Boats of all sizes and occupations on Tuesday gathered offshore the Spit, in the choppy, early evening sea breeze, at the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Two rows of chairs, a quiet nod to the mariners no longer with us, sat empty in front of the Seafarers Memorial as community members quietly gathered in somber reflection of lives lost to the sea over the past year.<\/p>\n
Pastor Jamie McBride of Glory View Church began the ceremony on Tuesday by saying that the blessing was a way to “tell our fishing community that we are here with you, that we are standing with you, praying with you, and believing that God is going to bless and protect what you guys go out and do every day.”<\/p>\n
Pastor Mark Edens of Regent Life Church said his grandfather moved to the area in 1939 and began building boats, by hand. Back then, the main fishing community in the area was based out of Seldovia. Edens said he remembered playing in the old harbor in Homer when it looked “like a pond.” In recent years, with the rise in tourism, the pastor pointed out that commercial fishing in all its forms is still a vital aspect of life and culture in Homer.<\/p>\n
“Everyone enjoys the great waters,” he said. “We know when the commercial fishermen do well, the whole town feels it. We need a blessing this year. The last couple of years have been pretty catastrophic for the fishing industry, so I appreciate the prayers this year.”<\/p>\n
McBride said growing up in the Midwest, the big industry was farming. Everything was about corn and beans. He said he remembers churches doing blessings where people would drive their tractors in to be prayed for, and “pray over their crops for their harvest and their season.” When he moved to Homer a year and a half ago, he was reminded of this annual blessing, and “just had this thing in my heart.”<\/p>\n
“There’s no corn, but there’s a lot of fish,” he said. “I want to pray for our fishing community and I want to support our fishing community. I want our fishing community to know that we’re here for them, and so today, that’s what we are here to do. A statement of faith.<\/p>\n
“When we bless the fleet, it’s not just a ritual, but a recognition of God’s sovereignty. As we commit our lives to His goodness, we commit our occupations to him. We commit our boats to him, our gear to him, our crew to him, everything that we have, we commit to him, and we entrust that when we go out over these waters, that he’s going to be with us and he’s going to provide for us. He’s going to give peace for us.”<\/p>\n
The following names were spoken aloud and honored by a moment of silence and ceremonial ringing of the bell, in honor of their lost lives:<\/p>\n
Bob Ward<\/p>\n
Sam Beachy<\/p>\n
Carla Milburn<\/p>\n
John Carlin<\/p>\n
Mike Huff<\/p>\n
Willy Edan<\/p>\n
Nick Dudiak<\/p>\n
Lauren Lefree<\/p>\n
Colton Cray<\/p>\n
Brantley Cray<\/p>\n
Mary Cray<\/p>\n
David Cray<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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