Massachusetts church members reach out to seafarers
Aug. 16, 2006 News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh * (615) 742-5458* Nashville {487}
NOTE: A UMTV report and photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.
By John Gordon*
BOSTON, Mass. (UMNS) - Giant freighters steam into Boston Harbor bringing essentials from gasoline to road salt. The ships also carry crews that spend months away from their families and often feel isolated.
Members of First United Methodist Church in Marlborough reach out to the crews by working at the Ralph L. Garrett Seafarers' Center in Boston. The center is operated by Seafarer's Friend, a nonprofit group that cares for freighter crews in Boston and other ports along the Eastern Seaboard.
"It's very important," said 12-year-old Ryan Mason, who stuffs ditty bags with toothpaste and shampoo. "I do this to help the seafarers who risk their lives to transport goods like coal and gasoline for us, to make our lives easier."
"I now have a feeling of accomplishment, and I feel good that I was able to help people," said 11-year-old Micaela Garrison-Desany, who also volunteers at the center near Boston Harbor.
Youth participate in the ministry by collecting toiletries, magazines, puzzles and other gifts for the lonely seafarers. Church volunteers have also assembled shelves and sorted clothes during work days at the center.
Church seniors knit wool caps for seafarers from warmer climates who are not prepared for bitter-cold Boston winters.
"There's nothing warmer than a hand-knit hat," said Marlborough church member Evelyn Golan. "It's a good feeling to be able to help other people, and I enjoy doing it."
Each cap takes 10 to 15 hours to knit, and church volunteers expect to make about 100 this year. "I've been in some very, very cold places and I know what it's like to not have the proper clothing," said church member Barbara Schleicher. "And I enjoy knitting."
The Rev. Bill Fleming, mission director for Seafarer's Friend, called the Marlborough church members "great volunteers."
"They (seafarers) don't have too many friends out there," said Fleming. "All they're really seeing are their crewmates, government officials, dock officials, corporate officials. They need a friend who cares about them."
"Average people on the street are completely unaware that these people exist," said Marlborough Pastor Linda Stetter, who volunteers to go on ship visits with Seafarer's Friend. "These are invisible people. Yet if they didn't do what they do, the quality of our lives would really be seriously diminished."
On board a gasoline tanker, crew members said they enjoy the allure of distant ports, but they miss their families.
Asked what he enjoys about a life at sea, Fulbert Estrada, a Filipino sailor replied, "Excitement, and some other place that you can explore or see some tradition and cultures."
Another crew member, Manola Mallorca Jr., said he felt homesick because his work schedule only allows him to return home once a year. His wife, 8-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter live in the Philippines.
"It's very far from my family, so that is the hardest thing for me," he said. "I miss my family."
Security at the ports has been tightened since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
While some seafarers can go shopping or visit a Seafarer's Friend lounge near the harbor, others must stay onboard ship because they do not have visas. Those who cannot leave their ships borrow cellular phones to call their families.
"The government is viewing these people with great suspicion," said Stetter. "And so there have been a variety of security regulations that basically place them under house arrest on their ships." The pastor observes that the inability to obtain visas limits where they can go.
The Port of Boston annually handles more than 15 million tons of cargo. Most is fuel, including gasoline and liquefied natural gas.
Stetter said the outreach has helped church members grow in their faith. "I am so tremendously impressed with the young people in this church. What impresses me most is that the kids really get the purpose; they really have a passion for this. They really understand helping other people and seeing needs."
*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas. For information about Seafarer's Friend, see www.seafarersfriend.org.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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