The Mission to Seafarers Celebrates 150 Years of Service
A missionary society of the Anglican Church celebrated its 150th anniversary last week with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey.
A missionary society of the Anglican Church celebrated its 150th anniversary last week with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey.
Since 1856, The Mission to Seafarers, formerly The Missions to Seamen, has cared for the welfare of all seafarers who, to this day, are still at risk of “isolation, separation from home and family, danger and, in some instances, exploitation and poor conditions,” according to the society.
“The welcome, friendship and practical and spiritual support offered to seafarers by The Mission to Seafarers is needed as much as ever,” it states.
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At the Mar. 28 service, members of the Council of The Mission to Seafarers, chaplains, staff and hundreds of supporters throughout the United Kingdom and overseas gathered at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the work of the society 150 years after it began and to launch a year of events celebrating the anniversary. The President of The Mission to Seafarers, Princess Ann, was also present.
“Brothers and Sisters; as we give thanks today for the work of The Mission to Seafarers throughout the years, I ask you to renew your dedication to those vocations to which God has called each one of you,” stated the Rev. Canon Bill Christianson, secretary general of the society, according to the Anglican Communion News Service. “Will you, in times favorable and unfavorable, proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to all people; will you give of your time and dedication to all those in every kind of need or danger; and will you pray for patience and vigilance in all that you do?”
Through its network of chaplains, staff and volunteers in 300 ports world-wide, The Mission to Seafarers reaches out to seafarers by visiting them on their ships, offering a welcome and whatever help may be needed. In over 100 ports, the society runs centers where seafarers can relax away from their ships, get local information, find help with problems, share worship and telephone or email home.
The Most Rev. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, was also among those who spoke during the Thanksgiving Service and said he believes the vocation of the chaplains and The Mission to Seafarers is “putting love where love isn’t, amidst the often raging seas.”
“Always magnanimous and willing to meet seafarers halfway,” he added.
The society came do be after John Ashley, a young Anglican clergyman who had concerns about the terrible conditions in which seafarers lived in, decided in the 1830s to devote his life to their care by giving up a secure parish appointment. In the years that followed, many individuals became involved in similar work, and in 1856 it was decided that these ministries be grouped together under one name: The Missions to Seaman.
