Chaplains on the River

There are probably lots of former Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, CampFire Girls and Boys - or parents of kids who were in these youth groups - reading this blog.  The motto “Be Prepared!: has become synonomous with Scouting, and even the American Red Cross, in recent years.  Certainly those of us living along the Gulf Coast are well aware during this season of the year to be prepared to handle possible tropical storm/hurricane occurances at both our homes and on the rivers where we work.

Last week, while attending the rededication of the upgraded simulator and refurbished building at the SCI Center for Maritime Education in Paducah, I had the opportunity to visit the fire training field for the first time.  While I have had fire extinguisher training in the past, the size and heat of the simulator were impressive.  When I remembered that this could occur while underway - and that the area in which to move and work would be restricted to the deck - I began to appreciate how important it is to be prepared to deal with fires on a towboat. 

I hope that none of you reading this blog have to deal with a fire onboard your boat.  But, I am told, the reality is that most inland mariners will have to deal with fire at some point in time.  I do know this:  “fires” will occur in the life of each one of us in some way at some time.  Just as we benefit from training and practice in dealing with a galley, bilge or fuel line fire, we can also benefit from being prepared to deal with “fires” that happen in our lives.

So what can help us to be prepared?  Without trying to sound trite, I would propose several straight-forward practices that will be beneficial:

1. Pray, meditate and take time to be reflective every day.  It does not have to be long, or formal, but take time to pause, breathe, and gather yourself each day.  Many find this useful just before going to sleep, or upon waking up.  Whenever…and however…just do it!

2. Be mindful of relationships.  No matter how strong you may be - or think you are - as an individual, we all need other people!  Every towboater knows how important it is to find ways to get along with fellow crew.  The same is true in our lives in general.  Think twice before popping off or blowing your stack.  Be kind and gentle to others.  What goes around DOES come around.  The greatest strength is a quiet and controlled strength.

3. Don’t try to be a Lone Ranger.  Think about it - even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!  One of the reasons your Ministry on the River chaplains are here is to listen…listen…and listen some more.  If we can pray for you, give advice and counsel, and/or help contact someone on your behalf, we are glad to do it.  When we are on your boat, we are there for you.  Anytime - 24/7, 365 - an MOR Chaplain is available by dialing (800) 708-1998.  Pictured left to right are Chaplains Jim Wilkinson, Ann Mills, and Mike Hammett.

Be Prepared!  It is not just a well-known cliche.  It is a good philosophy to live by on the river and in our personal lives.

Posted: June 30th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

We have all heard the saying:  “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”  Well…I have learned that this is NOT true!!  My Sheltie mix dog, Teddy, is 13 years old.  Over the past six months, he has become a new man.  With improved nutrition (he takes more suplements than I do!), socialization with other dogs, and training in both group and individual settings, Teddy has become like a young dog again.  He has high energy, is happy and healthy, and IS learning new behaviors and “tricks.”  He even has tried herding sheep!!

This week, I had the blessing of visiting with a towing company shoreside employee who shared an inspiring story.  As a child, he would see towboaters on the river near his home, and always wanted to be one.  Like a lot of people, life just did not unfold the way he had first imagined, and he became busy working and raising a family.  At the age of 50, he was challenged by some friends in the towing industry to apply to become a deckhand.  He accepted, completed training, worked on the water for several years, and is now in a position of responsibility helping care for crew members.  In his own words:  “How many people get a second chance to live their dream?”  He is one happy and satisfied person.

None of us are ever too old…or too young…to learn new tricks!  Our behaviors can help or hurt us.  The safety training every towboater constantly receives reminds that best practices are in place becasue they are safe practices.  Situational awareness is hammered in because it is important, both on the boat and in everyday life.  One company executive told me that he is a much safer driver everyday because of being more attentive to other drivers and roadway conditions.  Safety trainers will quickly tell us that we can never just drift along being inattentive.

So how about you and your life?  How are you doing with learning AND practicing good, helpful and healthy habits - those “new tricks?”  It is never too late or too early to make changes in your life…your relationships…for the good.  In the Holy Bible, we read these words:  “Happy is he who has found wisdom, he who has acquired understanding, for wisdom is more profitable than silver, and the gain she brings is better than gold!” (Proverbs 3:13-14, The Revised English Bible).  In other words, when we find that which makes our hearts sing, and do it, we will be healthier, happier and fundamentally better for it.

May faith in God, as you understand and know God, be a source of blessing in your life!

Posted: June 18th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

A special friend recently introduced me to the Wordle web site.  Wordle is a tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide.  The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.  The wordle shown here is generated from the text of the English Standard Version (ESV) of the New Testament.

So the question I ask each of us to consider is a simple, yet profound, one.  If your life could be fed into this Wordle tool, and a word cloud representing the priorities of your life generated, what would it look like?  What things would be shown to have the most importance:   family…work…money…worries…recreations…faith? 

There are no right or wrong answers here, just a self-assesment of who we are and where we are on this journey of life.  As you consider what your life wordle might look like, the question to ask is are you pleased and happy with the result?  Have you achieved…or are you on the path to achieve…the goals you envision?  Are your personal and professional relationships satisfying and positive?  Are you responding or reacting to life?

If a medical doctor gives you a perscription, and you react to it, that is bad.  It means your body is allergic to that medicine or the medicine is having an adverse affect.  If, on the oter hand, you respond to the medicine, that is good.  It is having a positive and helpful affect. 

We all have times when it seems like we are “too busy” to stop and think.  It is important to pause and ponder our path through life ocassionally, just like charts or AIS keep the wheelman aware of the location and path forward of the boat.  Think about your life wordle…think about the implications…and keep moving forward on a right path!

Posted: June 12th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

Have you ever had one of those experiences when a really profound life lesson comes to you from a very unexpected source?  It happened to me about two weeks ago after enjoying a good meal at a Chinese buffet.  Along with the check came the customary fortune cookie in which I found this little proverb:  “You cannot love life until you live the life you love.”  This statement struck me as meaningful, so I saved the little slip of paper (NO…I did NOT try to play the lottery with the lucky numbers on the other side!) and gave myself some time to reflect on the meaning of this unexpected proverb.

In my experience, there are many people living lives of quiet desperation.  In today’s whirlwind society, many…if not most…people feel that they have no control over the direction of their own lives.  Imagine having a towboat on the water with engines going but no steering!  That is how we all can sometimes feel, and for some it is a chronic condition.

Father Cedric Pisegna, a Roman Catholic priest who is a member of the Passionist Community in Houston, TX, has a signature saying:  :Don’t just live…live with passion!”  We need to make the concious choice each day between just existing and really living.  Sometimes choosing life over existence may call us to make changes in our lifestyles, our acquaintances, or even our vocations.  When we choose to really live…to live with passion…then all areas of our lives will be impacted for the good.

Scripture touches on this idea in teaching about our submission to God.  In the New Testament Book of James we read:  “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you” (4:8) and “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor” (4:10) (New Living Translation).  Dr. E. Stanley Jones, a theologian and evangelist of the Twentieth Century, put it this way: “Do not struggle and try, but surrender and trust and obey” (from The Way).  Other major world religions also recognize that in surrender to God we may find help in living lives we love with passion.  The Arabic word Islam means “surrender” or “submission.”

So take time to examine your own life.  Do you love life?  Are you living the life you love?  If so, give thanks to God and seek to drink even more deeply from the well of life.  If not, ask yourself those sometimes difficult questions about what needs to change.  Remember that those changes may not just be in things around you.  Our most profound and life-changing change is usually within ourselves!

Don’t just live…live with passion!  Be blessed, and be a blessing to others!

Posted: May 31st, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

It is important for all Americans to pause and remember the meaning of Memorial Day.  Like many national holidays, it has become a reason for a three day weekend.  But for each of us who have worn the uniform of our country the meaning of Memorial Day is crystal clear.  Each veteran knew that they were placing themselves in harm’s way.  For each citizen who enjoys our freedoms,  Memorial Day shoud be a special time to pause, remember, and give thanks for those brave men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom.  It has been said that “freedom is not free.”  While some might see this as a cliche, it is a truth. 

Memorial Day honors the war dead of the United States.  It was first observed in 1866 in Waterloo, New York.  Some communities still have parades or other gatherings, and it is very common to decorate the graves of persons who died in war. 

The words of Jesus of Nazareth, as recorded in John 15:13 tell us:  “There is no greater love than this, that someone should lay down his life for his friends” (Revised English Bible).  May this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer become the prayer of each of us on this Memorial Day weekend:

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy.  Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines.  This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Posted: May 21st, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

On a towboat, we all know that the captain is ultimately in charge.  It is their responsibility to oversee the welfare of the boat and crew, as well as the cargo.  There has to be a person at the top, in charge, or else the actions of each individual crew member might not work toward the common goal and good.

Who is in charge in your personal life?  You do not have to be around very long to know that there are some negative and hurtful emotions that can take hold in our minds and cause us grief.  Rev. Bob Harrington, known as the Chaplain of Bourbon Street, has addressed this issue for years.  He colorfully reminds us that we are not a trash can with a hairy lid!  Each of us is a person…God’s greatest creation.  But our minds are sometimes filled with garbage that keeps us from being all that God intends us to be. 

So what is the solution?  There is no pill to take…no magic wand to wave…no easy fix.  We have to make the daily…sometimes hourly or every minute…decision to quit wasting our time baby-sitting our problems and letting them take control of our thinking.  We need to make the concious decision and then take the necessary actions to take charge of what we do with what comes into our lives.  Maybe this little affirmation will help:

I AM IN CHARGE OF ME, ON A DAILY BASIS, BEGINNING NOW, WITH GOD’S HELP!

There is a business in Baton Rouge, LA that passes out bumper stickers with these words:  “Business is Great, People are Teriffic, Life is Good!”  What a positive attitude!  They face the same difficulties that any person faces daily, and their business is feeling the same economic crunch as all.  But they face each day with the realization that what we do, with God’s help, makes the difference in how our day goes.

May this day…and every day…be an opportunity for you to be blessed and be a blessing!

Posted: May 12th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

In the world of amateur radio, “ham” radio operators are proud of their ability to respond in emergencies and keep vital communications going when the infrasturctures of telephone, internet, and cell phones may be disrupted. Their motto is “When All Else Fails…Amateur Radio”. Hams prepare and practice often with organized communications nets and exercises so that they will be ready when the need arises.

How are you doing in being prepared for those times in your life when unexpected illness or catastrophic event shakes your foundations? Where would you turn when all else fails? Do you have a plan of action that has been rehearsed until it is “down pat?”

When all else fails…PRAYER! Prayer is talking and listening to God. Prayer is going to the best friend any of us has and seeking counsel and wisdom. Prayer seems deceptively easy - just talk to God and listen. If it were only so simple! Many of us have trouble putting into words what we are feeling, and are really challenged when it comes to waiting and listening. In amateur radio, each station must tune to the same frequency for a contact to be made. In prayer…with practice..we come to understand how God speaks to us and learn to focus in on receiving.

So…just as amateur radio operators practice to be prepared…we need to begin the frequent practice of prayer so that we are prepared for those eventful moments when all else fails…and we turn to God in prayer!

(Chaplain Mike Hammett holds General class amateur radio license KC5PSR.)

Posted: April 20th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

Chaplain Hammett offers an Easter blessing to Mississippi River towboat crews

At the breaking of the Easter dawn may the Risen Savior bless you with grace and peace from above.

God bless your going out and coming in.

The Lord be with you at home and on the water.

May God keep you safe from all harm.

May the blessings of Easter be upon you.

Posted: April 11th, 2009 under Mike's Posts, Towboaters.
Comments: none

What can I tell you about Easter that you don’t already know? Nothing, I expect. You know the story, and either you believe it or you don’t. So why bother to write something about Easter?

Because.

Just because.

It’s Easter.

Christ has died.

Christ has risen.

Crist will come again!

Hallelujah!

Posted: April 9th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none

Ministry on the River wants each mariner to know that someone cares.  Easter on the River is the part of this ministry that places a box on every boat we can for Easter Sunday, with each box containing candy, an Easter devotional, and the love and prayers of each river chaplain, the volunteers who helped pack the boxes, and Seamen’s Church Institute.

On Saturday, April 4, Cub Scouts from Pack 8 in Dayton, TX gathered in the Lead Captain’s Meeting Room at Kirby’s Peterman Center (Thanks to Kirby!) in Channelview, TX to pack 161 Easter on the River boxes for the Kirby canal and river fleets based in Channelview and Baton Rouge, LA.  Candy and money had been donated by Kirby employees from the Waugh and Peterman offices, and one Kirby volunteer had brought her precious and hard-working grandson to help - and make us all smile!

A fun time was had by all, and 161 boat crews will know that someone cared enough for them to donate time and money to help them celebrate Easter even as they are working on the river on April 12th.  May we all remember this example from little angels on the river.  Let’s remember to cooperate and help each other to get the job done and care for each other everyday.  As the Scripture reminds us, our love for God is best lived out and displayed in our love and care for others, as we are all part of God’s wonderful and diverse creation.

Posted: April 7th, 2009 under Towboaters.
Comments: none