Vol. 5 No. 3
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
Residents look to learn something from ‘eternal’ institution by Jessica Wilson
Flying straight
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mammoth bluebird has alighted at Centennial Park on Baltimore Avenue. The sculpture is part of the MNCPPC birds i view effort, one of the largest public art exhibitions in Prince George’s County. Seventy-five, five-foot bird sculptures were designed by area artists and modeled after the bluebird, the official county bird and a species native to Maryland. Andrei Trach of Laurel sculpted the Centennial Park bird, which is crafted out of sheet metal. It is called “Vainglorious Bluebird.” “Andrei was one of many area artists whose proposed
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n Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, some indulge in their favorite treat because for the next 40 days, they will have to do without. It is the beginning of the Lenten season, one of the oldest Christian observations, and is intended to be a time of self-examination and penitence as well as a time to fast. Giving up something like caffeine, candy or something you desire is meant to lead to greater self-discipline, allowing a person to gain control of a particular part of life once Lent is over, according to churchyear.net. That is what Hyattsville resident Vicky Moore looks to do. But for her, it is not about giving up chocolate or Starbucks, it is a way to do a bit more soul searching. “I’m giving up feeling negative energy,” she said. It is a time of year for her where she takes stock in herself and her character, Moore said. “It started three years ago, this epiphany I had one Lent,” she said. “Every Lent [since], I’ve been building on it.”
A member of St.Andrews Episcopal Church in College Park, Moore shared this epiphany with a fellow congregation member, who was impressed. “Part of being religious is keeping perspective,” she said. “It’s not just going to church, it’s how you treat people.” This Ash Wednesday, Moore’s “anti-negativity” goal was put to the test. Looking forward to getting her Lent commitment off to the right start, she was about to attend a church service at noon near her office when she was called away on a work matter and missed the event. “That’s where my Lent started,” she said,“I had to turn it around. I just said ‘Be with what was happening’.” Hyattsville resident Carol RamseyLucas said for her family, the emphasis is on prayer during Lent. A member of University Baptist Church, she said throughout Lent, sermons have a focus on discipleship. “What can you do to deepen your faith,” she said. “I think a lot of the sermons are geared toward that.” She said traditionally for most Baptists, the emphasis is not on “giving something up.” One year though,
Lent’s lasting impression
Yolanda Gureckas and Shane Walker, students at Roosevelt High School, attended services on Ash Wednesday. Some Catholics opt for a priest to spread palm ashes on their foreheads in commemoration of the first day of the Lenten season.
she and her husband did give up TV. “We began to look at it as reclaiming that time,” she said. Ramsey-Lucas said in the early church, Lent was a time to prepare for baptism and she thinks today, it fits well to think of that time as a way of orienting yourself. Reminding themselves of Baptism is the theme of Lent this year at Redeemer Lutheran Church. Pastor Rudy Kampia said Lent is about taking time to read the Bible together and grow in the faith. Kampia said that people often
Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
Striking a bargain [HPD petitions city for collective bargaining rights] by Sarah Nemeth
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he Hyattsville Fraternal Order of Police has presented to the City Council an initiative aimed at stemming what some have called a lack of solid communication between the police department and city administration. Sgt. Patrick O’Hagan, president of the FOP, said the plan for collective bargaining with binding arbitration rights will open up lines of communication by giving sworn officers a say in their pay and other benefits. “There has been some apprehension from the Council that
collective bargaining might make the Council do certain things,” O’Hagan said at a Feb. 25 meeting. “It forces [people] to sit down. It opens the lines of communication.” Collective bargaining is a process whereby workers organize and bargain with employers regarding the workplace. It includes the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers regarding things such as wages, hours of work, working conditions and grievance procedures. A collective agreement is a labor contract between employers and unions.
March 2008
One benefit that collective bargaining rights likely would bring to the city is a police force that is more committed to remaining with Hyattsville, O’Hagan said. Hyattsville police officers historically stay with the department for just over three years but less than five years, he said. “I truly believe if we continue to make progress we can greatly affect that attrition rate,” he said. Why is attrition a problem? Officers with less than three years are more likely to crash a police car than other officers,
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take what they have discovered during Lent and apply it throughout the year. It depends on what they might be going through at that time. “Quite a number of people find fasting is helpful in their own spiritual discipline,” he said though he added the Lutheran Church does not observe such practices as not eating meat on Fridays. Moore once worked with a woman who did fast for all 40 days of Lent. “Here is a woman who for 40 days, she didn’t eat,” she said. “It was spiritual just being around her.”
What’s happening IN YOUR AREA OF THE CITY? Tell us what you’d like to see in future issues of HL&T. Contact Sarah at 240.354.4832
Included: The March 12, 2008 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter—See Center Section