Veteran’s Naval Band bugler John More, St. David’s Anglican Church parishioners Captain John Horton and Nick Robinson of The Delta Lifeboat, along with Brian Cook also from The Delta Lifeboat, will participate in a global tribute to mariners when the parish marks Sea Sunday this Sunday, June 27.
The timely easing of COVID-19 restrictions by BC’s Public Health Officer, notably a return to limited indoor gatherings, coincides with observance of the vital place the sea and those who sail it have in our lives.
It is a day of special meaning to residents of South Delta where the very name Tsawwassen, stems from the early Coast Salish depiction ‘facing the sea’.
The sanctuary of St. David’s will be transformed for the 9 a.m. service when a dinghy and trappings of the sea will remind online ZOOM and in-person attendees of the debt owed to They that go down to the seas in ships.
Here in Ladner/Tsawwassen, local dependence on seafarers is fairly obvious given the area’s proximity to BC Ferries, Seaspan’s barge/ferry terminals on the Fraser River in Delta and Surrey, tugs and barges hauling wood products, rock, gravel and cement, not forgetting the fisher folk who provide food for the table.
The Delta Lifeboat, based in Ladner Harbour, plays a pivotal role in providing search and rescue support for commercial and native fisheries, along with other duties related to a Canadian Lifeboat Institute vessel. The Delta is captained by Horton, a senior lifeboat commander with CLI.
It is widely recognized that 90 per cent of everything in shops today is imported by sea. Global trade is dependent on the shipping industry and any disruption in the delivery of goods, be it storm or other peril of the sea, directly affects one and all. It is the best possible reason to recognize and give thanks to mariners and those who work in the many supporting industries.
The Sea Sunday Service will include Horton’s description and significance of a ship’s ‘eight bells’ and the bugler’s call.
A wreath in memory of souls lost at sea will be blessed by St. David’s rector, The Rev. Simbarashi Basvi, and later cast afloat in the main channel of the Fraser River. The ceremony will take place from the upper deck of The Delta Lifeboat ‘to the sound of eight bells, 'the Bosun’s call’ and prayers by Rev. Basvi.
