What Can You Do?
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Pray for the seafarers and their families.- As each day passes we get up and go through our day and return home each night, as for the seafarer this is not the case. Most seafarers are away from home 6 to 10 months at a time. For some it is their choice but for others, it is the only employment available where they can support their families. Many work for substandard wages ($400 to $700 per month) and some make desirable wages. Still, the fact is that they have to be away from family and friends for long periods of time.
Spread the word about the Seafarer’s Center and acquaint more people with the ministry.- The Seafarers’ Center has been at the port since 1962. With the combined efforts of the Diocese of Lake Charles and Carey Baptist Association is has been a fruitful ministry through the years. It is the desire of the staff that more people in the area come to know about his needed ministry.
Encourage people to volunteer their time and talents at the center.- Volunteers are the life of the Seafarers’ Center. Without the efforts of such good people as the ones who have given of their time and talents the Center would not have survived thus far. There is a continued need for volunteers to meet the needs of the ministry. With the only phones on the port being in the Center, we have come to open during the daytime for the seafarers to make calls home.
Encourage organization groups to get involved in special projects, such as:
Annual Christmas Bag Project- Each year we attempt to provide each seafarer with a small bag for Christmas. This small bag with toiletries, cards, pens, envelopes will be the only gift they will receive that year. We rely on the generosity of the local community to supply these items.
- This is a new project where the Apostleship of the Sea – England has designed Seafarer Prayer Book and a book on ST. Peter Claver (Patron saint for seafarers) that can be purchased to be handed out to seafarers free. The Adopt-A-Ship project asks a church or organization to provide funds to purchase 25 books, enough for one ship. These books will then be handed out to each crew member of the ship.