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SAT-7 and Bible
Societies launch the Year of the Family 2006 campaign
Beirut-
LEBANON: Through a press conference held a After an
introductory word by His Eminence, Bishop Roland Abou Jaou The facilitator of the Press Conference was Father Abdo Bou Kassem, Director of the Catholic Information Center, who declared the theme of the campaign: “Together we can shape the future!” Following is the text of the press release:
The Year of the Family 2006 campaign is a media campaign to strengthen the families of the Arab World. SAT-7 is the sponsor of the campaign, in association with Bible Societies in the Middle East, working under the theme “Together we can shape the Future!” The objectives of the campaign include: 1. Emphasizing the important role of the family in today’s world. 2. Dealing with the root causes of the challenges facing families today. 3. Working with the churches to instill Christian values in home life. 4. Affirming the unique role of each member of the family.
In the coming year SAT-7 will be airing special television programs on family issues, such as how to work towards being part of a happy family, how best to raise your children, how to have meaningful family devotions. The family is the place where Christian values of love, respect and freedom can best be taught, modeled and learnt. Watching satellite TV is a family experience and therefore this is a very appropriate media for such a campaign. SAT-7 has always been committed to a holistic presentation of the Christian Gospel, seeking to address all the needs of individuals and whole families. And as the station already has a wide sense of ownership by most of the churches in the region it is an ideal vehicle to ensure that important things that the church has to say about families are really heard by all elements in society. On
the other hand, the Bible Societies will organize progr |
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t
the Catholic Information Center, SAT-7 and Bible Society jointly
launched the Year of the Family 2006 campaign.
The press conference was held on November 29 among the presence of
several church representatives.
de,
the President of the Episcopal Commission for Media Communication,
Mr. Naji Daoud, SAT-7’s Lebanon Bureau Director, read the press
release. This was followed by a few words of endorsement from Mr.
Mike Bassous, General Secretary of the Bible Society, who invited
all Christian media agencies to partake in this campaign in order to
fulfill its objectives. Father Youssef Mouwaness, Secretary of the
Commission, emphasized the importance of empowering and p
rotecting
the family values through the Christian media. Lawyer Gebran
Iskandar, the General Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for
Family Affairs and on behalf of its president, Bishop Bechara Al-Raii,
spoke about the importance of counseling prior to marriage. Father
Gabriel Karam, Bible Society Board Treasurer and representing the
Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut, Bishop Elias Awde, pointed
out that the Early Church was hosted in family homes, and that the
family continues to be the most important source of Christian
education.
of
our society. Yet, it seems today that the very institution of the
family is being challenged, even in
the very family-oriented Middle East and North Africa. Families in
this region especially face problems like poverty, illiteracy,
migration, negative media influences, divorce, spousal abuse, etc.
Therefore, SAT-7 invites all churches and Christian agencies and
media in the Arab World to join the campaign
by dedicating the year 2006 to be the Year of the Family!
ams
that serve to strengthen the role of the family based on the Holy
Scriptures; the Bible addresses family issues since the days of Adam
and Eve, all the way to Jesus Christ and the Holy Family. The Bible
Societies’ activities will include publishing a Family Bible and a
Youth Bible, and its programs will focus on the individual family
member through its Bible World children’s exhibition and
strengthening the young people in their faith at its “Books for
Life” Christian Resource