A perspective on life in the Middle East and North Africa, with stories of how we are supporting the Church and Christians in the region, written by the leadership of SAT-7.
Does it feel easier than usual to identify with the sorrow of Good Friday this year? Our hearts are naturally filled with grief and prayer for the great human suffering we see in the news. “But I can tell you from experience that there is no situation so dark that God cannot bring new life – that Sunday cannot come,” says Rita El-Mounayer, SAT-7 CEO. Watch Rita’s special Easter greeting to hear more.
At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Jewish people were living under Roman occupation, desperately awaiting their promised Messiah, the “Prince of Peace”. But how do we reconcile this promise of peace with the broken world around us? Rita Elmounayer, SAT-7 International CEO, ponders on the source of hope for a weary, waiting world:
“The Christians that live and worship here are so full of fire, so full of spirit!” shares SAT-7 TÜRK Executive Assistant Annamaria Cedolin enthusiastically in a heartfelt blog. Annamaria shares how her love for Turkey and its people, and her understanding of her country’s rich and colourful Christian history has grown since she began working with the channel, and how this fuels her desire to “reach even one life” with the message of the Gospel.
As people around the world mark the International Day of Peace on 21 September, SAT-7 Development Officer Phil Hilditch reflects on what his unusual life journey has taught him about peace – and how a new project by SAT-7 and partners in Lebanon is an opportunity to partner in God’s work to promote the ideals of peace.
Life in Lebanon is becoming unbearable for many. SAT-7’s Beirut-based Communications Officer, Maria Al Khoury, shares her experience of the crisis that has engulfed her homeland and how by God’s grace, SAT-7 is able to continue to broadcast hope.
In commemoration of the catastrophic explosion at the Beirut Port, SAT-7’s Beirut-based Communications Officer Maria Al Khoury shares her experience of the blast, how the country has seen no let-up in suffering and crisis – and what the country needs more than ever, is hope.
As I turned around to watch the procession of deacons and priests entering the church in celebration of Palm Sunday, it struck me how empty the church looked. With only a limited number allowed to attend the service, the church was at a quarter of its usual capacity.
After a year when many experienced unexpected loss and pain, SAT-7 CEO Rita El-Mounayer reflects on how the Cross makes sense of our suffering and how the resurrection gives us hope that this is not the last word.
