During the past weeks, O.T. Holton Jr. has put the finishing touches on a set of pulpit furniture for a church building that doesn't exist. // It doesn't trouble him. // Holton's faith is the reason this became his project at all. In February, a fire at New Light Baptist Church on Cedar Road in Chesapeake destroyed the building. Everything, except a few church files and a computer, was gone.

NORFOLK The Virginia Baptist Mission Board is offering free drop-off laundry service today and Saturday to South Hampton Roads residents whose clothing was damaged during last week’s nor’easter.

CHESAPEAKE Apostles Lutheran Church voted Sunday to quit the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America after the denomination's approval of co-habitation for gay clergy. The Chesapeake church's separation reflected its members' belief that the ELCA was increasingly moving away from Scripture as the standard for church life, said the Rev. John Dooley, senior pastor.

NORFOLK

Judge Greg Mathis, of the nationally syndicated reality courtroom show “Judge Mathis,” will speak at an anti-violence event Sunday.

By Rosalind S. Helderman Fresh off his landslide victory in the race for Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell is already being forced to confront how he plans to handle his friendship with minister Pat Robertson, a longtime ally but also a controversial figure, once he takes office.

Friendship Temple on Tuesday was given the preliminary go-ahead to restart work on its restoration of a 109-year-old downtown church. The City Council voted unanimously to grant the congregation a new use permit for 812 Washington St. after a 2006 permit expired before the church could complete its renovations.

In the midst of a swine flu pandemic, should guests at a wine-tasting party share a single glass? A version of that question faces many Hampton Roads churches, where congregants sip from a shared Communion cup. A Georgetown University doctor warns against such a practice, but it's routine during Communion in Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

VIRGINIA BEACH Since its start in 1978, Regent University has seen its graduates elected as state legislators, district attorneys and judges. But nothing compares with the election Tuesday of Robert F. "Bob" McDonnell as governor of Virginia.

VIRGINIA BEACH Carlos Campo, Regent University's vice president for academic affairs, will succeed founder Pat Robertson as the school's next president in 2010. Trustees voted unanimously Saturday for Campo, who had Robertson's endorsement. The selection was announced Monday.

Retired Episcopal Bishop C. Charles Vache, who championed women's ordination in the Diocese of Southern Virginia after first opposing it, died Sunday at Westminster Canterbury retirement community. He was 83. Vache led the diocese, which includes Hampton Roads, from 1978 to 1991. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Portsmouth.