ICMAn maailmankonferenssi 2025

Hello everyone. My name is Sanna Rasi, and I seve as a port chaplain in Northern Finland. I also have the privilege of coordinating the chaplains of the Finnish Seamen’s Mission across the country. It has been both a joy and an honor to serve on the program committee for this conference.

And today, standing here among so many friends, colleagues, and partners from around the world — I feel deeply grateful. It is good to know that we share the same calling: to care for those who live and work far from home.

This past year has been very special for us. We celebrated 150 years of ministry among seafarers. In September, we gathered in Helsinki Cathedral — the very place where our story began. Seeing the church filled to capacity reminded me how long and wide-reaching our work has been.

For six generations, the Seamen’s Mission has walked alongside Finnish seafarers and their families. Some have served for decades, others only a short while. But together they form an unbroken chain of care and presence.

Looking back, I see how many changes we have faced. We have lived through wars and political upheavals. We have seen the rise and fall of shipping companies, the changing waves of Finnish migration, the arrival of new technology, new ships, and new ways of life at sea. Sometimes the storms were literal — world wars that closed ports and scattered crews.
Other times, quieter but just as hard — fewer volunteers, a changing religious landscape, financial pressures, and the need to rethink how we serve.

And yet… 150 years later… we are still here. Because our core mission has never changed. The heart of the Finnish Seamen’s Mission is simple and strong: to walk alongside people far from home, and to bring them a piece of home. Our churches, our chaplains, our centers — they all exist to say: “You are not forgotten. We see you. You belong.” That message has carried us through even the hardest times.

In recent years, we too have gone through big changes. One of the biggest has been taking responsibility for the Finnish Churches Abroad. This has brought new partnerships, new ways of organizing, and new financial realities. But it has also opened doors to serve Finns abroad in new ways, and to stay visible and relevant in a changing world.

Like many of you, we face everyday questions:

• How do we maintain buildings that feel like home, when resources are limited?
• How do we support and train our chaplains well, when the work can feel lonely and isolating?
• How do we attract new volunteers, when fewer people have the time or connection to the church that they once did?
• And how do we speak to a society that is increasingly secular — but still thirsty for belonging and meaning?

From these struggles, we have learned some lessons:

• We must trust in our work, and in the need that still exists for it.
• Mobile work is more important than ever. We must go where people are. For us, that means sailing chaplaincy on Finnish shipping lines.
• And we must strengthen the financial base that supports this vital work. That people have time to focus their main work.

Looking ahead, we know that world and Finland also is changing quickly. Shipping is moving toward carbon neutrality. Fewer people choose long careers at sea. Vessels are bigger and crew is smaller. Timetable is all the time more rushed. Society is becoming more diverse and digital. Volunteers are harder to find — but new ways of connecting are emerging.

We cannot know exactly what our work will look like in 20 years.
But we do know its core: to be present, to bring comfort and belonging, and to bear witness to God’s love.

That is why I am so glad we can gather here in Barcelona. This conference is itself like a home away from home: a place to share experiences, to encourage one another, and to imagine the future together. Change can feel frightening. But it can also bring hope — when we face it side by side, with faith and friendship.

To all of you who have traveled far to be here: thank you. Thank you for the work you do every day — in ports, on ships, in seafarers’ centers, in chapels, in offices — to make sure those at sea are not alone. Thank you for helping to build networks where we can learn, share, and make a difference together. You remind us that while every port has its own story — we belong to a worldwide community.

I look forward to meeting many of you, hearing your stories, and sharing ours. May this week be for us what we seek to offer others: a safe harbor, a place of connection, a home away from home. And may we leave here strengthened, ready to face the next season of change with courage and with hope.

Thank you.