Portsmouth: RNLI honoured at St Nicholas's Day celebration

Icon by Brian Matthew Whirledge . See link below.

The Sisters of Bethany in Southsea, Hampshire, hosted an Advent Service on St Nicholas's Day in support of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The date was apt as St Nicholas is patron saint of seafarers and travellers - and indeed of Portsmouth, 'the flagship of maritime England', of which Southsea forms part.

Roy Marsh who heads the local RNLI station delivered a fascinating address on the institution which will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2024. In the past 199 years, 144,000 lives have been saved. Unlike the 144,000 'redeemed from the earth' in the Book of Revelation, these lucky souls had been plucked from the sea.

Roy thanked the community of Bethany for their prayers which, he said, meant a great deal to all the crews and support staff. He described the RNLI's evolution. In the past, local seafarers made up the crews, putting to sea in heavy boats and rowing out to the rescue, often in large numbers. Now, with seafaring very much diminished as part of Britain and Ireland's economy (for the RNLI is found in Ireland, too), the brave volunteers hail from all walks of life. They need to train for two years and are put to an exacting test in storm-force conditions down at the RNLI's training centre in Poole, Dorset, before they are deemed fit for life-saving duty. (Their craft will be flipped over, they will be cast into the waters, and then expected to resume control.) It will take a minimum of five years to reach the rank of skipper.

The boats are all custom-made and mercifully much lighter than in the past. Many can operate in very shallow waters which is ideal to rescue those suddenly cut off on sandbanks and mudflats. Roy spoke of a recent case where four dog walkers and their dog were rescued just 400 yards from the shore. They were sinking in mud and the water was up to their necks when the rescue was made.

In another rescue, two gents were on their maiden paddle-board voyage on an ebbing tide when one of the two had a cardiac arrest. The RNLI craft arrived in the nick of time, picked up the ailing gent and his friend and ran up onto the beach where they were met by the local lifeguards (also RNLI) who, having been radioed in advance, leapt onboard with a defibrillator and saved his life.

This year's Round the Island (Isle of Wight) Yacht Race had been particularly eventful said Roy. The allotted crew were scheduled to cast off from Portsmouth at noon but Roy received a call at 11 requesting immediate assistance. The crew despatched, without the lunches they were preparing. It was a rough sea. They rescued the professional crew of a £5 million catamaran which had upended. Only three of the eight sailors had lifejackets. Seven further rescues were made throughout the day and the boat only returned 10 hours later. The crew were starving but very happy.

Roy said the RNLI was continuing to expand and was also now active on inshore waters. In fact, he added, the River Thames base was the busiest in the country. The crews slept on-site as they were called upon day and night. Sadly, the RNLI responds to many cases of self-harm.

He was warmly thanked. The RNLI volunteers were like the Good Samaritan, it was remarked, doing life-saving work out of sheer generosity and a deep sense of shared humanity.

A reading from the Palestinian liberation theologian and priest Naim Ateek chimed with this sense:

'The Christmas story is a story of a liberation God who comes to join an oppressed people in the work of liberation. God's message through the angels is a message of defiance. In spite of the presence of dominating forces, human arrogance and oppression, God is announcing peace and goodwill. This is God's agenda.'

The sisters had taken care to highlight our shared humanity, and a striving after peace and love in the readings and prayers.

Certain hymns, with resonant words, were chosen with the maritime theme much in mind:

'O, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea.'

'Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,

When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?'

The service was brought to a close with the Advent favourite 'Of the Father's heart begotten' with its reference to 'Earth and sky and boundless ocean.'

LINKS

Royal National Lifeboat Institution: www.rnli.org

Sisters of Bethany: www.sistersofbethany.org.uk/

Icon Artist Brian Matthew Whirledge: www.brianwhirledge.com