We need your help to make the 2026 NACCC Annual Meeting and Conference Intergenerational Mission Project a success! This year, we will be filling hundreds of ditty bags for Seafarers’ Friend.
Seafarers’ Friend is one of the oldest missions of the Congregational Way. Nearly 200 years ago, Seafarers’ Friend was founded with the mission of supporting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the merchant mariners who made life in New England possible. One of the ways they meet those needs is through their ditty bag ministry.
For centuries, sailors have kept small cloth bags known as ditty bags that contain sewing kits, grooming items, spare clothes, and other small personal items. Each year, Seafarers’ Friend collects items from numerous churches and community groups to help stock these bags, and, during the holiday season, they pass them out to the seafarers in their ports. While each ditty bag contains different items, they try to ensure that every seafarer gets a similarly packed bag.
This is where you come in. As part of this Intergenerational Mission Project, we will be filling hundreds of these bags, and we need your support in gathering the items that will make them up. From chapstick to deodorant, socks, playing cards, and much more, there are many items your church can collect in service of this project. Additionally, we would love for the members of your church to write encouraging letters for the mariners or craft colorful pictures to be included in the bags.
So that we’re able to track what is being collected and by whom, we ask that you please sign up for what you’ll be collecting here.
Thank you for participating in this exciting project and helping out our mission partner, Seafarers’ Friend! Questions can be directed to Joanne Simpson.
Thank you for enriching the lives of seafarers worldwide!