With a mother from El Salvador and an Irish-American father from Minnesota, Erik Giblin learned early how to walk between cultures. That knowledge has served him well in his first few months as director of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond’s Office for the Hispanic Apostolate.

A lawyer representing a Muslim group denied rezoning for a mosque by the Henrico County Board of Supervisors says the action represents religious discrimination. The suit filed in Henrico Circuit Court says the board’s refusal to rezone 3.6 acres at Impala Place and Impala Drive was “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.“ The complaint doesn’t mention religious discrimination, but attorney Henry L. Marsh III said he plans to bring up that argument in a federal suit.

Aflickering candle has universal appeal. Its flame inspires and soothes, especially now around the winter solstice, the darkest days of the year. “Light is hope, promise and even relief,“ said Kristin M. Swenson, assistant professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Long before Kwanzaa, Christmas, or even Hanukkah, people fired up those darkest days to make the hope of new life real.

Every year, about nine of every 1,000 Americans die, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. The grief that loved ones experience is usually magnified at holiday time. That has led funeral homes to begin offering services at this time of year to comfort them. A holiday remembrance service at Bennett Funeral Home’s Chesterfield Chapel last Sunday for families served by the funeral home during the past year or two attracted nearly 140 people, said Andy Corbett of Bennett.

Watch Richmond-area Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Adha at the Arthur Ashe Center.

Today, as Muslims around the world celebrate the holiday Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, thousands of Richmond-area Muslims will gather at the Arthur Ashe Center for a morning prayer service.

Today, as Muslims around the world celebrate the holiday Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, thousands of Richmond-area Muslims will gather at the Arthur Ashe Center for a morning prayer service. The holiday comes at the end of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic teachings, the hajj is a spiritual journey that cleanses the soul and wins absolution. Yesterday, nearly 3 million Muslims converged on Mount Arafat, a rocky desert hill outside Mecca to perform the ritual of forgiveness marking the climax of the hajj.

Nelson County residents Alan Scherr, 58, and his daughter Naomi, 13, were in Mumbai as part of a meditation retreat at the Oberoi Hotel, one of the sites hit in the attacks. The retreat was organized by The Synchronicity Foundation, which is headquartered in Nelson.

City officials have agreed to swap several properties to end a conflict over the construction of a mosque in one of the city’s historic districts. The deal, approved by the City Council on Tuesday, will allow the Petersburg Islamic Center to move out of its 25-year home to a location about a mile away, ending a touchy situation with residents in a rapidly changing neighborhood.

A divided Virginia Supreme Court says Botetourt County cannot tax a “resort-style” retirement community operated by Virginia Baptist Homes Inc. The case concerned The Glebe Inc., founded by Virginia Baptist Homes in 1998 as a retirement community providing independent living as well as assisted living and nursing care. In 2005, Botetourt County charged Virginia Baptist Homes $7,591 in real estate taxes for the property.