An article I wrote for our church newsletter
Seafarers and International House (SIH) is a Lutheran
mission for seafarers and sojourners. It
is one of the ministries of the ELCA and is located in New York City in lower
Manhattan. SIH is an 84-room hotel where
many of its mission activities to seafarers, domestic violence victims,
immigrants and travelers take place. It
is here where the Lutheran community can be a church at work – with meeting
rooms and guest rooms. Port chaplains
board merchant ships while in port and bring needed items (international phone
cards, WI-FI hubs for international communication) to seafarers and when
allowed, can take them shopping, to see a doctor or dentist, or just come
ashore.
From 1984 to 1993, my father served as the executive
director of SIH. In December, they
dedicated the newly renovated second floor of the hotel and named it the Rev.
J. Gordon Swanson Center in honor of his tenure there. My mother,
my siblings and our families were welcomed as guests of SIH for a service of
gratitude for his ministry. In the
program, the current director quoted what my dad wrote about SIH – “We have a
not-for profit guest house in New York City operated by the church but it is
not exclusively for church people. It is
a ministry of hospitality to the wayfarer, a component of world missions that
makes possible a ministry to seafarers”.
This ministry still exists because of the church and still serves as a
place for seafarers, asylum seekers, and visitors to the city. We were privileged to spend the weekend.
Because it is located in lower Manhattan, SIH was affected
by Hurricane Sandy. Power, phone
service, water and heat were lost for almost a week. Elderly and ill residents were evacuated with
no elevators. One of their passenger
vans was destroyed in the flooding. Good Shepherd member Ruth Reko currently serves
on the board of SIH.