Bridgit Patterson

Communications Associate

For more than 185 years, the Seamen’s Church Institute has been dedicated to serving mariners at every stage of their careers. For cadets at SUNY Maritime College, the Summer Sea Term (SST) is their first true taste of life at sea; this is true for those just embarking on their career as mariners. For the fifth year in a row, SCI Chaplains and Chaplain Associates joined them, offering spiritual care, guidance, and encouragement at the very start of their maritime journeys.

When the world began emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, every part of daily life carried new challenges, and SUNY Maritime’s SST was no exception. Cadets had to adjust to the realities of training and seafaring after 18 months of strict protocols. Recognizing the toll this took on mental health, then-President of SUNY Maritime, Rear Admiral Michael Alfultis, invited SCI to provide pastoral care and support during the 2021 voyage, the first postpandemic Summer Sea Term.

“I will always remember that phone call from Admiral Alfultis,” shared the Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, SCI’s President & Executive Director. “At the time, I was visiting SCI’s office in Paducah, Kentucky, where I had planned a meeting with SCI Chaplain, the Rev. Kempton Baldridge. The two of us immediately began strategizing how to best meet this need.”

Facilitating a prompt response required coordinating with SCI’s full-time Chaplains, who would have to be pulled from their posts to join the three legs of the voyage, with Baldridge taking the first, Nestlehutt taking the second, and Tom Rhoades taking the final leg back to Fort Schuyler. “Our ability to respond at such short notice is a testament to SCI’s commitment to lean in and act when a need arises,” said Nestlehutt.

SCI responded immediately, sending a Chaplain aboard the Empire State while docked in Charleston, South Carolina, and maintaining a presence throughout the remainder of the cruise. The success of that effort laid the foundation for a continuing partnership between SCI and SUNY Maritime, now celebrating five years of pastoral connections, both mundane and sacred, forged at sea.

Retired SCI Chaplain Kempton Baldridge remembers this well from SCI’s first SST voyage. With humor, he recalled how a sewage pipe burst in a classroom packed with cadets while the ship circumnavigated Cuba. That “shared misery,” as he called it, was a bonding experience, but there were also profound moments. During that same voyage, a cadet approached him asking to be baptized. “Not only can we do it,” Baldridge told him, “but it is one of the oldest seagoing traditions there is.” Gathered at the ship’s bell, crewmates stood in uniform to witness the baptism—transforming the moment into a shared memory of faith, tradition, and camaraderie.

This ministry at sea impacts Chaplains as much as it does cadets. Reflecting on his service during the Empire State VII’s voyage from New Orleans to the Azores this past summer, SCI Chaplain the Rev. Geoffrey Davis said, “Nineteen years ago, as a freshman cadet at Texas A&M Maritime Academy, I never imagined I’d return to sea in this way. Back then, the structure and discipline of the academy were exactly what I needed; today, I see those same transformative forces shaping the lives of these cadets. It is so meaningful to me to stand beside the cadets, drawing on my own experiences to guide them through this stage of their maritime careers.”

It is so meaningful to me to stand beside the cadets, drawing on my own experiences to guide them through this stage of their maritime careers.” —The Rev. Geoffrey Davis, SCI Chaplain, Ministry on the River, Lower Mississippi & Gulf Coast Region

Life as a cadet is both challenging and deeply formative. With SCI Chaplains and Chaplain Associates present during the SST, cadets are reminded that they are never alone— pastoral care, encouragement, and a sense of tradition accompany them at every stage of their journey. When Chaplains sail alongside cadets, their presence is more than symbolic; it is a tangible expression of SCI’s enduring commitment to mariners, walking with them through both trials and triumphs at sea.