A helping hand along the docks

From Philadelphia-

The Seamen's Church Institute has been a fixture on the Philadelphia waterfront for 166 years, providing friendly help to 40,000 seafarers a year whose ships dock in ports along the Delaware River.

The Rev. James D. Von Dreele, an Episcopal priest, is head chaplain and executive director of the interdenominational ministry.

Father Jim and his staff, including five part-time chaplains and eight to 10 volunteers, visit more than 1,700 ships a year. They offer counsel to foreign sailors, help with immigration issues, and intervene in ship problems such as pay disputes. They also escort the sailors off ships for a few hours of R&R. Seafarers' favorite pastime? Shopping.

Because of stringent post-9/11 immigration regulations, many crews cannot leave ship because they do not have U.S. visas. Those who do, often head for the institute headquarters at 475 N. Fifth St. to watch TV, call home, reflect in the chapel, or surf the Web.


Question: How do you learn a ship is in port?

Answer: We have access to the Maritime Exchange ship lists, so we are able to tell where the new arrivals are. We cover 125 miles on both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides of the river. And there are 33 terminals that we serve.

More here-

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20091019_A_helping_hand_along_the_docks.html

PENNSYLVANIA: Historic bell a feature of new seafarers’ chapel

From Episcopal Life "Who rang that bell?"

A long-lost bell from a floating chapel for seamen who worked on ships at Philadelphia's port 160 years ago was rededicated on June 18, along with a new chapel that serves today's seafarers.
The double celebration at the Seamen's Church Institute of Philadelphia and South Jersey was attended by more than 175 people, including members of the SCI board of directors, donors, representatives of local churches and members of the maritime business community. Bishop Rodney Michel, with the Rev. Judith Meckling, vicar of All Souls' Episcopal Church for the Deaf, the Very Rev. Joy Segal of Southwark Deanery, and the Rev. James D. Von Dreele, chaplain to the port and executive director of the Seamen's Church Institute of Philadelphia & South Jersey, officiated at the dedication of the chapel.

SCI is one of about 150 independent port ministries founded by church denominations in North America. The 166-year-old ministry in Philadelphia has strong Episcopal roots, as evidenced by the newfound bell.

"We are blessed to have the iconic symbol of our ministry back with the purchase of this bell," said Von Dreele. "We were completely surprised to see it surface after 150 years. Perhaps it was the providence of God that brought the bell to us as we consecrate a new Chapel of the Redeemer."

The church bell, 30 inches high and weighing more than 300 pounds, dates back to the seafarer ministry's founding in 1847. It had been missing for more than 150 years since it was first cast for the Floating Church of the Redeemer, a 600-seat building mounted on a large barge in the Delaware River. Dedicated in 1849, the floating chapel was a key part of the early history of what is now known as the Seamen's Church Institute. When the chapel sank after a few years, it was salvaged and placed on dry ground in Camden, New Jersey, only to be destroyed by fire a short time later.

More here-

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81803_110880_ENG_HTM.htm

Seafarer chaplaincy confronts piracy fears

From the Cristian Century a report which includes the Seaman's Church Institute- (I wonder if the Somalians wear the nifty hats?)

The recent dramatic high seas rescue of a merchant ship captain held hostage by Somali pirates stirred a public debate on whether cargo vessels should be armed. It also drew attention to the more than 1 million mariners who are essential in transporting 90 percent of the world's traded goods, including humanitarian aid to needy countries. And it gave voice to the little-noticed chaplains who provide hospitality to mariners at ports in 126 countries.

The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama was headed April 8 to Kenya with relief shipments from USAID, the World Food Program and other relief agencies when the ship was boarded by four pirates some 300 miles off Somalia. The crisis ended days later when U.S. Navy sharpshooters killed three of the pirates.

At a U.S. Senate committee hearing April 30, the skipper, Captain Richard Phillips, said it is the U.S. government's responsibility to protect any ship flying an American flag. Phillips said an armed brigade of specially trained crew members might deter pirate attacks. But John Clancy, chair of the private shipping line, differed in his testimony, saying that arming and training crew officers would be too expensive and could escalate a deadly arms race with already well-armed pirates.

At the New York-based Seamen's Church Institute, the largest and most comprehensive of U.S. maritime ministries, the "consensus is that arming merchant ships is probably not the best solution," said Douglas Stevenson, director of the Center for Seafarers' Rights.

"There are no simple answers," he said, adding that both the Episcopal Church-related Seamen's Church Institute and the International Christian Maritime Association have studied the growing peril for years. Since 2003, more than 1,660 merchant mariners have been kidnapped or taken hostage, according to industry figures.

The rest-

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=7081