Sea Sunday at St. David’s honours global mariners

St. David’s, Tsawwassen -- a parish by the Salish Sea – has a congregation of residents whose Sea Sunday observance, July 10, honoured mariners around the world, and embraced new concern over supply chain disruption.

Guest preacher, Senior Port Chaplain, the Rev. Peter Smyth, is also deeply troubled by the effect current conditions are having on seafarers within his jurisdiction and beyond. Through his work at Missions to Seafarers - Flying Angel Club, the Rev. Smyth’s concern is unprecedented.

Recent global events have created new levels of hardship in supply schedules within the world’s leading container shipping lines, whose vessels call at the Port of Vancouver and Deltaport providing regular service to-and-from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Oceania.

St. David's parishioner John Horton, OBC, captain of the Delta Lifeboat and a senior lifeboat commander with Canadian Lifeboat Institute (CLI), spoke on the relevance of Sea Sunday; David Rushton, ODNW, read the Lessons; and John More (CLI) read special prayers, in a service of thanksgiving for They that go down to the seas in ships.

Here in Ladner/Tsawwassen, local dependence on seafarers is fairly obvious given the area’s proximity to BC Ferries, Seaspan’s barge/ferry Terminals on the Fraser River in Delta and Surrey, tugs and barges hauling wood products, rock, gravel and cement, not forgetting the commercial and native fisher folk who provide food for the table. 

The Order of Service also included the rector, the Rev. Simbarashe Basvi blessing a wreath in memory of souls lost at sea, and parishioner Nick Robinson ringing ‘8 bells’ to mark the ‘End of the Watch’.

The ceremony of casting afloat the memorial wreath in the main channel of the Fraser River took place from the upper deck of the Delta Lifeboat, to the sound of 8 bells, the Bosun’s call’ and prayers by the Reverends Peter Smyth and Simbarashe Basvi.

IMAGES

• St. David's rector, the Reverend Simabarash Basvi, with Senior Port of Vancouver Chaplain the Reverend Peter Smyth on board Delta Lifeboat with the memorial wreath
• Guest preacher, the Reverend Peter Smyth speaking from pulpit bedecked with the maritime Church signal flag.
• Parishioner John Horton, OBC captain of Delta Lifeboat 
• The Rev. Simbarashe Basvi blessing wreath in memory of souls lost at sea
• The Reverends Basvi and Smyth cast afloat memorial wreath in memory of souls lost at sea
• Calm water for participants in Sea Sunday ceremony on main channel of Fraser River (in the body of the post)

Photos: Mary Horton