think about you, we invite you and welcome you,’ ” Foley said. “Even if they didn’t come, that’s how we felt.” But they did come after the congregation advertised in surf
and coffee shops, and via publications and Facebook. Foley, a local surfer now working as a nurse in Minot, N.D., also used some of her broken surfboards as props, attaching signs to them. The evangelism committee chose a Saturday afternoon when the tide was high. Karen Marohn, pastor, blessed surfers and surfboards, many still in their vehicles but circling back through the parking lot once they realized what was going on. One woman carefully carried over three boards, all clearly prized possessions. Another brought her scuba gear. “The first surfer of the day gratefully received the blessing and offered his own prayer for the pastor and the church,” Cours said. Surfers also received a small card that included the church’s website address and 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: “Be alert, stand firm in the faith; be brave, be strong. Do all you do in love.” Cours said, “Obviously, the real focus of the event was the people, not the objects. But if you want to reach people you sometimes need to do it through something that is important to them. Sometimes you need to remind them that the same God who knows when a sparrow falls, also knows when a surfer wipes out. And sometimes you need to remind yourself that we worship a living God who is relevant to our lives today.” If you’re a surfer in need of a blessing, St. Peter’s by-the-Sea will be happy to bless you and your board July 20.
Meanwhile, in New Jersey And over on the Atlantic, Jocelyn Johnston, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Barnegat Light, N.J., will bless boats and the people on them. It’s a tradition she inherited from her predecessor, who started the “Blessing of the Fleet” 35 years ago. Tide deter- mines the date, this year set for July 28. In Barnegat Light, the word is spread from the mayor to the fishermen, in the newspa- per and by flier. It’s an ecumenical event done primarily with the other Bar- negat Light church—an Episcopal parish—but also including two Roman Catholic priests from Long Beach Island. Johnston has invited the island’s rabbi to join them in the blessing, hop- ing to make it interfaith.
Barnegat Light, a small borough (population 574) on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, is known by its lighthouse and state park, as well as its fishing industry that goes back gen- erations among Scandinavian Americans.
Johnston said some 100 locals gather at a dock every year for the blessing, and countless more are out on fishing and rec- reational (“party”) boats. After Scripture readings, prayers and a hymn, Johnston and the other clergy step o nto a Coast Guard boat that takes them out to bless some 20 to 30 passing boats, most of them
with community fishermen on board.
Other communities also gather for fleet blessings, keenly aware of the dangers of the job. This summer, folks in Barnegat Light will remem- ber one of their own who perished at sea a year ago.
The blessing shows “that we care about our communities and our fish- ermen,” Johnston said, calling it a reminder of God’s call to all in their vocations—especially the fisher- men. “It is an awesome and humbling experience to pray for God’s blessing over each boat that passes by.”
Gathering the Lutheran Community
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Parish Getaways Clergy Meetings
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ours. Collectively, God’s Work, Our Hands.
June 2013 35
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