Chapel by the Sea

It's that time of year when visitors come to our islands to enjoy a break from the seemingly never coming spring up North. In order to get here they have taken a journey and while some may say, it's the journey rather than the destination, most of these folks are happy to get to their destination! In the Christian calendar this is the season of Lent, those 40 days of preparation for Easter. Lent mirrors Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. For most Christian churches, at least two lessons are read each Sunday. This past Sunday we read one from the book of Joshua and the other from the book of Luke. Joshua tells the story of Israel's warfare and settlement of Canaan and marks the end of their wilderness journey of 40 years. Their wandering is over and now they are in the Promised Land where they celebrate Passover, the first celebration in this new homeland. Early Christians called the celebration of Christ's resurrection "Pascha," Passover! Of course there has calendar wise generally been a close association between the two primary feasts of Judaism and Christianity. There is also a journey, or perhaps better a wandering theme, in the Luke reading which we used this past Sunday. For many it is a familiar one, the parable of the "Prodigal Son." First there is the son who doesn't give dad any trouble; is obedient and dutiful and maybe a bit of a "plodder." Then there is son No. 2, who wants none of this dull life and takes off to "a far country," where we are told he wastes his life and then comes to the realization that things were not so bad at home. Maybe he realized what Kris Kristofferson wrote about when he wrote, "The Ballad of Bobby McGee": "Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose." Whatever happened in his heart and mind he decides to go home and ask his father to make him a servant? Article Photos Rev. John N. Cedarleaf Before he has a chance to say his piece, his waiting father runs to him and embraces him, kisses him, and puts a robe and a ring ...

Dispatchers received the first report of smoke at the 6,800-square-foot red brick fronted structure at approximately 1:47 p.m. on Saturday. Within minutes, the East Fir Street building was fully engulfed, with flames as tall as 20 feet quickly escaping the east-facing windows, according to Adam Dondanville, assistant fire chief of the Fort Bragg Fire Department.When he arrived, the second floor was overwhelmed by flames. “It was cooking,” he said. “There was not a whole lot we could do, but set up for a defensive fire and prevent it from getting anywhere else.”At first sight of the fire, Dondanville called for the second alarm. About 25 of the department’s volunteer firefighters and six engines arrived to help. It took crews until about 4:15 p.m. to knock the fire down fully, with mop up work completed around 6:30 p.m.The building’s old redwood construction was blamed for intensifying the heat of the fire, which contributed to it spreading and burning the guts of the building so fast, said Dondanville, who oversaw the firefight.“It was hot, and we had a little difficulty getting to it just because we couldn’t make entry,” he said. “On a normal fire, you send people up, and try to vent the roof to get the heat out and contain it, but with the severity of the fire it was just too dangerous to put guys up on the roof.”Damage figures were still being calculated Monday. The structure, which included a chapel and separate area for funeral services, was considered a total loss.Kevin Stiles, who with business partner Dan Roberts bought the company in 1999, was thankful no one was injured in the fire but struggled to describe its impact. Roberts lost his Paradise home in the Camp fire in November while Stiles’ Chico residence was threatened. Other businesses the two own in Redding were also affected by July’s Carr fire.“It’s disturbing that fires just keep getting us,” said Stiles. “It’s strange.”Chapel by the Sea had operated at the property since the late 1930s. The owners had recently ...