Why does the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA have a German Seamens Mission?
Actually, the German Seamen’s Mission of New York was founded in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1907 by German-language churches, people from the German Consulate and German shipping interests. In those days, Hoboken was called “Little Bremen” because that was where the German ships docked, and there were a lot of German seamen wandering around Hoboken who needed pastoral and practical care. A Seamen’s House was purchased on Hudson Street in 1907 and a lively ministry began. The German Seamen’s Mission of New York became a member of the Metropolitan New York Synod in 1974.
