Ministry On The River News

American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) named Mark K. Knoy as its president and chief executive officer in August 2011. Prior to joining ACBL, he was vice president of American Electric Power’s (AEP) Fuel, Emissions and Logistics Group and president of AEP River Operations, having joined AEP with its 2001 purchase of MEMCO Barge Line. From 1984 to 1994, he was owner/operator of The Mark Twain Towing Company and Delmar Marine, Inc., Pekin, Illinois. He began his career in 1973 working aboard towboats on the inland waterways as a deck hand and then as a captain.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation ordered to pay $95,000 for violating 2 counts of the federal Fisheries Act. The charges stem from a road washout in April 2008 just east of the community of Orrville on Highway 518, which sent an estimated 8000 tonnes of road materials spilling into the Seguin River system. The sediment plume extended 40 kilometers downstream into Georgian Bay, causing a significant negative impact on fish and fish habitat. The high volume of sediment and materials, and the resulting plume, was determined to be the result of improper maintenance of a plugged and deteriorating culvert, and was triggered by the rise of melt waters, snow and ice. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation was responsible for this culvert, which has since been repaired.

The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI), organized the 12th Annual River Bell Awards Luncheon in Paducah, KY on Thursday, December 8, 2011. The awards paid tribute to three individuals whose labors have significantly enriched America’s waterways. A crowd of 335 joined SCI’s River Bell Awards committee in commending the work of Joseph H. Pyne, Chairman & CEO of Kirby Corporation; Eddie Conrad; and RADM Mary E. Landry (ret), former Commander of the United States Coast Guard 8th District. SCI established the River Bell Awards in 2000 to recognize the contributions of an individual, company or organization to the inland maritime industry. This year…

Beginning April 1, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) welcomes a new chaplain dedicated to serving mariners and other workers in the offshore exploration and production industry. The Rev. Winston Rice, a former offshore worker and maritime lawyer, joins two current chaplains for SCI’s Ministry on the River, the nation’s only full-time pastoral care ministry on the Ohio and Lower Mississippi River systems, extending the Institute’s inland ministry efforts into the Gulf of Mexico. SCI’s new chaplain understands the challenges faced by offshore mariners and workers.

On March 1, the Rev. Michael Christopher Nation begins work at the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) as a chaplain for Ministry on the River, the nation’s only full-time pastoral care ministry on the Ohio and Lower Mississippi River systems. Operating from Vicksburg, MS (where Nation served as rector of a local parish for over 9 years), the new SCI chaplain ministers to mariners working in the Lower Mississippi River region. He succeeds the Rev. Michael Hammett who left SCI last year. Living and working in the city of Vicksburg has wrapped Nation up in the maritime industry. On the Mississippi, Vicksburg functions as a hub of river commerce with several river transportation companies operating in the area. Not surprisingly, Nation already knew about SCI.

SCI awarded three honorees at the River Bell Awards Luncheon on December 9, 2010. Stephen Little of Crounse Corporation (River Bell Award), Buck Lay (River Legend Award), and the Rev. James Wilkinson formerly of SCI (Distinguished Service Award). In December, the inland waterways industry impressed SCI fundraisers with sponsorship dollars surpassing the budget aim for the Seamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) River Bell Awards Luncheon, an annual event held in Paducah, KY recognizing contributions of an individual, company, or organization to the inland maritime industry. Income from the awards luncheon, which supports SCI’s Ministry on the River, the nation’s only full-time pastoral care ministry on the Ohio and Lower Mississippi River systems, soared close to $180K.

The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) has appointed the Rev. Kempton D. Baldridge to serve as its new Ministry on the River (MOR) chaplain, serving the Ohio River region, effective June 1. Based from SCI’s Paducah, Ky. Center for Maritime Education, Chaplain Baldridge will serve mariners along the Ohio River plus river regions surrounding Nashville, St. Louis, and Memphis. In addition to his direct care for mariners and their shore-side counterparts, Chaplain Baldridge strengthens a network of River Friendly Churches who partner with SCI to provide ministry to mariners.

The Rev. James (Jim) R. Wilkinson retires this year in April after over 11 years of service to the nation’s inland waterways community as their first full-time, fully-dedicated chaplain. In 1998, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) called Wilkinson to head up Ministry on the River, a first-of-its-kind endeavor offering pastoral care to river mariners and their families in the United States. Wilkinson’s congregation of mariners spanned thousands of miles of moving waters from Pittsburgh, Pa. to Greenville, Miss.

The Rev. Michael Hammett, the newest addition to the staff of the Ministry on the River team of the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI), said that he wants to make a big poster that reads, “Your chaplain is here for you.” After completing a two-week chaplaincy training program in Houston, TX, the Louisiana native began work last month, overseeing a ministry to workers on America’s inland waterways in the lower Mississippi River region. Hammett has worked inside and outside the walls of churches as an ordained United Methodist Church minister for 25 years.

Some important announcements were made during the 9th Annual River Bell Awards Luncheon at the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) Center in Paducah, KY. Leaders from Ingram Barge Company and AEP River Operations revealed that their companies would lead the effort to fund important upgrades to the simulators in Paducah. Upgrades to the Center’s simulation Center come on the heels of significant funding from West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board in August of this year. All computer hardware, software and radars will be replaced and the geographical databases will be updated.

Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) welcomes Pamela Stephens as a new full-time chaplain based in the Port of Houston for its Ministry on the River program. In July, Chaplain Stephens joined Ann Mills in Paducah (KY) and the Rev. Jim Wilkinson in Louisville (KY) to coordinate SCI’s pastoral care network along 2,200 miles of America’s inland waterways. “Pam’s home base at SCI’s Houston Center will mean that the resources of the Institute are available to her as she provides pastoral care to more river and coastal mariners working in this region. A ministry of presence in the Gulf Region will take her from the bayous of Texas and Louisiana to the everglades of Florida,” said the Rev. David Rider, SCI's Executive Director.

The Rev. Dr. Jean Smith has been appointed Executive Director of the Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) of New York & New Jersey by its Board of Trustees at its December 5 meeting. On January 1, 2003 she will succeed the Rev. Canon Peter Larom who will become a special advisor to the Institute and other organizations. The first woman to lead the 169-year-old maritime institution, Dr. in North America whose 2003 budget is over $6.5 million. legal advocacy work. said George D. Benjamin Chairman of SCI's Board of Trustees. With the Institute since 1990, Dr. Services. from Pittsburgh to Houston. Dr. Port of New York & New Jersey. from under-served ports around the world. Friendly Churches.

Rev. Dr. Jean Smith on January 1, 2003 assumed the position of Executive Director of Seamen's Church Institute of New York & New Jersey (SCI), the not-for-profit organization, which provides spiritual, personal and professional aid to the well-being of merchant mariners. Formerly headed by the Rev. Canon Peter Larom, the organization will continue to flourish on the foundation that Rev. Canon Larom instilled with new leadership by an experienced leader, who also happens to be the first woman to hold such a position at SCI. Since grabbing the headlines more than one year ago with its highly praised relief effort in wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, SCI remains at the forefront of the international maritime industry as an organization that lends a helping hand to those in need.