Apostleship of the Sea - Seafarers Ministry

Welcoming Seafarers

As part of its ministry to welcome and assist the forgotten and those in need, Catholic Charities ministers to mariners who work on the ships that come to the Port of Green Bay.

This ministry is offered through the ecumenical Seafarers Ministry of Green Bay and is affiliated globally with the international Apostleship of the Sea of the Catholic Church.

Seafarers Ministry of Green Bay offers welcome and hospitality to ships and crews throughout the shipping season and engages in five special annual projects. The Catholic port chaplain in Green Bay is Deacon Glenn Teske.

What is Apostleship of the Sea?

The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) reaches out to mariners, fishermen, their families, and all who work or travel on the world’s waterways. They often are away from their homes and many have little support to maintain ties with their faith and families. AOS chaplains accept and adapt to mariners’ lives and needs through a ministry of welcoming and Christian presence.

History of the Apostleship of the Sea

Catholic port ministry was conceived and developed in 1920 in Glasgow, Scotland. Two years later, Pope Pius XI asked the Apostleship of the Sea to reach out to all waterways and shores. In every major country, the AOS Bishop Promoter oversees the work of a national director who coordinates the chaplains’ efforts and helps them develop their ministries. Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Ga., is the current Bishop Promoter.

AOS was established to meet pastoral needs of mariners and all who travel by water. In some ports chaplains provide Catholic Mass, Confession, Anointing of the Sick and pastoral care.
AOS ministers also seek to ensure a safe work environment, just contracts, a genuine welcome and safe haven while in port, spiritual renewal, communication with loved ones back home and recreational possibilities.

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Apostleship of the Sea Ministry in the Diocese of Green Bay

Seafarers Ministry of Green Bay began in June 1969 as a joint ministry of the Brown County Council of Churches and the Port Ministry of the Catholic Diocese. This ministry to lakers (ships that travel only on the Great Lakes) began when Fr. Jim Dillenburg and Rev. Paul Schippel visited a coal boat at Reiss dock. The astonished sailors had never seen a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister visiting together.

Seafarers Ministry of Green Bay continues as a local, non-profit ecumenical witness that brings friendship to the hundreds of seafarers who visit the Port of Green Bay every shipping season.

Originally the ministry visited as many ships as possible to offer friendship, counseling, religious services and other assistance as needed, including inviting foreign seafarers to visit local homes.

In the early years hundreds of ships visited the port every shipping season, where they remained for several days while ships were loaded or off-loaded, allowing seafarers to visit the community without restriction.

Ships no longer travel up the Fox River and most of the more than 200 ships that call at the port during a shipping season typically stay only a few hours before leaving for the next port.

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, most ports closed to visitors; shipboard visits were greatly curtailed; and foreign seafarers were no longer allowed off ship. Many terminal operators no longer allow non-staff onto their property. Seafarers Ministry volunteers often ask terminal workers to take their gifts of newspapers, magazines and religious materials to seafarers.

Deacon Glenn Teske is the Port Chaplain in Green Bay. In 2007, he and Ken Schneider from First Presbyterian Church in De Pere called on nearly all the 187ships that arrived at the port, sometimes visiting on board and other times from shore, no matter the weather or time of day or night.

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Welcoming Ships and Crews

• A letter explaining the purpose of Seafarers Ministry of Green Bay, including the phone number for the chaplain
• Books and magazines donated by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, De Pere Christian Outreach, Seafarers Ministry members and other interested people
• A brochure on the Apostleship of the Sea in the U.S.
• A brochure on the Port of Green Bay
• A brochure on Seafarers Ministry of Green Bay that includes a map and listing of churches, special facilities (shopping, Post Office, city hall; hospitals and so on), attractions (parks, museums and entertainment) near the port; and letters of welcome from the mayor, port director and the chaplains.

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Special Annual Projects in the Green Bay Diocese

• Collecting donated homemade cookies which are packed into gift boxes. In 2008, seafarers were given 320 gift boxes during November and December. Gift boxes also were delivered to 130 Coast Guard personnel at stations in Northeast Wisconsin at Marinette, Sturgeon Bay, Kewaunee and Manitowoc. Terminal operators also received presents from the Seafarers Ministry.
• Every spring a Memorial Service on the banks of the Fox River honors the memory of seafarers who died during the previous year. In their memory a wreath is cast into the waters.
• Publicizing Mariner’s Day on the Second Sunday of July as declared by the Vatican each year.
• Celebrating the National Day of Remembrance and Prayer for Mariners and the People of the Sea on May 22, as proclaimed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2007.
• Giving a cake with the ship’s name on it to the first ship to arrive in port each year. The chaplains personally present the cake to the Captain if he is available.

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How To Get Involved

For more information:
Green Bay
Deacon Glenn Teske
2839 S. Broadway
Green Bay, WI 54304
(920)499-0035

Ted Phernetton
Catholic Charities
P.O. Box 23825
Green Bay, WI 54305-3825
(920)272-8234
1-800-500-3580 (toll free)

E-mail

National / International
Apostleship of the Sea
Washington D.C.
www.aos-usa.org

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Mariner's Prayer

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Mother of God and our Mother, you know all the dangers of soul and body that threaten mariners. Protect your sons and daughters who work and travel on the waters of the world, and protect also their families that await their return. Star of the Sea, Mother of the Church, give light and strength to those chaplains and lay ministers who bring the love of your Divine Son among mariners. Fill their hearts with a supernatural and life-giving zeal for the apostolate. Star of the Sea, light shining in the darkness, be a guide to those who sail amid the storms and dangers of life. Enlighten the hearts of ardent disciples and bring us all to the safety of heaven's port. Amen. (Apostleship of the Sea, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 3211 Fourth Street NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194)

Fisherman's Prayer

Dear God, be good to me; the sea is so wide, and my boat is so small ... (Apostleship of the Sea, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 3211 Fourth Street NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194)

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