by Joel Holt, MNWB The Merchant Navy Welfare Board’s (MNWB) popular Ship Welfare Visitor course has been updated with a greater emphasis on rights at sea and security. The course is aimed at all employees and volunteers of charities within the maritime sector, from port chaplains carrying out ship visits to volunteers driving the local […]
by Susan Huppert, NAMMA The role of chaplains in the ministry to seafarers extends beyond the spiritual. It is holistic at its core. During recent months, as the global pandemic has subsided and the vaccination of seafarers across the globe has reached most seafarers, one ongoing concern is restrictions to shore leave. Along the northwest […]
Review by Dr. Jason Zuidema, NAMMA Michael Sparrow, A Century at Kilindini: The Story of Mombasa’s Mission to Seafarers 1921-2021. Nairobi, 2021. This is the second edition of the story of the mission in Mombasa, a thoroughly revised edition of the book that first came out in 2011. This edition adds more detail and many […]
by Jason Zuidema, NAMMA Often, seafarers’ welfare is done ‘under the radar’. It is often said that the general public does not pay all that much attention to shipping, a proverbial “sea blindness”. In previous years, this has meant that seafarers’ welfare providers needed to spend that much more time justifying their work and educating […]
by Dcn. Paul Rosenblum, President (NAMMA) / Stella Maris (Charleston) In the Catholic tradition, it is customary that during the fourth week of Advent the Mass readings come from Saint Luke’s “Infancy Narrative,” where he describes for us all of the events that led up to the Nativity. They are all beautiful and meaningful, but […]
by Susan Huppert, NAMMA The dynamic seafarers’ ministry in the Port of Port Arthur, Texas, is welcoming seafarers to its center with Christmas cheer and boarding ships with gifts. The local Stella Maris outreach operates through the Diocese of Beaumont under the leadership of Fr. Sinclair Oubre. He has been the Diocesan Director of Stella […]
by Susan Huppert, NAMMA Though we are all supposed to dream of a White Christmas, snow and ice can be challenging for seafarers. This is true on the Great Lakes in the winter when things freeze over. This year, by surprise, a Christmas celebration took place onboard a ship docked at the port in Cleveland, […]
By Susan Huppert, NAMMA As Christmas draws near, packages are moving across the country on tight schedules. At Port Everglades, FL, the crunch is always on. “Years ago, it would take days to unload a cargo ship, now it takes hours,” said Port Chaplain the Rev. Canon Sanford Sears, SSC who has been serving seafarers […]
Santa’s network is a lot more about ships and ports and less about reindeer and the North Pole! Check out The MARE Report for great stories of seafarers’ missions serving seafarers at Christmas.
by Susan Huppert, NAMMA The vision of the Port of New Orleans, La. is to advance global connections to exceed the needs of tomorrow. Within this port community is Global Maritime Ministries, a Christian outreach to the world of seafarers. The purpose of the mission mirrors that of the port it serves. It seeks to […]
