Executive Director
Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center
Baltimore, Maryland USA
The Rev. Joshua Messick is the Executive Director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, Port Chaplain for the Port of Baltimore, and the senior Mission to Seafarers chaplain in the United States. Josh is also a certified SafeTALK instructor and works on behalf of the Mission to Seafarers to train maritime communities to be more suicide alert in their interactions with seafarers.
Josh has been ordained as a priest in The Episcopal Church for over a decade. He served three congregations early in his ministry, but always wanted to work directly with vulnerable populations. After leaving parish ministry he explored a career as a chaplain in the US Navy, but realizing he would be away from his wife and newborn son for long periods of time, turned down the offer of a lieutenant’s commission. Instead, Josh worked as a bereavement coordinator and hospice chaplain for a brief period before being asked to consider his current role in ministry to seafarers.
This is his dream job and he ends each day knowing that he’s made a difference in someone’s life. Josh lives in Baltimore, Maryland, USA but travels extensively to support seafarers and advocate for their rights at home and abroad.