDLE EAST
There was a record attendance at last week’s annual conference of SAT-7, the Middle East Christian satellite TV broadcaster. Held for the first time in Turkey, from 26-28 March, SAT-7’s annual ‘Network’ conference attracted 250 people from 25 countries, an indication of the growing concern for the troubled Middle East region among many people around the world. Contributors from Iran, […]
Holy Fire – April 2014
It is Saturday afternoon. Crowds are waiting, eyes are anticipating, hearts are eager to receive the light or “the Holy Fire” as it has been traditionally called. We are in a place no other than the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem. You can barely find a room for one’s feet to step in. In fact, people seem to be on […]
Reliving the Passion – April 2014
“Ekhristos Anesti!” “Alithos Anesti!” These are words commonly heard in Egyptian Christian circles at this time: “Christ is risen!” we greet one another, “He is risen indeed!” we reply. Happy Easter! It’s a busy time for Christians in Egypt. Coptic Orthodox Christians, who make up about 90 per cent of the Christian population here, spend Passion Week, the last week […]
SAT-7 SPONSORS FIRST DIALOGUE WITHOUT WALLS FILM AWARDS
Independent judges award prizes to SAT-7 film-makers A new short film competition designed to promote dialogue across communities in post-Arab Spring countries has been co-sponsored by Christian broadcaster SAT-7. (Pic: Winning film directors, from front right, Tamer Arnest, Shokry Zikry and John Ikram) SAT-7 and national television stations aired the first awards ceremony live from the Nile Hall in downtown […]
26 NATIONS REPRESENTED AT FIRST SAT-7 NETWORK CONFERENCE IN TURKEY
SAT-7, the Christian satellite television broadcaster watched by over 15 million Arabic-, Farsi- and Turkish-speaking viewers in the Middle East and North Africa, will hold its annual “Network” conference in Turkey for the first time next week (26-28 March). During SAT-7’s international gathering of television producers, supporters and partner representatives, church leaders and SAT-7 staff from across the region will […]
Watch your footprint – short-term overseas visits
Article 2 in our series: The Ethics of Global Engagement Short-term opportunities to be part of Christian projects abroad have multiplied in recent years. If carefully considered, they can be hugely beneficial. If not, they can leave damaging footprints on the Church and its community in sensitive countries. Our Middle East writer explains. What lasting impression will our trip leave […]
Mums make history – March 2014
March 21st is Mother’s Day in Egypt. It’s a big day everywhere in Egypt, marked by fun family gatherings at mum or grandma’s house, gifts, flowers, and songs celebrating mothers on national television. But what is Mother’s Day really all about? Curious about March 21st and where it originated, I dug a little into the history of Mother’s Day in […]
Miracles and Faith on the Bombed Streets of Baghdad
A SAT-7 crew filming on the streets of Baghdad heard startling testimonies from people living with the constant threat of terror attacks – and discovered that SAT-7 has a major presence in many people’s lives. A small filming crew from SAT-7 Egypt went to great personal risk when they stepped off the plane in Baghdad a few months ago. Public […]