RELIGION ON THE RIVERS

Four panels from a stained glass window depict Christ and his disciples as mariners. The first shows Jesus with Peter and Andrew; the second depicts Jesus walking on water; the third panel shows him calming the storm and the last panel shows the disciples with a miraculous catch of fish. The panels are the bottom half of windows from the Church of the Holy Comforter for Sailors in New York.

"They that go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters; these men see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep." -- Psalms 107:23-24

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Jesus Christ came to make his disciples fishers of men. Some of his best friends were mariners and references to life on the water are abundant in the Bible.

Yet there wasn't a local ministry to the people who worked along the rivers, nor was there any support for their families inland until the Ministry on the River program began about a year ago in Paducah, Ky.

Since it began, Karen Cox, program coordinator, has been trying to improve the spiritual connections of riverboat employees and their families during the times when physical connections are far between.

Riverboat employees tend to work schedules that take them away from home for a month at a time. Adjusting to those absences and the changes at home can be difficult.

Cox knows that all too well. Her husband, Steve, works on a riverboat. After 10 years of marriage, she is familiar with the only constant in a riverboat family: change.

"Your life is in constant upheaval," she said. Riverboat wives learn that if the car engine blows up, it's likely to happen while he's away or if there are problems at school with the children, those creep up when she's the only parent at home, Cox said.

Originally, Cox called the Center for Maritime Education in Paducah, who operates the program, for information about support groups for riverboat families. It turned out she landed a job, and it's a suitable one for a veteran riverboat wife who is also the daughter of a minister.

"Our actual outreach to the men on the boats pales in comparison to the needs of the families left at home," Cox said. Part of that difference is that so many families are affected and they are so spread out. Often they don't live in the cities right along the rivers; they are farther inland.

Ministry on the River offers them support, wherever they happen to be. The program operates under the direction of the Seamen's Church Institute and the Center for Maritime Education, which offers job training and professional development primarily for riverboat pilots and captains.

Not everyone, even those living in river towns, understands how riverboat families are different. "We build these floodwalls so we don't even see the river," Cox said.

But chaplains can offer a sympathetic ear when times get tough.

The river ministry program really started as a imprecise notion, Cox said. The Seamen's Church Institute has been operating a similar chaplaincy program for sailors in New York and New Jersey since 1834.

With ships, sailors come from long voyages at sea to dock at port. In New York and Newark, N.J., where the Seamen's Church Institute was founded, the sailors come to the centers for help.

Chaplains working with the international ship crews don't meet the sailors' families. They seldom see them again to know how the problem got resolved.

All of that changes with riverboats.

"These are Americans working on American ships who have left home for 30 days at a time," Cox said.

Riverboats don't pull into port at any time during their month afloat. They refuel while on the river, restock supplies while afloat and only stop during really labor-intensive times, she explained.

Reaching riverboats meant that chaplains had to be on-call, not necessarily on site. It's a ministry of presence.

Chaplains are available in cities along the river, mostly for emergencies like deaths or injuries. There haven't been many yet, and the types of calls could vary tremendously.

Some chaplains may never get called, Cox said. But they are available. An 800 hotline number connects the center with the riverboats and then with a chaplain.

Sometimes it doesn't even take a chaplain's prayers or advice to make the downtrodden river worker feel better. Often all they want is someone to nod their head and say `It's just not fair,' Cox said.

Though she's not a minister herself, she is a minister's daughter. So Cox can offer some advice, whether practical or spiritual.

She once was called to talk with a new riverboat employee at 4 a.m. when his boat passed through Wickliffe, Ky. He had been depressed and hadn't quite gotten used to life afloat.

Cox planned to meet the boat, but discovered it was coming early -- about four hours ahead of time. She immediately left a reception at the Maritime Center to climb aboard a tugboat in the dark.

"I never climbed up on a tugboat in heels before," she said, "but I did it that night."

Much of the work of riverboat chaplains is just that -- doing what needs to be done, whether it means overcoming a fear or breaking stereotypes.

New chaplains in the program learn that their fears go away soon after the training ends. The chaplains spend 36 hours aboard a riverboat. For some it's a new adventure that opens their eyes to another world. "They see what it's like to spend your life in six hour blocks of time and to understand what the work is like," Cox said.

There are about 30 volunteer chaplains at points along the Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland rivers. Another 35 "river-friendly" churches line the banks and inland roads. They support the ministry with prayer and Christmas packages.

Cox hopes to expand the program by adding chaplains around the Cape Girardeau area.