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Dear Friends of SCI—

The Thanksgiving holiday is just a day away and I cannot imagine that any of us expected that the daily news cycle would still be driven by the COVID pandemic. With all the anxiety and uncertainty that is happening at home in the US and around the globe as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, this might seem like a surprising time to speak about remaining positive and, yes, giving thanks. Yet, one of the most defining attributes of Americans is our ability to remain optimistic in good times and bad.

America’s first Thanksgiving is generally traced to the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1621 but afterwards remained an intermittent celebration at local discretion. In 1863, in the midst of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving. And in the early days of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt—at the time, a member of the Seamen’s Church Institute’s board of trustees—signed into law legislation making Thanksgiving Day a national holiday to be held annually on the fourth Thursday in November.
That we are living through troubled and uncertain times is not lost on any of us. But placing COVID in context vis-à-vis the Civil War and World War II, does provide perspective. Even in 2020, there is much for which we can give thanks. Within the past few weeks, there were announcements of three trial vaccines each with 90% effectiveness.

More personally, I give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy as a people and nation; for the health of my extended family; for the joys and opportunities that punctuate my daily life; and even for the return of televised sports. Yes, this Thanksgiving will be different from previous Thanksgiving holidays. Rather than traveling to be with extended family in Georgia or Massachusetts, this year my wife, children and I will celebrate the holiday at home in southeastern Pennsylvania.
 
Yet, I know that while I am home with my family on this holiday, hundreds of thousands of seafarers and mariners will be at work on ships and boats on the world’s oceans and our nation’s waterways. Seafarers can spend months at sea, separated from their loved ones, and it is times like these when people are instructed to stay indoors and self-isolate with their families that can be the most difficult for seafarers. So, in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, I feel the need to say loud and clear: THANK YOU MARINERS! Thank you for transporting the food, medicine and fuel we need to live our lives. Thank you for your service. And I cannot help but give thanks for SCI’s chaplains in the Port of New York & New Jersey and on our nation’s rivers and inland waterways for the meaningful work they continue to do day-in and day-out to care for seafarers and mariners during this most challenging time. Thank you for your commitment to living out SCI’s mission on the front lines of this pandemic.

On this Thanksgiving eve, I also give thanks for you our supporters and donors, for all my SCI colleagues, and for our Trustees. Thank you for your ongoing support of our mission to seafarers and mariners both near and far!

Faithfully,
The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt
President & Executive Director


A Prayer for Thanksgiving Day
Almighty and gracious God, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name. Amen


The Lookout: Extended Play with Don Sheetz
SCI's New Podcast!
As a companion piece to our magazine, The Lookout, we are launching a new podcast hosted by the Voice of CMA at the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Annual Shipping Conference and Exhibition, Don Sheetz. A graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, Don retired from Vanuatu Maritime Services, New York, in 2009, after 18 years serving as Vice President - Safety, then Executive Vice President and Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs with worldwide operational responsibility for the Vanuatu ship registry.

In addition to extensive and historical knowledge of the maritime industry, Don brings a levity and charm to the lively topics explored in the podcasts. Our all-star line up of guests includes Lois Zabrocky, Doug Stevenson, Parker Harrison, Phil Schifflin, Stephen Polk and more. The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt will also be recording a Christmas Special with SCI Senior Archivist Johnathan Thayer and Associate Archivist Stefan Dreisbach-Williams.

S1 Ep. 1:
Captain Alex Hagerty and Boriana Farrar

Here is a link to the first episode in the series with Captain Alex Hagerty, and SCI Board member and Development Committee Chair, WISTA Board member, and Vice President-Counsel-Business Development Director-Americas at Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Boriana Farrar.

Alex and Boriana appear in the most recent issue of The Lookout in the feature article on women in maritime.

Silver Bell to Silver Lining
Thank You Sponsors, Donors and Participants!

For the first time in 43 years, we were unable to gather together in June for the Seamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) most celebrated and largest annual fundraiser—the Silver Bell Awards Dinner. Rather than just cancel, SCI transitioned to an online “gathering” and hosted the Silver Lining Virtual Event on Wednesday, November 11. Hundreds of supporters welcomed SCI into their home to virtually come together and recognize the work of the men and women of the maritime industry as well as raise funds to support SCI’s work.

We created a virtual program that highlighted SCI’s vital work serving seafarers and mariners told through the eyes of chaplains, volunteers, and those we serve. We were thrilled that special guests including Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard; Captain Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama when it was hijacked by Somali pirates; Astronaut Scott Kelly; and Jennifer Carpenter, President & CEO of the American Waterways Operators lent their voices to help us tell our story.

In addition to the engaging program, we had the opportunity to host our first ever Online Auction featuring categories such as unique travel experiences; wine and whiskey tastings; art and literature; and sports and fitness — there was something for everyone! Thanks to the support of many generous friends, the Silver Bell and Silver Lining event was overwhelmingly successful!

Although no virtual event could ever replace the energy of being gathered together in-person to celebrate, the continued and unwavering support of our community over the years, and particularly during this most challenging and unprecedented year, has been a true silver lining. It has been our privilege to continue to faithfully serve mariners. If you were unable to join us on November 11, please click here to view the program.

Your Support Allows Us to Respond to Mariner Needs Without Hesitation.
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