Liverpool

Spiritual support

Fr Adrian Bayron is a priest from the Philippines. He is currently spending time in Liverpool assisting lay chaplain Peter Devlin in his pastoral work. Recently Fr Adrian and Peter visited a convent of the Poor Clares. Eight of the sisters there are from the Philippines.

Father Adrian said

"It was very good to meet the sisters from my country and talk with them in our language. There was much laughter and joking and I have promised to return with Filipino food. But more importantly, it is good to know that an enclosed community is praying for seafarers and the success of our ministry to seafarers".

Support from inland

Peter Devlin, lay chaplain in the port of Liverpool, is always happy to receive donations of knitted hats which he and his team distribute to seafarers. In recent years, the main supplier of hats to Liverpool has been a group of knitting enthusiasts from the area around Oswestry and Ellesmere in north Shropshire. The organiser of the group is Julia Baker and her present helpers are Jan and Rita.

Peter says

"It is amazing that this small group of dedicated ladies have since October 2003 knitted over 2,350 hats for seafarers. This group, many miles from the sea, has adopted the work of the AOS in Liverpool."

Easter 2008

Filipino crewmembers of the M/V Nassauborg were very keen to attend evening Mass on Easter Sunday. However the demands of running the ship must always come first. The seafarers did not finish work until 7.30pm when they finally closed the hatches. AOS volunteer driver Colum Leggett was waiting alongside their ship to pick them up and bring them to the temporary seafarers' centre where Father Adrian Bayron delayed the start of Mass until they arrived.

In a city which was once a major port in the slave trade, AOS reflects on slavery past and present

2007 saw the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. In October, a service of prayer and reflection was held at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. AOS joined Justice and Peace groups and ecumenical partners at the service which was led by Archbishop Kelly of Liverpool. The Archbishop requested that AOS lead on reflecting on aspects of economic slavery among seafarers today.

Peter Devlin, AOS port chaplain in Liverpool, prepared the reflection below. During the service, it was read by Elmer Pulleros, an AOS pastoral worker from Davao in the Philippines who is currently working for our ecumenical partners Mission to Seafarers in Liverpool.

The Israelites travelled across the sea to find freedom and the Promised Land. This year we are remembering the many who were forced to travel across the sea not to the Promised Land but into slavery.

Today many spend their lives crossing the seas, working as seafarers on cargo ships, container ships and tankers and we totally depend upon them to maintain our economy, our trade and our way of living. 90% of all the goods we use come to us by ship. We depend upon the seafarer.

It is right that in recent years we have become concerned that those working on the tea, coffee and banana plantations receive a fair price for their crops. That those working in garment sweatshops of the Far East are not exploited to satisfy our desire for cheap clothing. It is right that the Fair Trade Movement has enjoyed success here at home in raising our awareness and supporting our brothers and sisters in the developing world in their struggle for freedom and justice.

And yet in this worldwide economic market place the vital role of transport and those who provide and run that transport is all but ignored. The seafarers have become the “forgotten ones”.

Today’s seafarers from the developing world and the emerging nations of Eastern Europe travel “from sea to sea”, from port to port and never reach the Promised Land. Their lives are marked by long separation from family, unfair contracts and practises, low pay and no job security.

The Apostleship of the Sea, along with our ecumenical partners Mersey Mission to Seafarers and the Sailors’ Society stand alongside seafarers caught up in economic slavery.

Today we renew our commitment to remain in solidarity with all seafarers who visit our port and invite you to reflect upon and renew your commitment to those who are enslaved by the economics of our trading system and for whom the Promised Land is still a distant dream.

Prepared for “Set all free”, service of reflection on the theme of trade, economics and poverty, Sunday 21 October 2007, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

click here to read more about life in the port of Liverpool