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Albany Maritime Ministry Announces Holiday Season Activities and Call for Volunteers

Highlights include Christmas at Sea, Advent Open House, and Beer & Carols Fundraiser

(November 10, 2025) Since 1974, the Albany Maritime Ministry, an ecumenical association, has been helping make life a little easier for seafarers who find their way to the Port of Albany and other ports in the Capital Region by offering kindness and hospitality. With humble beginnings when it was known as the Mariners House in Albany’s South End, the program has expanded and now serves the needs of thousands of seafarers annually.

The Ministry has evolved to meet that growing need and now operates out of the Rev. William G. Hemple Seafarers Center in the Port’s Maritime Terminal (109 Smith Blvd, Albany), and benefits from the professional leadership of two chaplains -- Rev. Kate Drefke, Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church (Troy) and Evangelical Lutheran Church of Poestenkill (Poestenkill) and the Rev. D. Lowell Chilton, Pastor of First Lutheran Church (Albany) and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Loudonville), a volunteer Board of Directors, and partnership with Seafarers International House in NYC.

“Recently, at the International Christian Maritime Association conference in Barcelona, the Honorable Salvadore Illa, President of the Government of Catalonia, said, ‘there is an economic perspective to the sea and there is the human perspective. There are people working there with rights, with dignity,’” quoted Chaplain Lowell Chilton. "Seafaring ministry is extending hospitality to strangers with dignity and advocating for the rights of the humans who live and work at sea."

The Albany Maritime Ministry addresses seafarers’ spiritual, family, and material needs; advocates for seafarers’ rights; welcomes seafarers aboard their ship when they cannot come ashore; collaborates with related agencies worldwide; and offers special programs and services, such as Christmas at Sea.

"Maritime ministry is a unique way to meet the world at home," said Chaplain Kate Drefke. "Our volunteers visit seafarers onboard ships, welcome them to Albany, and help them get around on shore leave, which sometimes involves weird adventures around town looking for just the right thing for the seafarer to feel at home. We don't have set schedules, we show up when the ships do and do our best to serve those who make our lives possible."

The Albany Maritime Ministry’s 2025 Christmas at Sea campaign begins today, with distributions starting immediately in honor of the Filipino months-long Christmas season. Small, gift-wrapped boxes (shoebox or small plastic bin with lid) can be donated for distribution to seafarers who are away from their families this holiday season. For guidelines, visit https://www.albanymm.us/events/2025/12/7/christmas-at-sea-open-house or contact the chaplains at [email protected]. Drop-off locations for donations (through the end of the year) include the Unity Lutheran Church (1500 Western Ave, Albany) and the Port of Albany Administration Building (106 Smith Blvd, Albany).

In addition, the Albany Maritime Ministry will be hosting two events where donations can be dropped off:

• Sunday, December 7, 1:00 – 3:00 pm | Advent Open House at Rev. William G. Hempel Seafarer Center (109 Smith Blvd, Albany)

• Monday, December 15, 5:00 – 8:00 pm | Beer & Carols at The Warbler Brewery (155 Delaware Ave, Delmar) Singing starts at 5:30. People are invited to sing along to their favorite carols and enjoy refreshments including alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages. The Warbler will be donating a portion of the bar sales to the Ministry.

For more information on how to volunteer or to donate, visit www.albanymm.us

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The Port of Albany continues to be a key economic driver with an annual impact of more than $813 million and approximately 4,500 jobs throughout the state.

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With four transport modes -- ocean vessels, barges, freight railroads, interstate highways -- the Port of Albany is Upstate New York’s largest public port and logistics hub and serves as a Port of Entry with on-site U.S. Customs and Border Protection office and bonded warehouse. The Port is open and active year-round and includes deep-water shipping access and approximately 450 acres of land on both sides of the Hudson River in four municipalities. The Port of Albany is located 124 nautical miles north of the Battery in New York Harbor. The Port recently completed nearly $100 million in maritime infrastructure upgrades and investment and more than $170 million in an expansion project. For more information, visit www.portofalbany.us.