Hawaii

Hawaii’s seafarer ministry brings pastoral relief to fishing industry

Published

12 months ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Hawaii’s seafarer ministry brings pastoral relief to fishing industry

By Daniel Payne

CNA Staff, Jan 19, 2025 / 06:00 am

A recently launched ministry in Hawaii is bringing the Church to fishermen and other seafarers whose long hours and remote work renders them an “invisible part of the body of Christ.”

Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva launched the Hawaii Apostleship of the Sea Ministry out of the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa late last year. He put Deacon Marlowe Sabater, ordained in January of last year, in charge of the new program.

Catholics attend Mass via the Apostleship of the Sea Ministry in Honolulu, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. Credit: Deacon Marlowe Sabater

In an interview with CNA, Sabater said the initiative was created specifically to minister to seafarers, who make up a considerable portion of the Hawaiian economy. Seafarers “include foreign fishermen working for the Hawaii longline fishery and crew from cruise and cargo ships,” the deacon said.

Sabater pointed to St. Paul’s words in 1 Cor 12:12 in which the evangelist wrote: “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.”

“The seafarer is an invisible body part that is out of sight [and] out of mind,” he said. The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development “calls for us to minister and advocate for their rights and dignity.”

The ministry is currently in its infancy, the deacon noted, and is working to spread the program to various parishes. At present the ministry offers evangelization and fellowship to fishermen at the Port of Honolulu via the services of two priests and two deacons.

“The ministries also provide the material needs of seafarers, such as clothing and food for their work and daily consumption,” he said. The Catholic apostleship partners with a similar ministry at Waipio Community Baptist Church, he noted.

This is not the only Catholic ministry that brings the sacraments to those who work long hours on the water. The Archdiocese of Seattle partners with several other Christian churches in that city to care for maritime workers from around the world.

As in Hawaii, Catholic seafarers in Seattle are able to access the sacraments, including the Eucharist, through the ministry. It also offers practical services such as SIM cards for cellphones and transportation to shopping near the shore.

Sabater said the Hawaii program is currently focused on longline fishermen in Honolulu itself. “In the future, we will expand to ministering to crew members onboard cruise and cargo ships,” he said.

The ministry plans to partner with the Apostleship of the Sea, a professional association of Catholic maritime ministers.

Seafarers “play a significant role in providing food for our table, transporting our goods, and catering to our enjoyment at sea,” the deacon said.

But “their pastoral needs are hampered by the nature of their work and the conditions of their labor,” he added.

“We are called to serve every member of the human family,” Sabater said, “including those who spend a significant amount of time out at sea risking their lives to serve, fish, entertain, deliver, and make life easier for us.”

(Story continues below)

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

Daniel Payne

Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.

Source link

Click to comment

Hawaii

2026 Sony Open field is announced. See who’s playing in Hawaii

Published

9 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

2026 Sony Open field is announced. See who’s playing in Hawaii

The Sony Open in Hawaii has the honors of being the kickoff event to the 2026 PGA Tour season after the cancellation of The Sentry at Kapalua this season.

Instead of Maui, the Tour debuts in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Jan. 15-18, at the Seth Raynor-designed Waialae Country Club, where Nick Taylor prevailed in a playoff over Nico Echavarria last year.

Among the changes this season is the field size, which was reduced from 144 to 120, and, there is no longer is a Monday qualifier offering four spots. Will that help with pace of play? Stay tuned.

The field includes the following notables in addition to Taylor and Echavarria: Daniel Berger, Keegan Bradley, Michael Brennan, Corey Conners, Tony Finau, Chris Gotterup, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Billy Horschel, Robert MacIntyre, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Sahith Theegala, Gary Woodland and 62-year-old Vijay Singh.

Here’s the full field for the Sony Open, which will be live on Golf Channel all four days as well as NBC with early-round coverage on Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s Sony purse is $9.1 million and the winner also will receive 500 FedEx Cup points.

Source link

Hawaii

Hawaii Pacific basketball teams split with Menlo | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Source link

Hawaii

Hawaii County accepting applications for Summer Fun employees

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii County accepting applications for Summer Fun employees

HAWAII ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) – The County of Hawaii Department of Parks and Recreation is now accepting applications for temporary positions in its 2026 Summer Fun program.

The two positions available are Activity Aide I ($17.50 per hour) and Activity Aide II ($19 per hour).

To be considered for employment, applicants must possess a valid first-aid certification, attend mandatory training June 2–5, and be available to work June 8–July 17.

Applications are available online on the Parks and Recreation website, and must be submitted to the Recreation Division Office at 799 Pi‘ilani St., Hilo, HI 96720, postmarked by Saturday, Feb. 28.

For more information, call the Recreation Division Office at (808) 961-8740.

Source link