A Boat of Supplies

Isaiah 2:4

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Hi there, I’m Tony Pittenger, I’m the pastor out at Bethany Lutheran Church in Port Orchard, Washington. And back on September 28th, 2025, we celebrated our 80th anniversary. And on that anniversary day, I shared a picture like this with them, telling them that it was on June 6th, 1944, men loaded a boat with supplies and the boat was destined for the opposite shore. And over on the opposite shore were people in bondage, people that had been conquered, people living in fear of death, in fear of slavery, even. And so that boat was launched and it came to the opposite shore. The supplies were unloaded, they met up with some advance party that had already been there, and they made their way up from the beachhead, up toward those people that desperately needed their help.

But the boat that I’m talking about was not a landing craft. It was a simple rowboat. The supplies that were loaded into that boat were for a Vacation Bible School, which was going to be conducted in the little town of Port Orchard, Washington. You see, there are some real strong World War II, even D-Day connections with the congregation that I serve. Not only that date of June 6th, 1944, but it was because of World War II, because of all the sorrow, the suffering, the captivity that Hitler and the Nazis had brought to mainland Europe was because of that, that a shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, saw a massive increase in their work repairing ships, building new ships. And because of that, a little sleepy town of Port Orchard, Washington, saw an increase in population as more people came to the Pacific Northwest to help in the war effort.

But a lot of those people didn’t know about their Savior. And so they were in captivity, the captivity of sin, slaves to sin, living in fear of death. And what would happen after death. And so that Vacation Bible School effort that was launched on June 6th, 1944 was to announce freedom to the children living in Port Orchard. Soon, that Vacation Bible School grew into Bible classes for the parents and for other adults, and shortly after that, worship services, services of Word and Sacrament were being held in Port Orchard.

My congregation’s connections between World War II don’t end there. As the church grew, a new church was built. They wanted a bell for their belfry, and they especially wanted a bell from a ship that had served during their start up during World War II. And it’s very fitting that the bell they found was a ship from the Pacific Fleet. When a ship from Bremerton, Washington, the USS Missouri, sailed into Tokyo Harbor and the Imperial Japanese Navy signed an unconditional surrender, and finally, peace was restored. And so a bell was found from one of those battleships, and it hangs in the belfry.

The ship’s bell would warn of danger. Incoming dive bombers, torpedo planes, in thick fog a ship’s bell sounds out to all the other ships, its sister ships, letting it know its location, letting it know the way. When Jesus returns, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, all other military places will be closed forever. They’ll no longer be needed. We’ll no longer need to repair or build battleships. Our spears will be beaten into pruning hooks, our swords into plowshares. And as the Bible promises, we will train for war never again. (Isaiah 2:4)

But until our Savior does return. I pray that that bell at Bethany, your own church bells, your own churches will continue to call out to sound out of a peace that has been promised the peace of heaven. The Prince of Peace himself, who has not only lived for us, died for us, but who has promised that one day he’ll take us all there. So God bless and keep our churches as they continue this work of peace, proclaiming that Prince, the King of all, and his imminent return. Until we see each other again, God bless and keep all of you. Amen.