Homily ICMA World Conference Kaohsiung 2019 – Tuesday October 22

Matthew 6.1-4 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

It would have been a lot easier if we had Matthew 5:15-16 as the text for today. In this passage, Jesus tells us not to hide under a basket the good we do. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.”

Such a text would have been a great encouragement for our conference.

For it would be a nice image: the work that we do in ports and on vessels, the light we try to spread – isn’t one of the aims of this conference to put all of this work on a candle?

Does not our work deserve more attention than it often gets? We all know the expression “sea blindness” – many people have no clue about the importance of seafarers and neither do they have any clue on the welfare work which supports the seafarers during their hard work under difficult circumstances.

Aren’t conferences about maritime ministry meant to put our light on a candlestick? Isn’t that the reason that some welfare organizations have award events – as a reward for the great work that is done by the maritime missions?

Putting our light on a candlestick – we need to promote our work, right? We need to shine, for that will attract people to support us. And we cannot do without support. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works. Let them see our good works via our newsletters, Facebook pages, annual reports and conferences.

But, Matthew 5:1-16 is not today’s reading. We hear different words from Jesus: “Be careful not to practice your rightenousness in front of others to be seen by them. …

Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Quite a different language and a different image.

Do these words of Jesus mean that we shall not celebrate this week?

Do these words of Jesus mean that we should try to be as invisible as possible – put our missions out of sight as much as possible?

Do these words of Jesus mean that we should refrain from asking attention for the welfare work to seafarers?

There is a saying: what happens on the ship, stays on the ship.

It means: about certain things you remain quiet when you are on shore – for they will not understand anyway.

Yes, a bit of that is part of our work.

We are here with many chaplains, the ones who actually do the ship visiting, the ones who actually run the seamen’s clubs – they know what I am talking about. What happens on the ship, stays on the ship.

• A conversation you have on a quiet spot on deck – or in the ECR.
• A moment of prayer in between the chaotic dynamics of loading and off- loading – or a docking period.
• Sharing bread and wine with just a few guys on a Sunday night in the chapel of your mission.
• A great joke by one of the crewmembers which takes away the tension of your presence.
• A cadet, who wants to show his strong face, but when you sit alone with him, he tells you about his insecurities.
• The phonecall you have to make to the Port Inspection – you struggle before: what shall I do?

A right hand dialling – but one has to remain discrete.

Hard to tell what exactly is happening when you visit a ship or when you receive visitors in your mission.

These things are not always big lights to put on a candle stick.

In my foundation we like to use the image of sharing sparks of light.

Just sparks – and you are not always aware of the fires they might be igniting.

Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The words of Jesus actually provide me with some relief.

For what we do, ultimately is not about getting as much attention as possible, it is not about being liked by a big crowd, it is not about being acknowledged by ship owners – it even is not about getting recognition from the seafarers – it is about what God thinks is important.

God’s valuation of what we do matters.

The language of reward is not a language of earning or deserving, it is the language of grace.

You have your reward in heaven – for God’s love is unconditional.

With this mindset, I can feel relaxed when I visit a ship. Numbers and success are not the key words.

But we work from grace.

I like the example that general secretary Jason Zuidema once gave during a lecture. When as a chaplain you sell a SIM card, what is happening is not a commercial transaction. It’s about connecting a seafarer to his family.

Financially, it is not an interesting fact – but from the perspective of grace it is a great gift.

So yes, we are very blessed that we can work for, with and on behalf of seafarers. And this week, during this great conference, we may celebrate this mystery of right hands and left hands.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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Unsurprisingly, Hoel writes about standard welfare provisions like seamen’s hotels, reading rooms, ship visits, legal assistance, and religious services and meetings. What really struck me, however, were the educational activities offered to seafarers. Reading rooms provided an atmosphere akin to home. They also offered writing facilities (a kind of precursor to the Internet connections offered in seafarers’ centers today). Educational presentations were also given in reading rooms, which also supplied instructional materials on various subjects useful for seafarers. This activity fit well in the nineteenth century tradition of Bildung (“Edification”) and fostering a nationalism more-or-less in present in all European cultures of the time.

But what about in our time? Should seafarers’ welfare providers still prioritize education in the range of services we provide to the maritime world?

With my colleague, port chaplain Rev. Helene Perfors, I deliver guest lectures at the maritime college in Rotterdam. For first year students, we provide a lesson in just how complex is the work of a seafarer. Today, many students don’t have a clear image of what life at sea means, since they often have had little contact with mariners.

For the second year students, we developed a series of lessons called “RESC-Q”: adding Quality to the seafarer’s life and performance via Reflective ability, Emotional stability, Social sensitivity and Cultural Awareness. These lessons are especially important because training in these “soft skills” is not a part of the regular curriculum. As workers in maritime ministry, we can share our experience with regard to this side of life at sea. This portion of our education could even be used on a larger scale: an international version of RESC-Q was delivered to a group of Filipino seafarers at a manning agency in Manila late in 2017.

The industry has shown great interest in the development of “soft skills”; psychological assessments have even become quite normal in recruitment and hiring. It is natural, then, that maritime colleges are looking for ways of implementing them in their curricula. Moreover, in the Dutch context, the government requires that educational institutions pay attention to issues such as ethics, worldviews, and citizenship.

Of course, our guest lectures are not the only initiatives in the field. Certain members of the International Christian Maritime Association still provide formal maritime education, notably the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York & New Jersey in the United States. Likewise, the UK-based Sailors’ Society has developed in recent years the “Wellness at Sea” programme with the possibility of in-house training at maritime academies or other institutions. That training is designed to improve skills for “social, emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual well-being” at sea.

Former maritime engineer and Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme—Asia director, Rev. Rancho Villavicencio has been active in developing modules for a program called Pre-Departure Training, which the Philippine government requires for all seafarers. He, however, has gone one step further by starting “leadership training” for Filipino officers. His aim is to equip Filipino seafarers for higher positions and responsibilities. His training is not directed to the technical side of the job but rather focuses on the attitude and ethos of seafarers. The basic idea is that with the right mindset, one can accomplish high goals. His work has even drawn the interest of some European ship owners.

Again, but in a different way, the educational motive is present in the seminars for Filipino seafarers that I offer during my visits to dredging vessels. I have the privilege to stay a few days on board, which gives me the opportunity for communal reflection on a topic. Seminars on financial planning and maintaining long-distance relationships have been received with great enthusiasm. Crewmembers of other nationalities have also joined the discussion, which creates great mutual understanding.

Other types of educationally-motivated activities within maritime ministry could easily be added to our agenda, and I believe they can function as a great tool for the improvement of the well-being of the seafarer. Moreover, the scope of these activities goes further than helping the stereotypical “poor, lonely seafarer”. Education can help also more highly paid seafarers who may have had more comprehensive technical training already. Further, it is good practice to establish contact with young seafarers at an early stage in their careers.

Maritime welfare work long has focused on offering a warm welcome to seafarers in port, whether at dedicated facilities or through ship visits. At some times, advocacy for the needs of seafarers is a component of the ministry. Yet education, which was foundational to seafarers’ welfare in generations past, can be taken up in new ways as well. A further exploration of the possibilities and challenges for this task is welcome.

The maritime industry seems to be interested in this side of our work. In some ways, the only limit might be our success: anecdotally, one manning agency was unhappy with financial planning training because good habits in this area might see their workforce retire far earlier than expected! This is probably an exaggerated concern, but it does show that in all aspects of maritime ministry, careful cooperation with industry is necessary.

About the author: Drs. Stefan Francke is the son of a captain. He studied theology and philosophy in Kampen, Amsterdam, and Toronto. He served two congregations before becoming pastor for the Stichting Pastoraat Werkers Overzee in 2012.

The post Never Too Old to Learn: Reconsidering an Old Method in Maritime Ministry appeared first on NAMMA.

These questions were explored at the annual conference of Dutch ICMA-member Stichting Pastoraat Werkers Overzee (Ecumenical Foundation Providing Pastoral Care to Workers in Dredging and Marine Construction). More than 30 representatives of different dredging companies, from both the fleet and the office, listened to different presentations on “Free and connected—Social Life on board 2.0”.

One of the contributions came from Prison Chaplain Jan Broer, who discussed the differences between a ship’s cabin and a prison cell. A cell is a safe place, but there’s also the danger of isolation. Leisure management student Max de Jong informed the audience about trends in leisure: “gamification” and “meaningful activities” could be good starting points for further reflection on new possibilities for leisure onboard ships.

The lively discussion afterwards focused on different tensions: crewmembers do need their private space (an MLC, 2006 achievement!), but they also like social life on board. Crewmembers like to remain free in their choice of leisure time, but some stimulus for social life might be needed. The companies have some responsibility to facilitate this.

The conference ended with a tour of the Boskalis Smit Salvage complex in Waalhaven, Rotterdam. The small salvage museum showed different examples of salvage and diving techniques in the past, which were used during some of their most memorable operations.

Contact:

Pastor Stefan Francke
Stichting Pastoraat Werkers Overzee (Foundation Providing Pastoral Care for Workers in Dredging and Marine Construction)
www.spwo.nl

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