Princess Anne visits ecumenical seafarers' centre

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the ecumenical Southampton Seafarers' Centre yesterday. After a short service in the Centre's chapel, Princess Anne met with staff, trustees and volunteers who work at the Centre, which is jointly owned and run by the Apostleship of the Sea (Roman Catholic), the Mission to Seafarers (Church of England) and the British and International Sailors' Society (Free Churches). Eamonn Delaney, the Apostleship of the Sea's trustee of the Centre, described the Centre as a "shining example of ecumenism in practice" and expressed his delight at Princess Anne's interest in its work. Greeting the Princess on behalf of the three societies, he said: "Recently the three main welfare societies concluded that the ideal way to serve their seafarers would be to act in unison, pooling their resources, expertise and years of experience for the benefit of all. "When you look around the Centre today, you will see the tangible benefits for seafarers: the bank of computers and telephones to enable cheap contact with friends and relatives, the kitchen producing modestly priced food, the bar, television, etc., for relaxation." Mr Delaney added: "We are so convinced of the logicality, validity and efficiency of ecumenical seafarers' centres that we are proposing to replicate the Southampton model in other ports, starting with Tilbury in the next few months." Source: AOS