Index page
../../
[Root community]
../
[Community:
National Party (Uruguay); Msida; Null cipher]
Community members, in decreasing PageRank scores:
The Finnish Seamen's Mission was established in 1875. In Finland's two official languages it is known as Suomen Merimieskirkko ry in Finnish and Finlands Sjömanskyrka rf in Swedish. It was established to help Finns travelling abroad, particularly seafarers and migrant workers. It is a Christian organisation which, as well as providing church services and pastoral care, also aims to provide cultural and social services to the Finnish community. The Secretary General is Sakari Lehmuskallio.
The Finnish Seamen's Mission works in close co-operation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, although it is a separate organisation. Finnish Lutheran clergy are based in the missions.
There are also other Finnish Lutheran congregations and clergy outside of Finland, but the Finnish Seamen's Mission and the Finnish Church Abroad work together to prevent duplication of work.
The Norwegian Church Abroad or The Norwegian seamen’s churches () is a religious organisation serving Norwegians and other Scandinavians travelling abroad. Founded in 1864, The Norwegian Seamen’s Mission – Sjømannsmisjonen – was established to secure the moral and religious education of Scandinavian seafarers, but also to give them a "breathing room" where a fellow countryman was available to lend an ear and give some attention. Today, the churches and their staff together with travelling pastors around the globe represent a "resource center" for all Norwegians travelling internationally.
Sjømannskirken annually serves around 700 thousand Norwegians through over 30 churches and 16 mobile services in 30 countries around the world. Several churches operate on a Scandinavian basis. The Norwegian Church Abroad, its main office in Bergen, is a charitable organization supported by the Church of Norway and the Norwegian Government. Sjømannskirken is also a member of the ICMA and the Council of Nordic Seamen's Missions.
For most Norwegians travelling abroad, Sjømannskirken is a nice place to rest: one can read newspapers from home, buy Norwegian food and speak to other Norwegians. Many Norwegians living permanently abroad use the seamen's churches instead of the local ones.
The Church of Sweden Abroad - in Swedish: Svenska kyrkan i utlandet (SKUT) - is accountable to a special committee under the General Synod of the Church of Sweden and is under the episcopal oversight of the Bishop of Visby. SKUT has approximately 45 congregations throughout the world, with a concentration to Western Europe. Another 80 cities are served by visiting ministers.
The first parish established abroad was that of Paris, France, which dates from 1626 when the the catholic king of France, Louis XIII, allowed a Swedish protestant pastor to minister to the Swedish and German regiments fighting in his royal army. The congregation developed with the Swedish community in Paris and was at the foundation of several Swedish institutions in the city, such as a school and an hospice. It served as embassy church for several hundred years, and until 1988 the rector was also an official of the Swedish embassy in Paris. Today the Swedish Sofia Parish (Svenska Sofiaförsamlingen), named for queen Sofia of Nassau, is one of SKUT's largest. It was also the first (and so far only) expat parish of the Church of Sweden to appoint a female rector, the Reverend Karin Burstrand. (Mrs Burstrand will however leave her functions, to assume those of dean of Gothenburg Cathedral in summer 2008.)
There are two congregations in London, England - the parish church (in Harcourt Street) and the seamen's church (in Lower Road, Rotherhithe) as well as one church in Liverpool, UK. The latter is due to be closed after the church decided to remove funding and relocate the incumbent to London.http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2008/02/19/faith_swedish_church_feature.shtml
The International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) is an ecumenical association of 27 Christian organisations, representing different churches and Christian communities. The members are all non-profit making organisations actively engaged in welfare work for seafarers. It is registered as a charity in the UK.
ICMA was founded in 1969. It seeks to encourage ecumenical collaboration and mutual assistance between these different organisations at international, national and individual port levels. ICMA chaplains are obliged to serve seafarers, fishermen and their dependants regardless their nationality, religion, culture, language, sex or race.
The Danish Seamen’s Church and Church Abroad (danish Danske Sømands- og Udlandskirker) is a Protestant church. It was founded 1 January 2004 as the result of a fusion between the Danish Church Abroad and the Danish Seamen’s Church in foreign ports. It was established to help Danes travelling abroad, particularly seafarers and migrant workers.
There are 53 Danish seamen’s- and overseas churches around the world. Several churches operate on a Scandinavian basis with Swedish and Norwegian churches. The Danish Church in Southern Schleswig belongs to the church.
The Danish Seamen’s Church and Church Abroad is working on an Evangelical-Lutheran foundation and in affiliation with the Danish Peoples Church in Denmark.
The Apostleship of the Sea is an agency of the Catholic Church. It is also sometimes known as Stella Maris (star of the sea), and its patron is the Virgin Mary as Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Founded in Glasgow, Scotland in the early 20th century, it provides pastoral care to seafarers through chaplaincies in ports in all continents of the world.
It was a founder member of the International Christian Maritime Association in 1969.
[Abstract not available for the category]
The Fishermen's Mission - the full title of which is The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen - is a British charitable organisation founded and run on Christian principles. It was founded in 1881 by Ebenezer Joseph Mather. The Mission also welcomes the participation and support of persons of other faiths or none.
The Fishermen's Mission aims to provide financial, emotional and pastoral support to fishermen and their families in over 70 ports and harbours throughout the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. The Mission Centres provide showers, washing machines, accommodation, food, companionship and recreational activities (such as snooker tables and internet access). The Famos Wilfred Grenfel served in this mission until he founded a mission of his own.
Sailors’ Society is an inter-denominational Christian organisation providing pastoral care to seafarers.
The Society was formed in 1818 as the Port of London Society. Following mergers with two other societies, the name was changed to The British & Foreign Sailors’ Society. In 1925 it was changed to The British Sailors’ Society. In 1995 the name was changed to The British & International Sailors’ Society. The most recent name change took place on 1 December 2007 when the present name was adopted.
The Society has close links with many of the mainstream Protestant Churches in the UK, such as the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church in Great Britain. The headquarters are in Southampton, England.
Centres for Seafarers is an ecumenical collaboration between The Apostleship of the Sea, The Sailors Society and The Mission to Seafarers. It is a registered UK charity formed in 2006.
It provides visiting seafarers a place to rest and relax and allow them time away from their ships whilst docked. Games, books, food and drink and also chaplains and a place to worship are available to visiting seafarers in many ports throughout the UK.
The Mission to Seafarers (formerly, The Missions to Seamen) is an international Anglican mission serving mariners and sailors through chapels in over 300 ports around the world. Its formal creation was in 1856 through the Church of England although the Mission had its roots in the earlier work of an Anglican priest, John Ashley who in 1835 he was on the shore at Clevedon with his son who asked him how the people on Flat Holm could go to church. For the next three months Ashley voluntarily ministered to the population of the island. From there he recognised the needs of the seafarers on the four hundred sailing vessels in the Bristol Channel and created the Bristol Channel Mission. He raised funds and in 1839 a specially designed mission cutter was built with a main cabin which could be converted into a chapel for 100 people.<ref name="somharbours"></ref>
The organisation adopted an angel as its symbol in 1858. The name change to Mission to Seafarers occurred in 2000.
The Patron is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Secretary General is the Revd Canon Bill Christianson. The organisation's offices are in London.