Ministry at Sea

As a deacon of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Texas, I have been blessed to serve at The Church of St. John the Divine. As most parishioners know, deacons have specific duties at their assigned churches. In addition to liturgical duties such as reading the gospel, they might have teaching duties, pastoral responsibilities, or any number of other church tasks. Yet, many people do not realize that a deacon’s primary calling is a ministry beyond the walls of the church, a ministry out in the world. As the Book of Common Prayer states in the ordination rite, a deacon has a “special ministry of servanthood” and he or she is “to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.”

With this in mind, I have had the wonderful opportunity over the past year to serve as a chaplain associate for the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI), an organization formed over a century ago to serve the spiritual needs of the seafarer community. This past June and July, under the auspices of SCI, I had the distinct pleasure and honor of being a chaplain at sea on board the Empire State VII out of Schuyler, New York. This ship is a training vessel for hundreds of college cadets attending the State University of New York Maritime Academy. They are required to spend summer semesters at sea in preparation to become the next generation of officers of our commercial ships, vessels that sail throughout the world to deliver all types of cargo and supplies for us and to us. Becoming such an officer is a challenging but rewarding journey that requires hard work and dedication, as well as academic prowess and a strong maritime spirit.

Being a chaplain on board the Empire State is a 24/7 job. Just as a physician must sometimes be “on call” 24 hours per day, the chaplain of a ship makes himself or herself always available to the crew. Merchant mariners are away from their land-based homes and families for long periods. As such, the ship becomes a home away from home. It is where they eat, sleep, and work. Sadly, it can also be a lonely job, despite having many other people around.

One thing that I learned very quickly during this deployment is that the seafarer community does NOT leave their spiritual needs and desires on shore when they go to sea. Hence, it was important to have regular Sunday church services on board, as well as evening or morning prayers on some weekdays. Considering that these students and crew members come from all walks of life and different religious traditions, services were ecumenical by design (albeit with a good dose of Episcopal flavor!). There were, however, many cadets and crew who yearned to take communion each week. We were able to accomplish this by virtue of the fact that a priest of the New York Diocese kindly consecrated elements, which were brought aboard prior to the ship’s departure.

Life aboard a ship is definitely different. One must develop “sea legs” since the ocean can get quite rough in the North Atlantic. Happily, I was blessed in never being seasick. On the other hand, I did make it a point to visit “sick bay,” the ship’s medical clinic, on a regular basis to pray for any who might be ill. Fortunately, we had a very healthy crew!

Without a doubt, I feel one of my most valuable activities on board was the one-on-one conversations with cadets and crew. Sometimes these were very serious conversations, for example discussions about their spiritual beliefs and lives. At other times, the dialogues were light and more about families or their interests and activities ashore.

It is indeed unfortunate that unless we hear on the news of some sort of disaster at sea, the merchant mariner community is not one that often comes to mind. Yet, they are a vital part of our world economy and our well-being. Thus, for them, “Ministry at Sea” is an important service. “In word and in deed,” it brings the good news of Jesus Christ directly to the site of their daily work.