For many SUNY Maritime College cadets, the Summer Sea Term (SST) marks their first extended experience on open water. The SST brings its own set of challenges and pressures, and when invited, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) assembles a chaplaincy team to provide pastoral and counseling support to the cadets throughout the voyage.

SCI is honored by the trust SUNY Maritime places in our chaplains, and we’ve been answering this call since 2021. This year’s contingent of chaplains consists of the Rev. Anne Reed, an SCI Chaplain Associate from Cincinnati; the Rev. Charlie Stiernberg, M.D., an SCI Chaplain Associate from Houston; the Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, SCI’s President & Executive Director; and the Rev. Jay Geisler, an SCI Chaplain Associate from Pittsburgh. Fr. Geisler will relieve Mark in late July while the ship is in port in Bermuda and make the crossing back to Ft. Schuyler.

Photos

Above: The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt with SUNY’s “Cajun contingent.”

Below, Left: The Rev. Anne Reed with Cadet 1C Griffen departing New York Harbor for Nassau, Bahamas.

Below, Right: The Rev. Dr. Charlie Stiernberg and cadets, underway to Portland, Maine.