{"id":1712,"date":"2022-12-05T18:56:40","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2024-01-19T20:57:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T20:57:23","slug":"christmas-in-corpus-christi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/index.php\/2022\/12\/05\/christmas-in-corpus-christi\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas in Corpus Christi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/THE-MARE-REPORT-CHRISTMAS-IN-CORPUS-CHRISTI-December-5-2022.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption>Article audio (courtesy of Don Sheets)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>by Susan Huppert, NAMMA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be lonely to celebrate Christmas at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a cadet at sea looks out the small\nwindow of his cabin on Christmas Eve and sees only the reflection of the moon\non a black sea, it\u2019s tough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our common Christmas experience is to find ourselves surrounded by family or friends. Not so for a hefty percentage of merchant seafarers who have chosen sea as their livelihood. They will be alone. Perhaps they will be among crew mates of the same language and nationality, perhaps not. This is why seafarer centers in North America have a high priority to see that those who crew ships globally transporting our goods are recognized with a gift during the Christmas season; even if the gift comes from a stranger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Texas, Port Corpus Christi is the nation\u2019s largest energy export gateway. According to its website, it is the No.1 U.S. port in total revenue tonnage. But, regardless of the port size or activity, corporate donors to private knitters in homes across the nation are pooling their energy and funds to accomplish the immediate Christmas goal of the seafarer center in their area. Give a gift to a seafarer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year the Corpus Christi Downtown\nRotary Club donated funds for 1,500 gift bags for seafarers docking at Port Corpus\nChristi. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This season, 1,000 gift bags will be given according\nto Corpus Christi International Seamen\u2019s Center, Executive Director Sharon\nEmerson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are here for them,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once working in a law office, Emerson exchanged her profession for her \u201ccalling.\u201d She served the Corpus Christi outreach for 25 years in a part-time role before accepting her current position four years ago. She oversees four chaplains, a remnant of the ten during pre-pandemic times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead chaplain, Tom Reilly, a Catholic, attended the Houston Maritime Ministry Training Program, which is managed by the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA). He has been carrying Christmas gifts up gangways since 2009. Although the number of chaplains is down, he says the deliveries are parallel to those before COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the Corpus Christi port, chaplains and\ndrivers began delivering the gifts Dec. 1. Packages containing personal hygiene\nitems, calendars, candy, socks and watch caps are joyfully received at the foot\nof the gangways when greater access isn\u2019t possible. Some chaplains may even\nbreak into a Christmas carol to boost the spirits of those they serve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cThe\nseafarers are very grateful,\u201d said Emerson. \u201cIf we run short of gifts and Port\nComfort, [a smaller neighboring outreach,] has a surplus they share them. Last\nyear we received 124 gift boxes from them to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christmas magnifies the critical need of\nseafarers for family contact.&nbsp; Aware of\nthe associated challenges, the interdenominational outreach also provides free\nphone cards at Christmas and free access to internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the eatery included in the Corpus\nChristi center crew members benefit from free pizza and drinks during the\nholidays &#8211; a diversion from thoughts of home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The center\u2019s commercial kitchen is also a\nsource of revenue for the center by serving the greater port community. Emerson\nsees the 30 to 50 customers who visit weekly as an opportunity for relationship\nbuilding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMany had no idea. They see the ships come\nand go, but are unaware of the seafarers\u2019 lives,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen they come in,\nthey learn about us. They see what we do. I think the connection is very good.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 79-year-old lead chaplain has seen\nfinancial changes over the years. It is difficult to recruit chaplains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCompeting with church budgets for funding\nis challenging,\u201d said Reilly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In shipping, industry and ministry grow\nside-by-side. Each additional vessel brings more seafarers with specific needs.\nEmerson\u2019s goal of reaching out to more diverse communities in 2023 will expand\nthe mission\u2019s work, its financial support and its Christmas impact. Anyone can\nget onboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChristmas,\u201d she said, \u201cis universal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo: Christmas gifts in Port Corpus Christi (photo courtesy of Corpus Christi Seamen&#8217;s Center)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Susan Huppert, NAMMA It can be lonely to celebrate Christmas at sea. When a cadet at sea looks out the small window of his cabin on Christmas Eve and sees only the reflection of the moon on a black [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[386],"tags":[242,566,391,400,567,44,150,245],"class_list":["post-1712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","tag-christmas","tag-corpus-christi","tag-gifts","tag-point-comfort","tag-sharon-emerson","tag-stella-maris","tag-texas","tag-the-mission-to-seafarers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Christmas in Corpus Christi - The MARE Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the heartwarming efforts at the Corpus Christi International Seamen\u2019s Center in Texas to make Christmas special for seafarers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/index.php\/2022\/12\/05\/christmas-in-corpus-christi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas in Corpus Christi - 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