Charleston Port & Seafarers' Society welcomes seafarers at the Wando Terminal in Charleston, SC

Almost 200 Years of International Mission Work in Charleston

The Charleston Port & Seafarers' Society (ChaPSS), known historically as the Seamen's Church, Charleston, exists for the purpose of welcoming and serving the needs of those men and women who make their livelihood in the port or at sea, without regard for nationality, race, ethnicity, politics, or religion. The heart of ChaPSS is its volunteer base, support from churches and businesses, and its Board of Directors. ChaPSS invites you to its monthly Volunteer Breakfasts from 8:00-900 AM on the 3rd Thursdays at the Wando-Welch Terminal, Mt. Pleasant, SC and its monthly Board meetings from 8:15-9:30 AM on the 1st Wednesdays at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke & St. Paul, Charleston, SC. Please contact the Rev. Len Williams for information.

ChaPSS accomplishes its mission to seafarers by providing services at Port of Charleston terminals, including: free transportation to shopping, doctors, churches, etc; phone cards; free use of telephones and the internet at the Seafarers' Center; free Bibles and devotionals in 30 languages; free secular literature such as magazines, books, CDs, DVDs, etc; counseling, prayers, and the sacraments; and advocacy for seafarers' rights. One special ChaPSS's initiative is the annual Christmas at Sea Program in which seafarers receive cheerfully-wrapped Christmas (with a Christian message inside) gifts when they visit the Port of Charleston so that they have something to open on Christmas Day when they are at sea. During Christmas 2006 ChaPSS hopes to deliver 1,000 wrapped gifts and knitted hats aboard ships.

This maritime ministry has reached out to seafarers visiting Charleston since the early 1820's. Some 100,000 seafarers enter the Port of Charleston annually from around the world. Most of them are poor, exploited, and away from home for eight months to more than a year at a time. They are in the port for only a matter of hours and often there is no time for shore leave. ChaPSS' volunteers make them feel welcome and give them an opportunity to receive the Good News. World mission is in our very midst and ChaPSS seeks to convey a message that people in America care a message so important in light of 9/11.

What can you do to help? ChaPSS has many needs:

• Participate in the Taste of the World fundraiser this November.
• Volunteer to help staff their new dockside Seafarers' Center so that seafarers can use the internet or call home. Other volunteers board ships to leave religious and secular literature, sell phone cards, and socialize with crew members. They also need bus drivers to take crew members to Wal-Mart in Mount Pleasant and other locations.
• Provide financial support to help pay for gasoline, utilities, literature, insurance, and other operation & maintenance expenses.
• Supply secular literature such as Time, Newsweek, US News, and National Geographic; Bibles, Christian booklets and tracts, and Bible studies; and CDs and DVDs.