Announcements
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This page is dedicated to helping our supporting organizations communicate our announcements and needs to their communities.
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![Board member brainstorming]()
Seeking Board Members
The Ministry to Seafarers (M2S) is searching for 2 volunteer board members from Classis Eastern Canada and 1 from Classis Quinte for 3-year terms. The board meets several times / year (online and in person). Treasurer experience or a financial background is an asset.
The M2S Board of Directors comprises at least 3 people from Classis Quinte and 3 more from Classis Eastern Canada. It is a governance board and leaves operations in the hands of the staff.
In addition to regular roles and responsibilities, board members champion the work of M2S in their local churches and circles of influence, acting as advocates and ambassadors of M2S.
Interested candidates should inquire with Shawn Brix, Chair or Michelle DePooter, Chaplain through the Get in touch form on the Contact Us page of our website.
Posted: January 2025
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![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.
We are presently lacking winter coats and warm items. You can drop off donations from Monday-Friday, 1-8 PM and on the weekends by appointment.
Posting: January 2025
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![Free Bench graphic]()
Free Bench Items
We have a place at the Seafarers’ Centre called the Free Bench. We leave items there that seafarers can take as they need them. Popular items include luggage, puzzles & games, warm clothes (winter) and sports equipment.
To donate items to the Free Bench, drop them off from Monday-Friday, 1-8 PM or on the weekends by appointment.
Posting: Ongoing
Meet the Staff
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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.
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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.
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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 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.
Patty is married to Daniel and they regularly visit their two Compassion Canada sponsor children in the Dominican Republic.
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
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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.
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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.
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Sonja Verbeek has more than 18 years of experience working in diverse leadership roles, including as Director of Human Resources for an Ontario police department. She has spearheaded initiatives in recruitment and performance evaluation, as well as shifted deployment and promotional processes.
In 2016 she was awarded the Barrie Police Service Chief of Police Award for her work on the competencies profile guide for civilian positions in police services.
Sonja holds an advanced Certificate in Strategic HR Management from Cornell University (2013) Queen’s Executive MBA (2011), MPA (2001), and BA (1987), as well as a BAH in Translation (1991) from York University.
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Bert Wissink served in the Ottawa Police service for almost 30 years holding different positions including front line policing, investigator, platoon leader and police community centre supervisor.
Bert has also served in two churches on the church council as deacon, elder, and chair.
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George earned a Bachelor of Arts in History at Clearwater Christian College, Clearwater, Florida. He spent most of his working career in production management at grain and feed, fertilizer and turf grass outlets and then production management at a goat cheese factory.
During this time, he served on school boards and committees and on church boards and committees. George is currently serving on the Board of the Christian School Foundation and is chair of his church council in Ottawa.
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Bio to follow.
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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.
Affiliations
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The Ministry to Seafarers (M2S) is proud to be affiliated with several boards, working together for the welfare of seafarers.
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![Canadian National Seafarers' Welfare Board]()
CNSWB
The 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.
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![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.
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![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