Your generous gift could help seafarers feel much closer to home this Christmas.
In household after household something people most value at Christmas is a chance to get together. For me and my wife Tracey we are excited to see our daughters with us and to prepare with our Ukrainian guests for their friends to join us all for Christmas Day. They are simple pleasures, but also radiant points in life, part of the gift of Christmas.
This kind of gift is however one denied to seafarers.
Their hours are long, but their contracts are longer! The standard seafarer contract is for nine months at sea before returning home. Most will be unable to gather with family at Christmas. Their Christmas companions will be only the sea and whoever happens to be aboard their ship. Occasionally, seafarers can extend a contract to try and be free at Christmas, but for most it’s impossible. One of our chaplains told of us of how one seafarer had managed this because he had young children and had not been home for Christmas for six years – how many precious memories went unmade in those long six years.
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DonateThe Christmas presents which our Chaplains give to seafarers are hugely valued and are often the only gift they receive on Christmas Day. This is even more important as the gift has come from someone who they don’t know but is thinking of them. Let me explain with the story of one seafarer offered to you in the Chaplain’s own words.
“He told me of the care and support of The Mission to Seafarers stations he had visited around the world. It reminded me of the traditions we continue and the fondness with which we are remembered. Eventually, I rose to leave, and he said, “I would be dead if it were not for a Mission chaplain, you do a good job.
I sat back down, saying nothing for what seemed like and age, and slowly the story unfolded.
He had been at sea for almost a decade when he married. Even though he was away for long months, they seemed to make it work. Eventually, they welcomed the birth of their first child, and all seemed to be going well. He regularly thought about leaving deep sea vessels, but nothing was available locally. Signing what he hoped would be his last long contract, he said goodbye to his family and went to sea, to earn money to save for a new house and to invest in their future.
A month later, as he was about to sail from a distant port, he received communication. It was from his wife, telling him she was leaving and taking their child. She explained that she had never realised how difficult it was to be married to someone who was so little at home. She said she was sorry and asked him to try to understand.
Two weeks later, it was Christmas Day, and the ship was sailing across a wide ocean. He went to the mess to eat with the rest of the crew and returned to his cabin. He hadn’t slept properly since the devastating news, in turmoil he couldn’t concentrate and felt there was no future for him. He resolved to kill himself and planned how he would do it.
Sitting in darkness, he remembered a Christmas present that a Mission Chaplain had delivered several weeks earlier. He had promised not to open it then, but wait until Christmas. Searching for it, he opened it to find chocolates, a comb, soap, a pencil and a notebook. There was also a small card with a picture of the Flying Angel, the instantly recognisable symbol of the Mission. Inside the card were signatures from volunteers at the station, wishing him a Merry Christmas, and thanking him for all he did at sea.
Donate to our Christmas Appeal 2024
If you would like to support the work we do, please click on the button below to donate to this appeal.
DonateHe said that he just cried for what seemed like hours, in the grip of a deep and painful desolation. Eventually, he fell asleep and woke for his watch late on Christmas night. Whilst on watch, he resolved to just hang on and stay safe until the end of the journey.
Many years later, he was able to recount this story, on a remote dock, on a sunny day, after telling many stories of a good life.
The captain explained that the gifts didn’t solve any of his problems, but he was moved by the fact that someone had taken time to do something special, just for him, so that Christmas Day wouldn’t be just another day, especially such a long way from home.”
The Christmas story tells of a love so strong that it comes to live with us and amongst us in the child of Bethlehem. What is it that the Bible says about Christmas? Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us”.
The seafarers’ Christmas presents are a sign of dedicated care, of love. In the case of this one ship’s Captain, it was a care and a love that was just enough to cling onto in his darkest hour. It was just enough to offer him a path into the future. It is one story that we know. There are countless others we do not. By helping The Mission to Seafarers at this time of year you become part of that gift. You become part of the care that is so valued by seafarers away from home. Such care always makes a difference and always there are some for whom it is the difference between hope and despair, between life and death.
If you are able to do so, please consider supporting our Christmas Campaign and be part of the gift to seafarers this year and you too can make a seafarer’s life better, and you never know, this may even save a life.
Donate to our Christmas Appeal 2024
If you would like to support the work we do, please click on the button below to donate to this appeal.
DonateWith my thanks and very best wishes for the Christmas Season and in the New Year.
The Venerable Dr. Peter Rouch
Secretary General