It was to a land of dark people he was sent… to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness.                                                                      – Hymns of St. Ephrem The Syrian

Jim was a man of faith. He hadn’t always been so, he had come to his faith fairly late in life, but now it was such a deep part of his identity it was sometimes difficult to remember what he was like without it. Now, he was so comfortable with his faith that, while he did not push his faith upon others, people could just see it in his demeanor. That, and the priest robes he wore were kind of a giveaway.

He was in his twelfth year as a priest, and still loved it, despite his differences with the church hierarchy. He had been approached on multiple occasions for promotion up the ranks of the church, but had refused every one. He was far too interested in the field work of a preacher, preferring to dedicate himself to helping individuals in his life as opposed to helping the Church.

It was with this in mind that he had joined the crew of the Poor Dick (well, that and his assignment from the Levites). He had approached Captain Deborah Read with an offer to join her crew. At first she was reluctant (“I don’t plan on any of my crew dying, preacher, so no need for a priest,” she had arrogantly stated). But then she found out that not only was he a decent cook (he found her passed out at a bar two days later, took her home and made her an omelette), but he also had a working knowledge of medical first aid (he patched up a gash on her head she couldn’t remember getting). She didn’t have a doctor among the crew, and given the dangerous missions undertaken by the Dick, having someone on board who could dress wounds, remove bullets and set broken bones was necessary.

At first the crew treated him with a certain degree of suspicion. Christianity wasn’t the ubiquitous religion it had once been, and few believed in the Christian God anymore, let alone carry enough faith to preach the Gospel to others. Fewer still, were the number of Christians among the crew of the Dick. This was not Jim’s first rodeo, however, and he knew how to approach the situation. Being assigned as the ships cook was perfect for him, for there was no better way to ease suspicious minds than by making them good food. All it took was a few meals and suddenly the crew joked and chatted with the Preacher like he was one of them.

Even then Jim remained patient. He had been doing this a long time and knew that, paradoxically, the quickest way for a preacher to alienate the people around him was to begin preaching. Instead, Jim spoke not at all about his faith, offering no sermons or prayers, choosing instead to simply wear his priest’s cassock every day and in full view of the crew (admittedly sometimes underneath a cooking apron). With time, he knew that curiosity would get the better of them and eventually, one by one, they would come to him with questions. That is when the real work would begin.