OUR PLACE IN THE PORT
Making the ISC Stronger Through Community Connection
“For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body…The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you.’ Nor can the head say to the feet, ‘I do not need you.’ On the contrary…” 1 Corinthians 12:14-15; 21-22
By Matthew Morse, Esq.
Director, International Seafarers’ Center
From The Lookout, Spring 2025
The International Seafarers’ Center (ISC), located in Port Newark, NJ, sits in the eye of a perpetual hurricane of commerce. From this place of stillness, it is our privilege to offer the invaluable intangibles of care and compassion to the international seafarers who enter our port every day—and, by necessary extension, to our entire Port Newark community as well.
Port Newark does not consist of any single part, but of many—composing one body from a dizzying array of stakeholders, all of whom are increasingly interconnected with SCI’s seafarers in our increasingly interconnected world. This means that for the ISC to lean even more fully into its mission to welcome strangers and meaningfully care for seafarers, we must also reinforce engagement with our community—a key component of the SCI strategic plan. It is through the strengthening of that community that SCI’s core mission is bolstered in Port Newark and in other ports our Chaplains visit, places that thrive on trust and relationships.
This assertion is borne out in part by the ISC’s 2024 performance metrics. In 2024, the ISC increased the number of seafarers and vessels visited, the number of transports provided, and expanded the geographical reach of SCI’s mission. Credit for this significant accomplishment belongs firmly to the ISC’s dedicated staff and dedicated Chaplains, who bring their hearts as well as their professional skills to work each day. However, credit should also be shared with our Port Newark and other port communities, and this must be recognized if the ISC wishes to continue meaningfully building upon its successes. The ISC cannot do its good work without the support and goodwill of these communities. We have been able to visit more vessels, transport more individuals, and deepen our mission at ISC in no small part because of the care we show and the strengthening connections we are building with those communities. Those alliances will continue to bear fruit in 2025 as the ISC assumes the role of landlord for the longtime port community presence, Titan Cement. Additionally, the ISC will explore the establishment of a first-of-its-kind Employee Health and Occupational Medicine Center for the benefit of our seafarers and the entire port community, furthering SCI’s mission as an organization and its strategic goals.
In SCI, I saw an opportunity to be a part of creating something of infinitely greater value: the care and compassion manufactured from this place of stillness through the passion and dedication of SCI’s staff and Chaplains. It is a privilege to work with them and facilitate their vital work. I have been humbled in my time so far at SCI by the conversations I have held with seafarers from every part of the world—from Ukrainians suffering existential anxieties about the fate of their country and their families, to Filipinos struggling with marital and familial issues, to Indians handling mental health crises and economic uncertainties. I am not a minister, but I am a person of faith, and I view these interactions as sacred things.
The ports of the 21st century are increasingly busy and progressively mechanized spaces, where the demands of speed and efficiency can threaten to eclipse our humanity. In these environments, the work of the Seamen’s Church Institute is more important than ever before. We exist in no small part to insist that the essential humanity of every seafarer cannot and must not be lost within the intensifying latticework of industry.
During my time with the ISC, I’ve come to understand that when we care for our community, the community, in turn, cares for us. This mutual support has enabled our Chaplains to access vessels more swiftly and be welcomed aboard with greater ease. It has also helped our team stay well-informed and better equipped to navigate the complexities of our environment, both logistically and relationally. As a nonprofit, SCI’s ISC thrives on the investment and goodwill of our local partners, and the best way to nurture this support is by ensuring that every member of our port community feels valued, heard, and cared for. When we extend the same dignity and compassion to those who work alongside our seafarers each day as we do to the seafarers themselves, we more fully embody the mission at the heart of the Seamen’s Church Institute. In other words, and to paraphrase the scripture that opens this piece: “The terminal operator cannot say to the seafarer, ‘I do not need you.’ On the contrary…”
From the terminal operators who guide vessels into port, to the ILA members who handle cargo, and the motor carriers and rail workers who move goods from Port Newark across the country, the entire port community plays a vital role. “The body does not consist of one part, but of many.” While seafarers have always been and will remain the ISC’s overriding priority, in the 21st century, both our seafarers and the International Seafarers’ Center are inextricably linked to and dependent on the broader port community.