After a long search process, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) announced the selection of the Rev. Christine E. Brunson as its newly appointed maritime chaplain. Brunson will be based at SCI’s Center in the Houston Ship Channel and begins work on Jan. 17.
“We are truly excited to have Christine joining our team of Chaplains focused on serving inland and intracoastal mariners who move the goods and supplies that many of us take for granted,” SCI’s president and executive director, the Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, said in a statement announcing the appointment. “In addition to her exceptional credentials, I am particularly impressed by her past work with veterans and first responders around issues of trauma and resilience, and her recent relief work at the Ukraine/Poland border resettling families following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
SCI has launched a $5 million campaign to expand its network of fulltime chaplains focused on U.S. inland mariners to serve this essential workforce. Brunson’s appointment represents the first fruits of this ongoing campaign.
Brunson comes to SCI from St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Cypress, Texas. A native Texan, she earned her BA and MS degrees from Baylor University and her MDiv degree from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest.
Founded in 1834, the Seamen's Church Institute is the largest and most comprehensive mariners' service agency in North America. The Seamen's Church Institute, through its Center for Maritime Education, Center for Mariner Advocacy, Port Newark International Seafarers' Center, and Ministry on the River, promotes safety, dignity, and improved working and living conditions for the men and women serving in the maritime workplace.
