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This is a
Mission field for Salvation Army that is connecting officers who can
pastor onboard cruise ships. Created are wonderful opportunities to
counsel, evangelize, preach, and shepherd a potential flock in four
digits for the duration of a cruise.
To sign up contact Carol Cartmell at
gospelbrass@shaw.ca
At this time, assignments are
currently being given on request, as available. If you have a
cruise you are interesting in inquiring about, send the port of
departure, cruise line, and dates to Carol.
 At
this time, there is no cost to the pastor(s) for the Cruise (up to 2
in the cabin), though the pastors are encouraged to tip. The Pastors
are responsible for cost of their transportation to and from the
ship.
They will receive a letter of invitation approximately 30 days prior
to sailing. This invitation is the document needed to board the ship
at check in. Pastors @ Sea is now affiliated with several
cruiselines, they have 5 star ships and typically have 800 or more
crew and 2000 passengers on each sailing.
The assigned officers will be responsible for all
Interdenominational services, including special meeting(s) for the
crew. There could be seasonal services such as Christmas, Easter,
Thanksgiving or memorials.
The pastor would go prepared with an outline for the full time on
ship. Devotionals, Worship services, and Sing-Spirations. Many of
our Pastors@Sea have done marriage vow renewals. The ship's Cruise
Director is in charge of the Enrichment programs and will give times
and places set aside for the services. The Pastors@Sea, like all
other professionals onboard, need to be prepared with song sheets,
music and devotionals. Some of the musicians onboard may be able to
help with music if needed, but they are volunteering on their own
time. Pastors @Sea are encouraged to get to know the staff, crew,
and passengers and just be an ambassador for Christ. Sensitivity is
very important as there are many religions and cultures represented
on each ship.
Summer uniform is a must and for "formal night" the officer would
probably wear full (dress) uniform, but that would be at their
discretion.
Once an assignment is accepted, to complete your registration, the
following information is needed: your names as they appear on your
ID, citizenship, letter of good standing on Salvation Army letter
head, and a copy of your licence to marry or your commissioning
certificate. This is to establish that your are ordained and in good
standing.
This information will be forward to the cruiseline prior to your
invitation being sent.
A Pastor @ Sea shares about the
experience...
On October 14, 2006 we boarded the Royal
Caribbean cruise ship `The Empress of The Seas’, destined for
Bermuda. We had a wonderful opportunity and indeed a privilege to
minister to the passengers and crew. Once on board the ship,
we met with Lindsay, The Cruise Director’s Assistant, who briefed us
on the time and location for the Sunday Chapel Service and the Daily
Devotional Time. Lindsay made us feel right at home and made sure
that anything that we needed to help with the times of Worship was
available. Each morning a member of the crew met with us to make
sure that we had everything we needed for the Worship and Devotional
time.
On Sunday morning we conducted a Worship Service in the Bolero’s
Lounge and there were 35 in attendance. The time and location of
this service was advertised in the "Daily Compass". There were 10 to
15 people who attended the daily devotional times.
We were scheduled to dock at St. George’s but due to inclement
weather, we docked at Hamilton for our entire time in Bermuda. As a
result, many left the ship early in the morning to start their day
of exploring the Island.
We wore our Salvation Army uniforms during the services and for
breakfast. Throughout the duration of the cruise we wore our name
tags that identified us as "Pastors @ Sea". This simple
identification opened the door for meaningful conversation with a
variety of people. We had the opportunity to pray with and encourage
a young man who is journey along the road of "recovery" from
addictions. Another man asked us to pray for his son who is
struggling with addictions. We were personally encouraged by the
testimony of a man who had faced a life threatening illness and was
praising God for His continued blessing upon his life.
During the evening meal we were seated at the same table with the
same six people. This allowed for us to enter into some meaningful
conversations and to build upon these relationships throughout the
duration of the trip. Since arriving home we have had several emails
from those who were seated at this table.
There was a gentleman that took sick and was admitted to the
hospital in Bermuda. As a result of this man illness, both he and
his wife were left behind when we departed Bermuda for our return to
Philadelphia. Our services were not requested by the family or the
Cruise Director. We might have been able to be of further assistance
to the family because The Divisional Commanders of The Salvation
Army, in Bermuda, live directly across from the hospital. They may
have been able to assist both the husband and wife during their time
of duress.
We want to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity that
was afford us and would be willing to be part of this wonderful
ministry on another occasion.
Yours in Christ
Majors Bert & Kathie Sharp
Count your blessings!
Another Pastor @ Sea shares about the
experience...
…We just wanted to let you know what a
wonderful time we had on the cruise with Pastors at Sea. There was
really very little expected of us, just two Sunday services but we
were blessed when on Easter Sunday we had an attendance of over 120
people and the following Sunday we had about 60. Celebrity is a
wonderful cruise line and we were richly blessed, meeting many
wonderful people and seeing some beautiful places. We were supposed
to be in Grand Cayman on Easter Sunday but because of fog in Tampa,
which meant we were unable to leave on time, we missed the port. The
positive though, is that we had such a great turn out at the
service, which probably wouldn't have happened if we were in port.
What an experience to be in a huge theatre on a ship which is
swaying, (it was a bit rough) and preaching the Word.
We made good friends with our table mates, three couples from Miami
Beach who came together on the cruise, we will keep in touch I am
sure!
We took two extra suitcases with us filled with clothing, shoes,
toys and toiletries and Spanish Bibles as we knew that we would see
a lot of poverty. We did, and it was great to be able to make a
small difference to a few families in Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama
and Mexico. Several people from the ship who saw what we were doing
were challenged and said that they would do the same on their next
Caribbean cruise! It meant that we had to wash a few of our clothes
out in the cabin as we didn't have enough but what a small price to
pay for those who have so little!
We would do it again for sure!!
Blessings,
Violet and Mike Hayes
Another Pastor @ Sea shares about the
experience...
…on the Norwegian Spirit. We sailed out
of Seattle, and when we got to our room (6th deck, outside cabin),
there was a letter waiting for me on the bed from the assistant
cruise director, asking me to meet her in the library. Nicoleta was
very nice and accommodating and wanted to know what my needs were.
Because I had brought a CD player and song sheets with me, I only
needed a room and a podium, and I was quickly assured they would be
supplied. She wasn't sure what other meetings I would be able to
have, but told me that I would be informed at a later time. I asked
about meeting with the crew, but Nicoleta didn't seem very positive
towards that (the crew was too new, many of them spoke little
English, etc), but I asked her to keep me in mind in case any
(spiritual) needs arose amongst the crew or the passengers, and she
assured me she would.
Each night a flyer is placed on the passengers doors, telling them
of the next days activities, and that first night the paper said
'Interdenominational Service with Candi Frizzell'. I hadn't had any
input on the wording, and I was concerned that it didn't sound too
exciting, so imagine my surprise when 111 people showed up at the
bar (our Sunday morning worship place)! We had a great time
together, and afterwards I enjoyed speaking with all of the folks
who relished telling me about their connection...
The next three days were spent in ports (Ketchikan, Juneau and
Skagway) and then on the return trip, we stopped in Prince Rupert. I
was able to contact fellow clergy in both Ketchikan and Prince
Rupert, and had a nice time of fellowship and prayer.
On the next to the last day Nicoleta again contacted me and asked
that I do one more service and a wedding vow renewal, this time both
would be in the small movie theater. She didn't want there to be
sign ups in advance for the vows renewal, so I just had to kind of
play it by ear in thinking about how many couples I would be dealing
with. As it turns out, there were 25 in the morning service and then
later that afternoon four couple came in for the renewal. I had
wedding music for the CD player, and I had brought certificates for
the couples to sign, and the service really turned out nicely.
This was my first cruise, and I enjoyed the experience immensely. I
will be writing to the Cruise Director to thank him for allowing me
to participate, and I hope many of the people who said they would
tell the cruise line how much they enjoyed being able to worship on
board will actually do so, in the hopes that they will continue to
invite pastors to participate. I know I was blessed, and my prayer
is that what was done in His name will continue to flourish in the
future.
Here are a few thoughts and suggestions I have for future pastors:
*I prayed in the weeks before I left for the crew and the guests on
the ship, and I specifically prayed for the crew in each of the
meetings on board
*Be aware of the electrical current and ask for a transformer, if
necessary! The ship was 220 and my American CD player wasn't.....
*I carried lots of business cards to give to people who asked to
contact me in the future about questions, needs, etc.
*It would be helpful to let the front desk know of any meeting
places and times as soon as you find out, and give them your room
number for those passengers who have questions. The couples who
wanted to renew their vows wanted to clarify a few things, but
didn't know who to ask.
*Get the Captain to sign the Vow Renewal certificates ahead of time
Candi Frizzell
Major
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