IN THIS ISSUE – December 2022

• A Message from The Reverend Mark Nestlehutt
• The Seamen's Church Institute Welcomes The Reverend Christine Brunson As Its First Houston-Based Chaplain
• River Bell Awards Luncheon 2022 — December 8 — Paducah, Kentucky
• The Reverend Mark Nestlehutt featured on The Last Dinosaur Podcast
• Center for Mariner Advocacy Director Attends IMO/ILO Joint Tripartite Working Group in Geneva

Photo: The crew of the MV Adrian Star, by The Rev. James Kollin (fourth from the right).

A Message from The Reverend Mark Nestlehutt

On behalf of my SCI colleagues, our Board of Trustees, and our tireless volunteers, I want to thank you for all that you do to support SCI in our mission to care for the U.S. mariners and international seafarers who have transported most of the goods and items that we will give as gifts or serve on our dinner tables this season. And to the many mariners working through these holidays—at sea, on rivers, or on the shore—you are all close to our hearts. We know you will be away from home and your loved ones, and we are deeply grateful for your service and sacrifice. To those who celebrate, may you have a joyful Christmas, and may we all have a healthy and safe holiday season, and a Happy New Year.

The World Depends on Mariners.

Mariners Depend on SCI.

And SCI Depends on You.

CHAPLAINCY: THE ♥ OF SCI

The Seamen's Church Institute Welcomes The Reverend Christine Brunson As Its First Houston-Based Chaplain

Following a comprehensive search process, the Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) is pleased to announce the selection of the Reverend Christine E. Brunson as its newly appointed maritime Chaplain. Christine will be based at SCI’s Center in the Houston Ship Channel and begins her work on Tuesday, January 17.

“We are truly excited to have Christine joining our team of Chaplains focused on serving inland and intracoastal mariners who move the goods and supplies that many of us take for granted,” says SCI’s President and Executive Director, the Reverend Mark Nestlehutt. “In addition to her exceptional credentials, I am particularly impressed by her past work with veterans and first responders around issues of trauma and resilience, and her recent relief work at the Ukraine/Poland border resettling families following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

SCI has launched a $5 million campaign to expand its network of full-time chaplains focused on U.S. inland mariners to serve this essential workforce. Christine’s appointment represents the first fruits of this ongoing campaign.

The Reverend Christine Brunson comes to SCI from St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Cypress, Texas. A native Texan, she earned her BA and MS degrees from Baylor University and her MDiv degree from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest.

Photo: River Bell Award presented by Christian O'Neil, President of Kirby Inland & Offshore Marine, to Jim Guidry, Executive Vice President—Vessel Operations, Kirby Inland & Offshore Marine. Photo by B. Rankin

River Bell Awards Luncheon 2022 — December 8 — Paducah, Kentucky

The Seamen's Church Institute welcomed the inland river transportation industry for the 22^nd Annual River Bell Awards Luncheon on Thursday, December 8, in Paducah, KY. This year's sold-out event featured Jim Guidry, Executive Vice President of Kirby Marine Transportation Group, receiving the River Bell Award, and Frank Morton, Founder and Director of Turn Services, taking home the River Legend Award. "This year, we are honored to spotlight these two individuals," said The Reverend Mark Nestlehutt, SCI's President and Executive Director. "Both are well-respected leaders with a long history of dedication to the industry and who share SCI's commitment to mariner wellbeing."

SCI also honored the crews of the M/V Miss Niz (Marquette Transportation Company Captain James Bordelon, Pilot Benton Eubanks, Deckhand Wendell Neal, and Deckhand Chris Verdin) and the M/V Michael J. Grainger (Ingram Barge Company Captain Joe Younge, Sr. Mate Mike White, Sr. Deckhand Jason Lovell) with the Lifesaving Award. In April 2022, Miss Niz's crew pulled survivors of a burning fishing vessel to safety, and in September 2022, Michael Grainger's crew rescued a driver from a car that had driven through a flood wall opening and landed in the river.

"SCI's commitment to this segment of the maritime industry has only deepened over time," continued Nestlehutt. "Since the mid–1990s, through our training facilities in Paducah and Houston and our chaplaincy, we have forged meaningful partnerships and relationships with company leadership and the mariners we serve. The River Bell Awards Luncheon is our opportunity to recognize and celebrate the people whose devotion to this vital industry has made a significant impact."

Photos of the Award Winners

 SCI IN THE NEWS 

SCI’s Christmas Gift Box Program Brings In More Than 11,000 Hats, Scarves

— The Waterways Journal Weekly

 PODCAST 

The Last Dinosaur - Episode 25. Featuring SCI President and Executive Director Mark Nestlehutt.

• With a focus on digitalization and its impact on seafarers, The Rev. Nestlehutt talks with host Christopher Aversano to discuss SCI's work, connectivity, and building a resilience network.

Center for Mariner Advocacy Director Attends IMO/ILO Joint Tripartite Working Group in Geneva

Arising from the ongoing meetings between the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization regarding challenges seafarers are facing, a Joint Tripartite Working Group was established to work towards potential solutions. SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy Director Phil Schifflin will attend the first JTWG session in Geneva, Switzerland, December 13 to 15.

One of the group's more challenging tasks will be considering guidelines for port states and flag states on how to better respond to cases of seafarer abandonment. In future meetings, the group will work on criminalization of seafarers and sexual assault and harassment. Director Schifflin joins other global seafarer welfare organizations in lending their expertise to help develop guidelines that best protect and positively impact seafarers.

 FROM THE SCI ARCHIVES 

Seventy-Five years ago, the Seamen's Church Institute prepared for Christmas with a tree and lights outside. Inside the Danish Seamen's Club, traditional woven hearts (Julehjerter) joined the tinsel, flags, and paper chains streaming from the chandelier. Read more on page 9 of 12/47 Lookout.

Thank you to our corporate partners