Rev. Bishop Richard Ingalls

The Bell Ringer and Lover of the Maritime Community

The 50th Anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald is this Monday, Nov. 10.  We have a very full weekend ahead of us, including a sold out Tribute to the Fitzgerald at the Church tonight, Friday, Nov. 7, and memorial services Sunday, Nov. 9 (11am) and Nov. 10 (12:10pm) at Mariners’ Church.  Our prayer is all that we do gives glory to God and honor to the men who died and their families.

The late Bishop Richard Ingalls (1926-2006) helped established many of our Maritime services, including the Great Lakes Memorial service and the Blessing of the Fleet.  Of course, he was also the Rector who also rang the bell 29 times on that fateful morning 50 years ago in honor of the 29 men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Bette Wisniowiecki, daughter of Bishop Ingalls, is a life long member of Mariners’ Church.  We recently did an interview with the Associated Press for a story, versions of which are coming out this week nationwide [AP News Story featuring an archived clip of Bishop Ingalls].

I’ve been thinking and talking with Bette about the actual act of Bishop Ingalls ringing the bell, recently.  It was suppose to be a simple and local tribute; a private moment of a grieving pastor committed to the Maritime community. Instead, it became a famous act captured by press and a songwriter.  Now this tribute lives on in an iconic song, and yearly memorials.

Rev. Ingalls could not have imagined the impact this small, loving act would have on our community and the world.  When talking to Bette she said:

“[The ringing of the bell] wouldn’t have happened if my he [my father] hadn’t been friends with the Great Lakes captains and community.   Robert E. Lee was the curator at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle back at that time. He had been listening to the radio calls coming in from the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie during the night.

He told my dad, ‘The Fitzgerald is missing,  they’ve been looking for her all night. They can’t find her….Richard, she’s gone.’

That’s when my dad got dressed, left the house very early, headed to church and rang the bell. He had been at Mariners’ for ten years at that point and made sure he was always available to the maritime community.  Whether it was for a funeral for a captain or marrying a crewman while on a 48 leave in town, he wanted to embrace all of them.”

This is the true heart of the man behind the bell.  It sprung from a love for the maritime community.  He cultivated this love through decades of commitment and devotion to those who served on the sea.

I asked Bette if her father had a history of serving on the water or with shipmasters before coming to Mariners’ Church.  She said, “His relationship with the maritime community began almost instantly upon becoming Rector at Mariners’. He had tremendous respect for the men (it was only men back then)  who worked on the water. He performed his first Blessing of the Fleet service just six weeks after beginning his time as Rector at Mariners’.”

To me this is a sign of the love for others that springs forth from a love for God.  There was no personal agenda or previous connection.  There was no hobby or career that connected Bishop Ingalls to the sea.  It was just a love and admiration for those who devoted themselves to the seafaring life.

Scripture says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7)”.

When we fully understand the love God has for us, we look for others to pass this love onto.  Bishop Ingalls did this during his 40+ years serving at Mariners’ Church and it stands as an example of how to love those around us, no matter who they are.

A New Opportunity

As a church and a community we have a new opportunity to love the maritime community as they pass through the Port of Detroit.  The North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA.org) has been ministering to the seafaring community since 1932.  Its mission is “to provide a framework to support and assist port chaplains and others in their ministry to the spiritual, moral, human rights, and physical concerns of mariners and all others in the maritime community.”  They have 55 affiliated port ministries they support all over North American coastal waterway cities.

This Sunday we will be hosting an interest meeting with Dr. Jason Zuidema, the Executive Director of NAMMA. He will be joining and participating with us at the Sunday memorial service.  Afterwards he will be giving a short presentation on how we can begin a new work at the Port of Detroit supporting the maritime community.  If you are coming to the 50th Anniversary memorial on Sunday (Get here early! Doors open at 10am) and are interested in hearing more about this opportunity, please plan on attending a 15-20 minute informational session with Dr. Zuidema in the Julia Anderson room just after the service on Sunday.  If you aren’t able to come, but still would like information please reply to this email and I’ll make sure you are included in future discussions and emails about this exciting opportunity.

The Heart of Bishop Ingalls

This ministry, and the whole of this weekend, is yet another opportunity for us to continue, not just Bishop Ingalls’ vision for loving the maritime community, but the 184 year old vision of Mariners’ Church.  We want to be a place of rest, peace, and prayer for the maritime community.  May God give us the grace and opportunity to continue to love those who love the sea.  May this heart shine through us all no matter who we are called to love.

Blessings and peace,

Rev. Todd