Happy New Year and Thank You!
During MtS Chaplain Retchie’s visit to distribute Christmas gift bags, a Captain shared his experiences of two narrow escapes from pirates. His crew had been dramatically rescued off the coast of Nigeria. The cargo crew had heard automatic assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) exploding. A Japanese warship, despite being many miles away, responded to their distress call by deploying attack helicopters and boats to chase the pirates. Many of the crew were traumatised by the encounter. The ship’s cook also shared his heartbreak that although his son was on a ship berthed only walking distance away, their differing schedules meant they could not meet yet again. Thank you to everyone who supports our Chaplain’s visiting ships to bring comfort and practical support to seafarers in Sydney.
2024 Christmas Newsletter – Masters Mariner
Read our latest newsletter to find out about our Rescue of two fisherman from Slavery, Meet our New Chaplain, Prayer Points for suffering Seafarers, Chaplain Jim talks with a Ukrainian seafarer, Pool Comp Fun at the Mission with Mariam, Joining Stella Maris to bring gifts to Seafarers on Ships, and Rev Tay wins an international award and shares his Christmas Message.
Extraordinary Service Recognised at Thanksgiving Celebration
Mission to Seafarers Sydney has awarded Life Memberships to thank two champions of seafarer welfare: Graham Lightfoot AM and Captain Philip Holliday, CEO of Port Authority of NSW. Our Chair Robert Dunn made the presentation at our 2024 Thanksgiving and Christmas event paying tribute to those who had made it possible for us to serve over 10,000 seafarers in 2024. Mr Dunn also thanked the volunteers “who are the heart and soul of this organisation” and the donors who make it possible for us to continue and expand our work to reach more of the 400,000 seafarers who visit Sydney each year.
Port Community Unites to Brighten Seafarers’ Christmas
The Port Botany community united to fill 1800 Christmas gift bags for often lonely seafarers! Christmas can be a lonely time for many, but for seafarers who often haven’t seen their families for up to nine months, a gift bag of care can be a huge boost to their mental health. Over 40 volunteers gathered at Sr Mary’s cabin, including NSW Port CEO Marika Calfas, Chair Patricia McKenzie and Ports of NSW CEO Philip Holliday who visited to thank the volunteers for caring for seafarers.
Thank you SWF for Our New Chaplain!
Thanks to the NSW Seafarers Welfare Fund, our Mission has a new part-time Chaplain – and he speaks five languages! Welcome Reverend Canon David Wong whose language and pastoral skills especially in Mandarin and Cantonese, will be especially helpful to the many Chinese seafarers who visit our Centre. The position was able to be funded thanks to the support of the Port Authority of NSW and NSW Ports through the first round of NSW Seafarer Welfare Fund grants. So drop into our Centre in Millers Point to meet Chaplain David who enjoys hearing about seafarers’ lives and concerns.
2024 Spring Master’s Mariner Newsletter – Father’s Day
In our latest news: read Rev Tay’s Easter Message, find out why we have had over 1000 cruise ship seafarers visit us this Cruise Season and get the details for how to enter Henty’s Beanie Competition – it has already inspired the creation of over 200 beanies from all over Australia to be donated to seafarers visiting our Centre!
Opportunity for a Chaplain to Join Our Caring Team
An opportunity is available at our Mission in Sydney for an additional part-time Chaplain to provide wellbeing support for seafarers from over 70 nations. We are very grateful to the Port Authority of NSW and NSW Ports for making this new position possible.
Winter Appeal Thank You
Thank you to everyone who supported our Winter Appeal 2024 including our online raffle, ensuring we could continue to offer a warm welcome to seafarers this Winter. Thank you also to the volunteers who helped fill the gift bags. Congratulations to our online raffle winner S Henderson of Sydney, whose generous $100 contribution probably improved […]
Seafarers and Sydneysiders Celebrate Sea Sunday
Seafarers joined about 250 Sydneysiders at the beautiful St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney CBD, to celebrate Sea Sunday, a global day of thanks and prayer for seafarers.
Latest MtS Sydney Newsletter – Winter
Please consider supporting our Winter Appeal for your EOFY Giving! We are: 100% tax deductible for $2+ – 100% reliable – 100% focused on seafarers!
Donate online before June 30 for your instant automated receipt claimable in this financial year! Read our latest newsletter for all our news!
