The following comes from an Aug. 25 posting on Patheos.com by Lisa M. Hendey.
If you don’t know much about California or the agriculture industry, you might have laughed off the early morning Napa earthquake on Sunday with thoughts of your favorite wine and how the price might rise. Because when we hear “Napa”, we think “wine”, right?
In reality, this earthquake is likely to have devastating economic impacts for Napa area families for quite a long time. We Californians know that the region has already been dealt a challenging blow by our drought conditions. But even we might be surprised to learn that Napa County has one of the highest poverty rates in the state of California. I know that I certainly was! When the wine industry suffers, the workers and their families suffer too. Reports are already coming out about the hardship of such an event with harvest season soon approaching.
As for the Catholic “take” on the earthquake, Queen of the Valley hospital reported treating over 200 patients. Catholic high school Justin Sierra canceled classes and back to school night and is soliciting volunteers for clean up duties. St. John the Baptist, a Catholic elementary school, also canceled classes but mentioned the good news that a recent earthquake retrofitting was helpful to minimizing their damage. On their Facebook page, Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Santa Rosa requested volunteers for cleanup and shared that program participants were safe but help was needed.
A situation like an earthquake is a good reminder for us in California to prepare ourselves for emergencies. It’s also a reminder that our friends and neighbors may need help, support and prayers. I find myself today double checking my supply of batteries and bottled water, but also remembering that Napa is not simply made up of fancy wineries that function without a human component.
Our help is needed all year long, not just when things are “all shook up”.
To read the original posting, click here.
photo from nextpowerup.com
Our Lady has come to all corners of the earth to remind us prayer and fasting in these times especially. God has been trying to get our attention and He permits these things to happen since through adversity one draws nearer to Him. ha! I’ve been through several hurricanes, ice storms, power outages, etc. Look up ‘Jesus King of All Nations’ this is a remedy. Our Lord wants only to preserve us… yes, our country, but mainly our souls.
Thanks for your post Bridget.
Thank you for posting this CCC. I had no idea of the “need” of my neighbors in Napa. We never get the “full” story from anywhere in the media. All I heard was bottles of wine fell off shelves, big deal right? I will seek out where and how I can help. Thank you.
There is a Great Need for the Church to perform thorough Safety (Life, Fire, Earthquake…) inspections and corrections at the Schools & Parishes, particularly the older ones that have been ‘grandfathered’ out or requirements for sprinkler systems and automatic gas shutoffs.
Likewise – There is an equally great Need to Educate the Educators, who often have a sketchy understanding of basic Safety, including how it applies to their Parish / School / Assembly & Kitchen areas, etc.
Many Pastors, Deacons, Principals & Teachers do not know How or Where to shut off the Gas in case of emergency, and often have never been trained to use Fire Extinguishers or other systems – let alone pass along the knowledge to students.
In Fact – how Students can matriculate through a Catholic School system that ‘teaches to the test’, but are never taught how to respond to the Real Test (like an Earthquake) when it comes, is more than embarrassing -it is hazardous.
I have long thought that there should be ‘Safety Trainers’ for the schools, who can fill in as substitute teachers – using a Safety Curriculum already established and approved, so that over time All Teachers & Students get at least the Basics of Safety – like How & Where to turn off the Gas, lest things go Boom after Shaking up first.