What We Do

  • The Ministry to Seafarers (M2S) is dedicated to enhancing the lives of seafarers regardless of race, religion, gender or rank, through ship visiting, advocacy and hospitality; showing and sharing Jesus’ love by caring for their physical, emotional, spiritual and justice needs.

  • Chaplain and seafarer next to a ship

    Ship Visits

    Our chaplains and volunteers visit each ship in port, offering a listening ear to seafarers who spend long periods of time away from home. Conversations revolve around families, faith, personal joys or sorrows or other interests they may have.

  • Chaplain with two seafarers

    Chaplaincy

    Visiting on ship or shore provides a time for our chaplains to offer spiritual counsel, a Bible or devotional or prayer with and for the crew. Sometimes crew request a particular type of service and we do our best to accommodate.

  • Man looking on phone

    Making Connections

    During regular ship visits, we ensure that seafarers are able to purchase SIM cards which they can use in and out of port to connect with friends and family.

  • Driver and seafarer

    Transportation

    For seafarers granted shore leave, the expansive 26 kilometre port presents its own challenge to accessing the city.

    The only safe, reliable and affordable option fo them is our free shuttle service - which goes anywhere in the port.

  • Seafarers in warm clothing

    Warm Clothing

    With many seafarers arriving directly from warmer countries, lack of warm clothing can often be the only reason they are not able to take shore leave.

    Through donations of gently used warm clothing, we are able to offer items on loan or to keep - to help the seafarers stay in good health and good spirits.

  • Volunteer with seafarer

    Home Away From Home

    Through our partnership with Mariners' House, we invite seafarers to the Seafarers' Centre where they can purchase necessities, enjoy recreational activities, receive the care they need, attend a chapel service, visit with others and rest.

Meet the Staff

  • Michelle DePooter

    Michelle DePooter

    Lead Chaplain

    Michelle grew up near Sarnia, Ontario. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Cross-Cultural Studies from Kuyper College and an MA in Global Leadership from Fuller Seminary. She is currently working on a second MA in Counselling.

    She started working at M2S as an intern in 2000 and became Lead Chaplain in 2004.

    She was ordained by the Christian Reformed Church as a Commissioned Pastor in 2004 and endorsed as a chaplain by the CRC in 2020.

    She is currently the Vice President of the North American Maritime Ministry Association and sits on the Canada Seafarers’ Welfare Board.

    Michelle and her husband Don have four children and they enjoy spending time together as a family.

  • David Rozeboom

    David Rozeboom

    Chaplain

    David grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to Montreal for work with a desire to see how all he learned in his Reformed upbringing would apply to a larger context and how he could create a place of spiritual safety for others.

    David completed a Bachelor of Theology from Farel Reformed Theological Seminary in Montreal.

    He started working at M2S in 2006 and also volunteers weekly with The Open Door. In 2017, David was shortlisted for ISWAN's The Dr Dierk Lindemann Welfare Personality of the Year award as nominated by seafarers.

    David is married to Brennan and they enjoy spending time outdoors.

  • Patty on phone

    Patty Sarazen

    Administrator & Volunteer Coordinator

    Patty grew up in Montreal and graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Education in Physical Education and English. She has high school teaching experience and has worked as an Administrator in the charitable sector since 2000.

    For many years Patty enjoyed coaching boys’ Atom and Pee-wee football and girls' hockey. She also had the pleasure of coordinating the Newcomer and Practical Care Teams at her church and serving as a deacon. She enjoys making introductions and then watching those relationships flourish.

    In 2024, Patty was the recipient of the inaugural Elisabeth Bertrand Humble Servant award, issued by Canada’s National Seafarers’ Welfare Board.

    Patty is married to Daniel. They enjoy outdoor sports, cooking together and investing in people.

Rev Uittenbosch with volunteers

Who We Are

On Sunday afternoons in the early 1960s, the young people from First CRC in Montreal would visit the Dutch ships in the Port of Montreal and sing to the sailors on board. They were motivated by wanting the seafarers to feel at home.

In 1965, Reverend Uittenbosch became the first chaplain. He had a desire to minister to those ‘passing by.’ At that time, over 76 different nationalities came through the port. Chaplain Uittenbosch would provide a Bible in people’s own language and many sailors were baptized.

Later, Reverend Uittenbosch visited Christian Reformed churches to talk about the work in Montreal and he eventually raised enough funds to purchase 201 rue de la Commune Ouest to be used as a Seafarers’ Centre. In those years, volunteers came for weeks or months at a time to run the Centre as a home-away-from-home for seafarers.

As the new millennium dawned 1 million containers had been handled in the port. Container shipping was changing everything; ships were in port for much less time with fewer crew members. In 2001, the Port of Montreal encouraged all seafarer welfare groups to come together and work out of one Seafarers’ Centre.

While many things have changed, our focus on building personal contacts with seafarers has not.

Today, the Montreal Seafarers’ Centre is located on the Grand Quai and it houses Mariners' House, a Stella Maris office and Ministry to Seafarers. Mariners’ House is a non-profit organization supported by various shipping federations and companies. Stella Maris is a Catholic chaplaincy. We work hand-in-hand with both organizations to the benefit of all seafarers. We have two full-time chaplains and one administrator on staff, and rely on the help of many volunteers and interns.

Meet the Board of Directors

  • The Ministry to Seafarers operates as a corporation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and is guided by a Board of Directors that formally meets twice a year.

  • After working in the field of educational publishing, Shawn pursued an MDiv from Calvin Theological Seminary (CTS) in Michigan, graduating in 1995.

    He has served as Lead Pastor in three Christian Reformed congregations in Southern Ontario.

    Having served on the Redeemer University Board, and the Board of Trustees for the Christian Reformed Church in North America, Shawn enjoys the challenge of helping organizations lean into their mission and vision.

    Since 2020, he has been serving as the Canadian Church Relations Liaison for CTS. In this new role, he works with pastors, congregations, and ministry agencies throughout Canada to build partnerships and to provide opportunities for leaders to be further equipped for Kingdom service.

  • For more than 18 years, Vicki has been a real estate agent. She has been part owner of her own brokerage for much of that time.

    Vicki has served on a local real estate board for eight years, two as President.

    Vicki volunteers with the girls club at her local church and has been actively involved in other areas of ministry for more than 20 years.

    Vicki is married with four young adult boys.

  • Evert worked in the hi-tech industry for 30 years in the Netherlands and Canada. For the past 15 years he was a director with Wilson Cook Associates.

    Evert has volunteered for Calvin church, Christian schools and the Ottawa Christian Chaplaincy. Currently he volunteers for the Re-Source Thrift store, Rideau Trail Association and M2S.

    Evert and his wife Annet have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

  • Brian is a former dairy farmer and is currently operating an abattoir in Crysler, Ontario.

    He has over 30 years of finance experience with local Christian schools.

    Brian resides in Brinston, ON and attends Dixons Christian Reformed Church. He and his wife, Lis, are blessed with seven grandchildren.

  • Debby is a Personal Support Worker and loves to pursue photography and travel adventures in her downtime.

    She has experience working in Inner city ministry, with adults with disabilities, in factories, as an educational assistant and volunteering with YWAM on a medical ship.

  • Arnold is retired, having spent most of his working life as owner/operator of an overhead door company. 

    He has served on church councils in Cambridge and Lindsay, and has served on the Cambridge Christian School board and various committees as well.

    He has been on numerous disaster response trips as a volunteer. 

    Arnold is married and has four children and seven grandchildren.

Affiliations

  • The Ministry to Seafarers (M2S) is proud to be affiliated with several boards, working together for the welfare of seafarers.

  • Canadian National Seafarers' Welfare Board

    CNSWB

    Canada’s National Seafarers’ Welfare Board is comprised of shipowners, seafarers’ welfare and labour representatives, port representatives and government.

    The creation of the Board is aligned with provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006), and the Board has the mandate to advise the Government of Canada on issues related to the welfare and well-being of seafarers, while also enhancing and improving seafarer welfare facilities in Canada, and seafarer access to those facilities and other services that they may require.

    We have a seat on this board as a representative of seafarer welfare organizations.

  • NAMMA Logo

    NAMMA

    NAMMA is an ecumenical, Christian association of individuals and affiliated organizations involved in maritime ministry throughout North America, including the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

    M2S is a member of NAMMA, along with 55 maritime ministry agencies and 100 member chaplains.

  • Montreal Mariners logo

    Montreal Mariners

    This retired group of seafarers is based in Montreal. They actively partner with us to host seafarer events on special occasions.

“Thanks…for the hard work you do day-in and day-out. The monthly report we receive gives us a window into your world.  The three of you are a busy, committed team, eager to serve the seafaring community well!  May God's blessing and favour continue to rest upon your work as you serve Him and His Kingdom, loving your seafaring neighbours as yourself! You're in my prayers!”


— Shawn Brix, Board Chair