{"id":1745,"date":"2022-12-14T18:12:09","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T18:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/?p=1745"},"modified":"2024-01-19T21:07:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T21:07:01","slug":"christmas-in-mobile-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/index.php\/2022\/12\/14\/christmas-in-mobile-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas in Mobile, Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/marereport.namma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/THE-MARE-REPORT-CHRISTMAS-IN-MOBILE-ALABAMA.-DECEMBER-14-2022.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption>Article audio (courtesy of Don Sheetz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>by Susan Huppert, NAMMA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Stella Maris Maritime Ministry has all\nhands on deck for its global Christmas giving. The ministry, under the\nArchdiocese of Mobile, is one of a worldwide network providing spiritual and\nmaterial support to people who live and work at sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students from Christ the King Catholic\nSchool near the Port of Mobile, lift large blue bags they fill with Christmas\ngifts into the back of the vehicle parked outside the school doors. Their\nresponse to the seafarers who they will never meet is their spiritual offering\nat Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each year, 1600 vessels will dock in the\nPort of Mobile with about 30,000 seafarers from multiple countries. Caring for\nthem is the mission of Deacon John Archer, ministry Administrator, and his team\nof 10 trained volunteers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese are isolated, lonely people who are\non their vessels for many months. When they come here we regard them as our\nneighbors and someone goes out to meet them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Access to Wi-Fi aids seafarers in\ncommunicating with their families is a key provision. The Catholic outreach also\nprovides seafarers with Bibles, prayer books, rosaries and an opportunity to celebrate\nMass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are 12 parishes in the Archdiocese of\nMobile. During the Christmas season, the gifts which come together from many\nsources communicate to seafarers that someone is thinking of them. The Knights\nof Columbus sort hundreds of donated items including toiletries, stocking hats,\nsocks and sweets, in preparation for others to fill the 500 Christmas bags\ngiven annually. Some fill the sturdy nylon bags. Others deliver them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat is very helpful to fill in the gaps,\u201d\nsaid Archer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through this partnership, awareness grows of how personal homes and neighborhoods benefit from seafarers who transport 90 percent of the world\u2019s goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the pandemic, a drop in donations and volunteers hindered giving. Now the ministry is gaining back support. This year a $300 grant from the ITF Seafarers&#8217; Trust, dispersed by the NAMMA was a welcome addition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had a lot more to do,\u201d said Archer. \u201cIt\nhelped things feel more normal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Stella Maris ministry coordinates with\na second outreach, the Port Ministry International which shares the goal to\nreach as many seafarers as possible during the Christmas season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSeafarers are great people doing a hard\njob; and they are alone at Christmas,\u201d said Archer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the holidays,\u201d He said. \u201cHow would you\nfeel?\u201d&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, gifts and spiritual care are directed\nto each ship. Seafarers that are on vessels at sea on Christmas will find a\ngift held back for their late arrival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey love it,\u201d said Archer. \u201cThe response that really hit me was, \u2018thank you for thinking about us.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Photo: courtesy of Stella Maris Mobile<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Susan Huppert, NAMMA The Stella Maris Maritime Ministry has all hands on deck for its global Christmas giving. The ministry, under the Archdiocese of Mobile, is one of a worldwide network providing spiritual and material support to people who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[386],"tags":[574,242,573,44],"class_list":["post-1745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","tag-alabama","tag-christmas","tag-mobile","tag-stella-maris"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Christmas in Mobile, Alabama - The MARE Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the heartfelt Christmas efforts of Stella Maris Maritime Ministry in Mobile, Alabama, dedicated to supporting the needs of 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\/14\/christmas-in-mobile-alabama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas in Mobile, Alabama - 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