Sailors’ Society to launch new song for Sea Sunday

The new hymn is dedicated to the world’s 1.2 million seafarers, whom the Sailors’ Society is encouraging people to remember this year.

The charity points out that over 95% of world trade is transported by sea, yet seafarers are often forgotten. It wants more recognition of the hard work, sacrifice and isolation of seafarers, many of whom spend months away from their families and loved ones. The charity’s worldwide network of port chaplains provides support to seafarers who are often on the front line of issues such as piracy, poverty and tragedy.

Mr Kendrick said about his involvement with the Sailors’ Society: “I was pretty ignorant about the whole work of merchant seafarers and I guess it’s not unusual to be like that. It was through hearing about the work of the Sailors’ Society and being given an insight into the lives of seafarers around the world that bought me to write this hymn for them. It’s a pretty tough life. The Sailors’ Society provides a very generous-hearted approach and a way to ease some of their loneliness and the difficulty of their lives. The obvious starting point for the song was to think about the lives of merchant seafarers and to think about being stuck out in the middle of the ocean for months on end away from family. I would love Christians in particular to become more aware of this whole world of need, and to help support it because there are a lot of chaplains who are supported doing this charitable work.”

The hymn will be included in the Sea Sunday Worship Resource Pack, which is being distributed by the Sailors’ Society to churches and other groups on request. The pack also includes a ‘Moment of Reflection’ by Adrian Plass, which is based upon the daily BBC Radio Shipping Forecast, as well as a sermon outline, a children’s talk, suggested readings, prayers, hymns and worship songs. New for 2012 is a seven-day personal prayer guide leading up to Sea Sunday.

Revd David Potterton, the Sailors’ Society’s principal chaplain, said, “Our port chaplains enhance the quality of seafarers’ lives as they visit ships around the world. Sea Sunday services will be happening internationally in churches, on docksides, in seafarers’ centres and on board ships.”