Lawsuit dismissed against Clarendon Church. A circuit court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against First Baptist Church of Clarendon in Arlington, which is seeking to build condominiums that will provide affordable housing for Arlington County's residents, according to the Washington Post. The project, approved by the county board in February, calls for tearing down the 57-year-old church's sanctuary and building a smaller church in its place. The rebuilt church and administrative offices would occupy the bottom two floors and there would be eight floors with 116 residential units, 70 of them affordable housing. Three neighbors of the church who had challenged the county's approval are considering an appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Liberty student pleads not guilty. A Liberty University student charged with carrying homemade napalm bombs in his car trunk one day before Jerry Falwell's funeral in May pleaded not guilty to possessing a destructive device, the Lynchburg News & Advance reported. Mark David Uhl, 19, was arrested May 21 after investigators — contacted by Uhl's relatives — found five cylinders with fuses in his car. At a hearing in May, a federal agent said Uhl had discussed celebrating his high school graduation by lighting his car on fire. Campbell County authorities said they do not believe Uhl intended to disrupt Falwell's funeral services or harm his family.
Charlottesville mosque to expand. The Islamic Society of Central Virginia has received preliminary permission to build a new mosque in Charlottesville, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The new structure will replace a two-story house in which area Muslims have been worshipping. Located near the University of Virginia, the mosque will have a familiar look — Jeffersonian-style red bricks and white trim. Charlottesville's Muslim population has grown significantly because of an increase in foreign students and second-generation Muslims attending UVA.
Foundation aims to reduce divorce. The Family Foundation, a Richmond-based advocacy group, has formed a commission of academics, religious leaders and government aides to develop policy recommendations to curb Virginia's divorce rate, according to the Washington Post. The commission has a measure of official backing since representatives of Attorney General Robert McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling are members. In addition, Gov. Timothy Kaine has said he will send an observer from his policy staff. Divorce rates in Virginia were slightly higher in 2005 than the nationwide average — about 3.95 per 1,000 people compared with 3.6 nationally, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Downtown prayer room offers haven. A small building along downtown Richmond's busy Second Street offers a haven for prayer, meditation and relaxation. The Prayer Room has small spaces divided by curtains as well as a larger, more open places, all for prayer. “God gave me the idea about seven years ago,” said coordinator Yolanda Benjamin, who also is bishop of the Greater Anointed Fellowship Church in Richmond. The Prayer Room, which is nondenominational, has an open door and open arms policy, she said.