Opinion

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Written by: Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F.

Published: 16 February 2010

There’s an old joke that goes: One day in February back in the 1950s, the legendary Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the original televangelist, was at a TV studio in New York to tape one of his Lenten programs (sponsored by Progresso Soup) and it so happened that he crossed paths in the hallway with the aging iconic “bad girl” of stage, film and TV, Mae West.

She paused in front of him, gave him a slow once over in all his bishop’s regalia, and cooed, “Not bad looking. Why don’t ya come up and see me sometime.”

Bishop Sheen reared up in righteous indignation, turned as purple as his pontifical mantle, and replied, “You wicked Jezebel! Don’t you know it’s Lent?”

As she sauntered off Mae West snapped, “Well, no I didn’t. But uh, why don’t you come up and see me when you get it back ...”

These days, Mae West is not the only one who doesn’t know about Lent. The mass media will have plenty of footage showing the revelry in New Orleans as Mardi Gras winds up its weeks of partying in the streets, but little mention of the “morning after,” Ash Wednesday and the 40-day observance of Lent.

Yet for Christians all over the world this is a time-honored tradition that dates back in one way or another to the earliest days of the church.

For Episcopalians, as well as Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians and some Protestants, Lent is a 40-day period of introspection and prayer in preparation for the celebration of Easter.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, when we gather in church to hear the Scriptures concerning the solemn fast, and present ourselves for the imposition of blessed ashes as a symbol of our mortality and a sign of our humble turning back to our loving Father. We then celebrate the Holy Eucharist, or Mass, as a pledge of Christ’s healing presence among us.

There is no one history of Lent (the name in English comes from the old Anglo-Saxon Lengten-tide, that is springtime, when the days are lengthening), but it began as a period of final preparation for those who were to be solemnly baptized at Easter. Later it was also a time of penance for those who had fallen away from the faith and wished to be reconciled so as to be able to receive Holy Communion on Easter.

Eventually the discipline to observe this 40-day period of prayer, fasting and almsgiving was required for all the faithful. The fifth century Bishop of Rome, Leo the Great, pointed out that fasting is a means and not an end in itself; its purpose is to foster pure, holy and spiritual activity. He coined the famous phrase: “What we forego by fasting is to be given as alms to the poor.”

Today we have regained much of the original focus of Lent as a preparation for baptism and the renewal of our baptismal vows at Easter. It is a time of self-examination on how we are living our lives in light of the promises we made at baptism and to “repent” or turn our hearts around and turn back to God.

In this we can be aided by the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer may be just creating an intentional space and time of silence to place ourselves in the presence of the Divine. Being more conscious of our eating habits, choosing only wholesome food in more healthy amounts; and reducing our “carbon footprint” may be an excellent way to practice fasting. Being aware of and responding to the needs of others, whether in our immediate circle or the catastrophic situation in Haiti, will nurture a deeper sense of compassion in us.

There is nothing we can do this Lent that will make God love us any more than God already loves us; but by simplifying our daily lives of the endless distractions so as to better focus on our consciousness of God and a just relationship with our fellow human beings we will better comprehend the depth of God’s love for us and for all creation.

The best image I can suggest for this Lent is to reflect on the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke’s Gospel. It is a story of coming to our senses and remembering whose child we are, as made known to us in our Baptism, and making our way back to the Father who is ready to meet us on the road and restore us to our rightful place in the divine household.

Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F, is parish priest of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lakeport.

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Written by: William MacDougall

Published: 15 February 2010

I had a phone call from a parent recently. She was upset that I did not close our schools during a recent storm. The roads were clear, businesses were open, and parents were either at work or heading off to work.

It was wet and we all certainly needed to drive carefully, but it never occurred to me that we would close our schools. After all, if we closed the schools while parents were expected to be at work that would really cause problems throughout our community.

Then it occurred to me: “When did daily attendance, rain or shine, happy or sad, stop being a common expectation?”

Now I fully understand that we have just gone through a difficult, worrisome flu pandemic. The Konocti Unified School District has recently spent a great deal of time, energy and money advising parents and students about healthy behaviors. This information and the change in healthy habits have been beneficial.

I’m not addressing contagious disease here; I’m addressing a mindset. It is the mindset that getting up every day and getting to work on time is simply what you are supposed to do. There is no, “Do I feel like going to school or work?” You go to school or work unless you are physically unable to do so. After all, “the early bird catches the worm” and “you must be present to win.”

We live in a world in which those with the greatest skills, knowledge and those who try hardest have the greatest success and have the greatest chance of employment. When you get to the professional level in sports, all of the athletes have a tremendous amount of natural physical ability. But they have reached the professional level only because they also worked very hard and put in huge amount of time to perfect their skills.

Our students are required to learn more, at an earlier age, than they have in the past. It just makes sense when you consider the advance in science, math, and that history books now include Clinton, Bush and 9/11. The third grade math standards now include elementary algebra, geometry and probability theory. Algebra is a requirement in the eighth grade. Our children need to put in the time and effort required to be successful and that requires daily attendance.

We are coming to the most important academic months of the school year. Every grade level and course in California has academic standards that students are required to master to be eligible to move on to the next grade or to pass the course. The majority of these standards, and certainly the most complex ones, are taught from November through mid-May.

Missing even one day during this time places a student behind. In fact, every day missed costs a student two days of learning. Not only is the missed day lost, but the student spends the return day catching up.

Studies have shown that if a student attends school less than 95 percent of the time, then his/her ability to learn the necessary standards is significantly reduced. Ninety-five percent attendance requires missing no more than one day per month.

The success of our children and our schools depends on excellent attendance. Students who fall behind cannot score as well on the standardized tests. When parents are looking at moving into an area, one of their main concerns is the quality of the schools. One of the ways that parents determine the quality of schools is test scores. Low test scores mean our community will have fewer residents coming into our area and businesses will suffer. Attendance directly affects our community’s economic well-being.

Our school also receives funding based upon Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Each 1 percent of ADA received brings over $150,000 to the Konocti Unified School District. This is the money that we use to pay teachers and other staff, keep class sizes low, buy materials, and provide athletics, music, drama, art and other enrichment. The less money we have, the less we can do for our students.

Student attendance affects our kids’ achievement, our schools and our community. We must make a strong effort over the next few months to have all of our children attend school daily. Any incentives that we can give our kids to encourage them to master this important life skill must be provided.

One of the first things we must teach them is that you must be present to win. In this case, it is a win-win because our schools and community benefit as well.

Dr. William MacDougall, Ed.D., is superintendent of the Konocti Unified School District.

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Written by: Clay Shannon

Published: 11 February 2010

 

 

 

Human nature is to protect one’s own or one’s own beliefs, which is what led me to my red-faced experience while reading a Monday article written and posted on the front page of the Press Democrat.

I ponder the following: The media is a powerful driver that influences readers and viewers alike. One eye-catching headline peaks the curiosity … drawing in even the strongest willed. Each line can lead you to wanting more, and can even lead you to changing your stance on certain subjects.

Being careful to state facts precisely, the journalist is generally considerate of all sides in an effort to relate to their target audience, creating interest in which the reader fully engages in the dialogue.

However, my experience when reading the Press Democrat had me angry, emotional and, above all, ready to defend the county in which I live.

The day before Lake County vintners were hyped in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, two weeks ago Shannon Ridge was named one of the “hot” California wine brands in 2009 at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. As far as the wine business goes, there are a lot of good things going on in Lake County. Our fruit is favorably modeled to be a sustainable North Coast ultra premium wine region.

Yes, it’s tough out there, it’s tough everywhere! And, in general, as I ponder, let’s focus on the bright things in life and in our county, not just on one person's experience in The Dollar Store. Let me remind you all that there is a Dollar Store in shi shi Healdsburg (which is where I am from) and I know some pretty shi shi people that shop there!

But back to business, the bright things. As vintners we have affordable land, affordable sites for tasting rooms, incredible soils, perfect climate to grow high end grapes, and WATER! We also have a progressive and supportive population with a county seat that actually knows how to and can successfully balance our budget within the county.

As a citizen who resides in Lake County I can proudly say we have the following: water, water, water, clean air, clean air, no pollution, no traffic, great hospitals, and affordable land, homes and home sites.

I question comments about unemployment. It is the change in unemployment that is a concern to me. Because it is affordable to reside in Lake County and we have many retired folks it may appear as a 9 percent increase, but this is the same rate as the balance of the USA.

It’s tough everywhere, but the way I was mentored growing up is, don’t throw rocks, don’t sucker punch, always give and be positive. What we should not be doing is bad-mouthing, this is no help for anybody. “Say something nice or don’t say anything at all.”

Sure, people are struggling, people are out of jobs everywhere in the US. We don’t have a lot of industry in Lake County, but people travel to work everywhere. The effect of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa closing is bad and good; it needed to be remodeled, out-of-county people stayed there and, in time, it will come back.

Bottom line, I am sick and tired of people bad-mouthing my home and the place I live. They talk about the lake, have you ever been out there? It’s beautiful and healthy, and yes sometimes it smells, have you ever smelled the ocean?

Talk about the mercury. I had my first bass barbecued last summer and it was fabulous. They talk about the trailers. Folks, there are trailer parks in St. Helena and all over Napa Valley and Sonoma County. They talk about unemployment. For me I don’t see a difference here in comparison to any other place.

They talk about foreclosures. That is sad, nothing to tease about, people are losing their homes. People are starving in this country and others, let’s help them. They talk about Colusa County being bad, too. Have you ever been there, it is a thriving agricultural community; not sure where the numbers are coming from there.

Business being down 30 to 50 percent is normal through the country. There are always bright spots … our January tasting room business is up 30 percent from last year.

Tourism will get better. Where else can you go water skiing, wakeboarding and fishing, and breathe some affordable, clean air? The US is in a bad cycle, times will change. Lake County wines are being accepted and recognized in the US marketplace as high value, quality wines that people can enjoy and afford in these tough times.

For now I am staying up here in Lake County, so I can watch our bald eagles fish from our creeks, our bears feed on the manzanita berries and a few grapes, our elk graze on the grassy range, our beavers try to build dams in Clear Lake, our bobcats chase gophers and jack rabbits.

Lake County is where I can drive 30 miles to anywhere and never be stuck in traffic, where new resorts are being built on the Northshore and our neighbors from the south are vacationing and enjoying our lakes and purchasing weekend retreats, where I can watch our valuable and abundant water go down our creeks to feed Yolo and other counties and our valued red rocks travel over the hill to the south to landscape yards and build roads, a much needed infrastructure for an ever crowding landscape.

Here we have a beautiful lake that can be seen filling and flooding our wetlands so the otters and beavers, ducks and geese can reproduce.

I am staying here where I can watch my sprinklers operate during frost protection season because we have water. I am staying here where when you look up into the evening sky you can truly appreciate the brightest shining stars you have ever seen.

Where else can I breathe fresh, clean air and think to myself, “God, life is great!”

Clay Shannon and his family live and farm in Clearlake Oaks.