Newsletter 27th July: Sea Sunday

This morning the focus of our service is on the work of the Mission to
Seafarers (www.missiontoseafarers.org); I spent a year working with this
organisation as a chaplains assistant in the Port of Auckland between 1998 and 1999, and so it is a charity which is very close to my heart. In Britain seafarers are
responsible for bringing over 90% of our daily needs to this country, we
rely on them for our food, our clothes, our petrol and our cars, yet I
suspect very few of us give much thought to the men and women who work on
board the ships that bring these goods to our shores, the saying 'Out of
sight, out of mind' could very well be applied to seafarers.

Life at sea is fraught with many hardships and dangers. Long periods away
from home, isolation and the dangers of being at sea are things that all
seafarers have to face. Whilst the large majority of ship owners treat
their seafaring staff well, there is still a rogue minority that do not, and
so abuse on board ships and the non payment of wages are situations which
are not uncommon. That is why the support of The Mission to Seafarers can
make all the difference to their lives and working environments. As an
international mission agency of the Anglican Church, The Mission to
Seafarers reaches out to the 1.2 million seafarers that man the merchant
fleet with a message of love and hope in a harsh and often inhospitable
environment.

In over 230 ports worldwide, Mission chaplains and staff visit seafarers on
their ships extending a hand of friendship and help in times of crisis. In
over 100 ports, The Mission to Seafarers operates seafarers' centres. These
are inviting places in the middle of dull, featureless docksides. Inside,
crewmembers can make the most of their limited time ashore by replenishing
essential items from the shops run by the Mission, celebrating Communion and
fellowship in the Mission

chapels and, crucially, they can use our telephones and computers to keep in
touch with their loved ones thousands of miles away. Should problems arise
on board ship, local representatives of the Mission work with ships' agents and other partners to bring resolution and
comfort to crews.

Although here in Walsall we live far from the sea, we are all dependent on
the work seafarers do. Whilst they may be 'out of sight' we can make sure
that they are not 'out of mind', by remembering them and the work of the
Mission to Seafarers in our prayers.

If we do this, we are not only serving and supporting those who work at sea,
but also Jesus as well, who told us 'whatever you did for one of the least
of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:40)

God bless

Simon