Rachel Slade, Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm and the Sinking of El Faro. Ecco, 2018. On October 1, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin brought down the El Faro along with every member of its 33-person crew. Boston-based journalist Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea depicts this tragedy in slow-motion, helping understand how a number […]
Finding Fulfillment in Chaplaincy
By Susan Huppert, NAMMA Transitions can be a navigational challenge. But for these newly established chaplains finding fulfillment in a new role proves to be profitable. Three professionals who shifted from their previous positions to the world of serving seafarers discuss how they became chaplains to a collection of transient people on the water. Contrary […]
Tampa Meeting Explores Partnerships to Support Seafarers’ Welfare
From March 5-6 in Tampa, Florida, NAMMA partnered with the International Port Welfare Partnership (IPWP) project for a seminar on developing port welfare committees to support seafarers’ welfare. More than 35 individuals participated in the seminar, with representatives especially from seafarers’ welfare organisations that supported crews serving in the Caribbean area. The IPWP is a […]
Book Review: Learning about bravery from survival at sea
Louise Beech, How To Be Brave. London: Orenda Books Press, 2015. 370 pp. This book is a tapestry of two stories compassionately woven together by Louise Beech. The narrative combines the present-day story of Natalie, a mother coping with her young daughter’s diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, and the wartime story of Colin, a merchant seafarer […]
Building Bridges: Conference Summary
MARITIME MINISTRIES TRAINING CONFERENCE The Apostleship of the Sea, The Mission to Seafarers, and other Ecumenical Partners held at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney, 11 -14th February 2019 BUILDING BRIDGES: CONFERENCE SUMMARY by Mr. Graham Miller, Manager, The Mission to Seafarers Townsville, Australia When I first saw the Conference program sheet, I immediately noted […]
Burns Harbor ministry gets “Gofundme” upgrade
Committed to his church and seafarers, Chaplain Marshal Bundren continued to pull alongside ships on the South shore of Lake Michigan in his 15-passenger rust bucket until December. That’s when things took a surprising turn. Reed Wilson, second officer aboard the M/V Burns Harbor, one of only sixteen 1,000 foot long self-unloading freighters in the […]
Lifeboats – a last resort?
When the Titanic collided with an iceberg twenty minutes before midnight on April fourteenth, 1912 the world became aware of the importance of the humble ship’s lifeboat. Many of the passengers and crew could not escape the sinking ship and drowned because at that moment in history it was not a requirement to carry sufficient […]
Growing in Service at the Houston School 2019
On the week of January 27, chaplains, ship visitors, center administrators, and others involved in maritime ministry from all over the world convened on the Houston International Seafarers’ Center (HISC) to take a NAMMA-led course on serving seafarers. Students of the Houston School this year were given many reasons to thank God: learning more about […]
The Importance of Partnerships for Seafarers Wellbeing
Presentation of ICMA General Secretary Jason Zuidema at the ISWAN Seminar Helsinki, Finland, November 23, 2018. A Story In early 1963, former seafarer and businessman Albert Liedts told members of the Houston Propeller Club that the Port of Houston was seen by seafarers as “the worst Port in the world.” He had been a seafarer […]
Remembrance
November is the calendar month of remembrance, this year on November 11th in London and around European capitals the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One will be remembered. World War One ended on the 11th month on the 11th day at the 11th hour. There will be no veterans of the Great […]