A modern ecumenical home for people living and working at sea who occasionally stop in Liverpool harbour will be unveiled next October during an ecumenical service by the Catholic archbishop Patrick Kelly and his Anglican counterpart James Jones. The new centre has been promoted by the Catholic charity "Apostleship of the Sea" and by the Anglican one "Anglican Mersey Mission to Seafarers", which deal with people who spend most of their time living and working at sea. According to Peter Devlin of Apostleship of the Sea, about one thousand people a month will visit the centre. "There is a minority of seamen who call at port. Most of them never leave their ships. That’s why we go see them instead of waiting for them to come to us", states Peter Devlin, "they come from the Philippines, the Far East, India, China, Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic countries. The most important thing for them is to keep in touch with their families. The centre will host about thirty telephone lines and up to ten Internet points for those who prefer to use email, as well as a chapel for Mass and services, a library, a bar and some TVs".
