Remembering the world’s seafarers in our prayers on Sea Sunday

Each year, Sea Sunday invites churches to remember and pray for the men and women who work at sea, many of whom spend months away from home, facing isolation, danger, and uncertainty.
At Royal Portbury and Avonmouth Docks near Bristol, chaplains from The Mission to Seafarers, offer consistent presence and support to crews from across the world. Revd Lucy Blows is part of the team that visits seafarers in the dock each week, “We offer support and a warm welcome. We simply go aboard and ask, ‘How are you? Where are you from? Is everybody okay?’ 

“When we’re visiting, we’ll take a supply of hats and magazines, various leaflets about the port. What we’re noticing is that a turnaround for some ships is very tight these days so they often have little time to get off the ship or go into town to the shops or anything so if we can we get supplies to them. It’s very much just chatting with them, to see how they are and from that, you can usually gather whether they’re interested in anything that you might have.”

Lucy described a moment during a recent visit to a vehicle carrier, “I met the man on watch. He was Russian. We chatted for a while and then I said, ‘May I leave you a prayer card? It’s just so that you know we pray for you every week, for everybody’s safety at sea.’ His eyes welled up. He was very moved. That’s a small gesture, but it goes a long way.”
Fr Jeremy Hellier Port Chaplain, Mission to Seafarers, explained the scale and significance of maritime work. “Around 95% of everything we use comes to us by sea. If we didn’t look out for our seafarers, our entire way of life would collapse very quickly.”

He emphasised the importance of practical care often provided by volunteers in local parishes. “We have lots of volunteers who support seafarers by providing warm clothing, hats, scarves, gloves. Many of the seafarers come from countries where they’ve no idea what the English weather is like, so don’t always have the correct clothing for our climate.”
Prayer, presence, and practical action come together in the everyday work of the chaplaincy. Jeremy says, when serious welfare issues arise, chaplains often become the first point of contact. “We’re usually the eyes and ears. We may not be able to fix it ourselves, but we know who can.”

He recalls one urgent case, “I got an email from the chief officer of a ship called the Magothy they were off the coast of Morocco. The steering motor had failed. When they reached Bristol, the sewage tanks were overflowing, the water was contaminated, and two crew members had untreated wounds. I rang the Samaritan Fund through the Mission to Seafarers and within an hour we had £500 to buy bread and water. That’s how bad it can get.”

And he says work often continues long after a ship has sailed. “One crew member contacted me from Chile about unpaid wages. I got in touch with my counterpart in Panama, who involved the ITF inspector in Chile. Within 36 hours, the crew were paid.”

Lucy and Jeremy work with others to ensure that seafarers have the support they need. Lucy says, “We are privileged to work in an ecumenical team, with Steve from a free church employed by QVSR who run the Seafarer centre and Peter the Stella Maris chaplain. Working closely together we can play to one another’s strengths and support each other across the week with ship visits, transport, and legal enquiries.  

“We also have a growing team of volunteers in recognition of the importance and value of ship visiting, being a friendly welcoming face for Seafarers. Often, they will have been at sea for some months and may be home sick, worried about loved ones or just fed up with the sea and one another’s company! Being the face of hospitality and welcome, with genuine care and concern is all about God’s love in action.
Lucy adds that, Sea Sunday is an opportunity for the wider Church to reflect, give thanks, and renew its commitment to care. “It’s not just a one-off day. It’s a reminder that these seafarers are out there at sea all year, and we are called to care.”

More information and resources are available on The Mission to Seafarers Website