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Celebrating 125 Years of Ministry to the 'Forgotten People'

By Don Meyer

BOSTON, MA (November 14, 2005) - Many Americans take for granted the abundant lifestyle this country offers, never thinking about the thousands of hard-working individuals who deliver the goods we enjoy, but for whom life is anything but abundant.

This is especially true of non-U.S. crewmembers aboard the international cargo ships that routinely move in and out of major U.S. ports, many of whom are unable to step foot ashore this land of freedom because of tightened security measures in the aftermath of 9/11 that deny them the special visas needed.

As a result, many of them are cut off from contact with family and friends for months at a time, something the New England Seafarers Mission (NESM) has addressed during the 125 years of its ministry in major East Coast seaports, providing essential support services to these individuals and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The ministry, which operates as an agency of the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), has been the focus of a year-long celebration that culminated with a Sunday evening banquet with Covenant World Mission Executive Minister Curt Peterson as the featured speaker.

The banquet also provided the perfect setting to present an exciting new vision for the future, one that shares the same acronym as the organization itself - NESM - Now Entering New Shoreline Ministries. This initiative seeks to restore ministry and related support services to key ports that experienced cutbacks several years ago.

The seafarers mission has historically served the major ports of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Portland, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts, where the mission maintains its administrative offices in the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in South Boston.

"Our presence in the two major ports of Portsmouth and Portland was suspended seven or eight years ago due to budget constraints and the retirement of a key visitor volunteer," notes Steve Cushing, who serves as the mission's executive director and senior chaplain. The work in Boston and Providence has continued, however.

The new initiative, which involves a partnership with the ECC and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), calls for additional volunteers from local congregations in seaport areas to be trained and engaged in outreach ministries to the visiting crewmembers. The New England Synod of ELCA recently approved a resolution recognizing the seafarers mission as an important ministry and encouraging local ELCA congregations to support it. The ECC has been a supporter of the mission since its earliest days.

The vision not only calls for restoration of ministry outreach in Portsmouth and Portland, but it also targets several other of the 10-15 smaller ports up and down the coast that regularly receive international cargo ships.

The initiative incorporates five guiding principles constructed around yet another acronym - HEART - that further define the needs and the ministry responses:

• Hospitality - Virtually all of the seafarers visiting port are non-U.S. citizens and often encounter difficulty in obtaining special visas allowing them to come ashore. "The result is that they are isolated and cut off from the outside world - they lose their entire support group," Cushing says. They cannot contact their family members, they cannot contact representatives of their respective faith traditions, and they often are denied contact with their own government representatives in the event they have special needs. "These are forgotten people," Cushing says, noting his mission interacted with 130 nationalities during the last seven years involving some 30,000 face-to-face contacts. "We welcome them into our land," he says. "We go aboard to meet with them and are well received - there is a good reputation among vessel operators that precedes us."
• Encouragement - The open sea is a lonely and dangerous place, Cushing observes, and at times seafarers may be working for up to nine months at a time without seeing family and friends. "They need to know they are not forgotten, and in particular, we want to send the message that we have not forgotten them because God has not forgotten them."
• Advocacy - Lloyds of London ranks shipping as one of the five most dangerous occupations in the world, Cushing notes. "The rights and privileges of these seamen are often abused, if even recognized," he says. "Some haven't been paid for three to six months and need legal help. Some have not had access to needed medical care. There are safety concerns that the authorities often do not know about. We tell these people where to go to get the help they need." The mission also conducts seminars focusing on the rights of seafarers.
• Re-connection - After months at sea, the first thing most seafarers want to do is call home. However, unable to leave the ship, they are unable to do so. "We provide them with special phones to call home," Cushing says. The volunteers also supply phone cards, email access and postage. Cushing advocates for a special category for visas for working seafarers, noting that the United States is one of the few industrialized nations that do not have a special visa category.
• Teaching - Of prime importance is teaching them about the love of God, he says. The volunteers disciple the Christians who may be on board and teach them how to serve as lay ministers aboard ship. "I went on board one ship and talked with a Filipino who is a Christian and is part of the mess crew. He was having difficulty with his boss - the chief cook - who was a self-proclaimed atheist. The mess steward asked for prayer." The ship was in port for two days, during which time Cushing visited with the chief cook and engaged him in conversation about faith matters. Over the course of the two days, the chief cook accepted Christ - what Cushing often refers to as "foxhole faith" given the dangers of the business and the realization on the part of many seafarers that the trip could disastrously end at any time.

Cushing, who calls Wakefield (MA) home, has lived in the Boston area most of his life. He was baptized a Lutheran, was converted in what he describes as a charismatic church, and over the years attended a variety of churches of different persuasions. He attended a Baptist church, met his future wife, and completed seminary and ordination. Cushing was encouraged to submit an application when the executive director and senior chaplain, Jim Lindgren, left that position. He interviewed for the position in 1998.

"I didn't get it," Cushing says of the seafarers' ministry goals and focus. "I had never heard of the seafarers mission." His attitude changed when he toured one ship with Lindgren. "I saw the look on the face of one seafarer when he recognized Jim - and I saw the look of hope on the other faces. I knew right then that this was for me."

To learn more about the mission, contact Cushing by email at nesm@neseafarers.org, by telephone at 617-443-0282, or by regular mail at New England Seafarers Mission, 1 Black Falcon Avenue, Boston, MA, 02210. Additional information is also available by visiting the mission's website at Seafarers Mission.

(Editor's note: the accompanying photos show Cushing aboard ship during one of his visits. For a more detailed understanding of the seafarers mission, please see two earlier articles published in The Covenant Companion: Home Port; and God Watching.)

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