The 51st blessing of the fleet will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at the old Morris-Fisher factory tall stack on Omega Protein property at 610 Menhaden Road, Reedville. The event is sponsored by Omega Protein Inc. and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
The blessing of the fleet is a centuries-old tradition started in European fishing villages to bless the men at sea, reported Valli M. Mittner. Many fishing villages in the U.S. still bless their fleets each year.
Rev. Joie Baker Pierce, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Fleeton; Ref. Kaki Swann, Episcopal Diocese of Virginia; Rev. Jeffrey Patnaude, Grace Episcopal Church, Kilmarnock; and Rev. Willard Felton, Shiloh Baptist Church, Reedville will bless the fleet signaling….
