Death is inevitable – the mental suffering surrounding it is not. Dr. Naresh Pathak has been bringing that message to doctors in Florida since 1989 and last month, he brought it to Virginia as well at the “Life, Death, and Donation” summit. Speaking to other faith leaders in Virginia Beach, Pathak shared his thoughts on…

When Jeffrey Arnowitz was “a newly minted rabbi,” as he calls it, he had a congregant who was waiting for a heart. Rabbi Arnowitz visited this congregant, Michael, as he was in and out of hospitals, having heart attacks so frequently that he began to refer to them nonchalantly as “episodes.” When a heart finally…

For many families, the resource they turn to for comfort, advice, and support in times of crisis is the leader of their faith community. As Jon Barton, the General Minister of the Virginia Council of Churches and a pastor for 35 years, points out, faith leaders are wonderful at conversations about life and renewal. But who…

At 12 weeks into her pregnancy, Sarah Gray received devastating news. One of her identical twin sons would be born with anencephaly, a fatal defect that affects brain development. The shock ripped through her and her husband, not lessened by the fact that an in utero death of the sick twin could endanger the life of…

Denise Stotler talks to a lot of customers every day at the DMV. The manager at the Front Royal branch, she works the desk like the rest of her employees, helping customers renew their driver’s licenses and pay their registration fees. Some aren’t talkative but others strike up conversations, mostly about their children and dogs,…