Gilead

Sexual promiscuity fueled by alcohol and drug use led one 47-year-old Towson man to contract HIV. But when he heard about government approval of the drug Truvada to lower people's risk of getting the disease, he wasn't completely sold on it as a lifesaver. The man, who didn't want to be identified because he hasn't told some family members he is HIV-positive, worries that such a pill could end up encouraging risk-taking. "If you're going to make something readily available to people that already engage in high-risk behavior, are you not saying then that we condone this high-risk behavior, which will then add fuel to the fire?"

Sexual promiscuity fueled by alcohol and drug use led one 47-year-old Towson man to contract HIV. But when he heard about government approval of the drug Truvada to lower people's risk of getting the disease, he wasn't completely sold on it as a lifesaver. The man, who didn't want to be identified because he hasn't told some family members he is HIV-positive, worries that such a pill could end up encouraging risk-taking. "If you're going to make something readily available to people that already engage in high-risk behavior, are you not saying then that we condone this high-risk behavior, which will then add fuel to the fire?"

On November 30, 2003, MARION L. FAIR; beloved husband of the late Millie Spencer Fair; brother of Elmer Fair and the late John, Oliver, George, Clarence and Charles Fair and the late Carrie Abbott and Myrle Drechsler. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Memorial Service from Mt. Gilead United Methodist Church, Sunday, December 28, at 2:30 P.M. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mt. Gilead United Methodist Church, 5302 Glen Falls Road, Reisterstown, MD 21136. Inquiries may be made to Eline Funeral Home, Reisterstown, 410-833-1414.

On April, 18, 2008, MARGARET M. (nee Manger) of Gaithersburg, formerly of Woodensburg, MD; beloved wife of the late Robert B. Wooden; sister of the late Anna Grace Hendrickson. Also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Services at Asbury Methodist Home at Wilson Health Center, 301 Russell Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 n Thursday, at 11 a.m. Interment in Mt. Gilead Cemetery, Woodensburg, MD. Arrangements by the Eline Funeral Home, 934 S. Main St., Hampstead, MD 21074. Online condolences may be made at www.elinefh.

On April 7, 2004, ROBERT BENSON, beloved husband of Margaret Wooden (nee Manger); brother of Paul F. Wooden Sr. and Virginia Wooden Smith. A Memorial Service will be held at Asbury Methodist Village, Wilson Health Care Center Chapel, 301 Russell Ave., Gaithersburg, MD, on Saturday, April 17, 2004 at 2 P.M., followed by Graveside Services 5:30 P.M. at Mount Gilead United Methodist Church Cemetery, Mt. Gilead Rd., Woodensburg, MD. Memorial contributions to...

FireHampstead: Hampstead and Manchester responded to a fire alarm in the 4000 block of Gill Ave. at 3:19 p.m. Sunday. Units were out for 16 minutes.Hampstead: Hampstead responded to a garage fire near Route 30 and Mount Gilead Road at 6:08 p.m. Saturday. Units were out 12 minutes.Manchester: Manchester responded to a car fire in the 3300 block of Main St. at 1:33 p.m. Saturday. Units were out 22 minutes.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 247 pages. $23. Sometimes we get the book we need. Was that what Marilynne Robinson had in mind all the time, why she waited 23 years after her splendid debut novel, Housekeeping, to grace us with this, her second? Did she anticipate this moment of religious chauvinism, this era when the God who gets all the publicity is the one selected as front man for hostility, violence, bigotry and perfect games thrown by the home team pitcher?

HAIFA, Israel -- Much ado is being made about the fact that the Syrians and the Israelis are finally talking face-to-face about making peace with each other, but Gershon Gilead remembers similar talks that concluded with an armistice more than 50 years and two major wars ago. At the time, Gilead recalls, a full peace treaty seemed possible within a year or two. "We were all of the same opinion. This was a milestone on the road to peace," he says. In his apartment overlooking the Mediterranean, Gilead, 79, keeps a symbol of that hope, which only now holds the promise of fulfillment.

The community fight over a proposed "megachurch" on the Carroll-Baltimore County border continued yesterday at a Baltimore County hearing, as residents voiced concerns that the 2,000-member church would disrupt their quiet neighborhood.Carroll Community Church, a nondenominational Christian congregation in Eldersburg, proposed last year to build a sanctuary and retreat on 65 acres at Route 91 and Mount Gilead Road.But the plan has met with resistance from residents, who fear the development will bring traffic congestion and pollution.

The Finksburg Planning Area Council will hold a community meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sandy Mount United Methodist Church.Linda Mielke, Carroll County public library director, will discuss the library trustees' plans for a Finksburg branch. A plan has been submitted to the county for a building on a 1.5-acre site.A representative from the Baltimore City Department of Public Works will discuss the health of Liberty Reservoir and the effect of the drought.The council has voted to oppose the construction of a "mega" church at Mount Gilead Road and Route 91. A Baltimore County zoning hearing will continue at 9 a.m. Thursday in Towson.

A young woman is released from prison at the beginning of The Spitfire Grill, the small-scale musical receiving a lilting, uplifting Maryland premiere at Fell's Point Corner Theatre. Percy Talbott has chosen to serve her parole in Gilead, Wis., a rural town she picked out of a travel magazine. Although the town is named for a biblical setting where David found refuge, the people Percy meets in its Midwestern namesake are in prisons of their own. Hannah, the gruff widow who runs the Spitfire and reluctantly employs Percy, is trapped by the desolation left by her husband's death and the missing-in-action status of her soldier son, Eli. Her nephew, Caleb, is imprisoned by his inability to live up to Eli's heroic example, and Caleb's wife Shelby is imprisoned by her husband's discontent.

The recent publication of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead has drawn attention to that unusual but not unprecedented phenomenon: the great first novel that becomes an instant classic and awakens our appetite for more, only to be followed by years of silence. We who loved the miraculous first book, Housekeeping (1980), have been left in a state of suspended longing and need, just like the characters in the novel. In the intervening decades Robinson has written essays, book reviews and two non-fiction books, Mother Country (1989)

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 247 pages. $23. Sometimes we get the book we need. Was that what Marilynne Robinson had in mind all the time, why she waited 23 years after her splendid debut novel, Housekeeping, to grace us with this, her second? Did she anticipate this moment of religious chauvinism, this era when the God who gets all the publicity is the one selected as front man for hostility, violence, bigotry and perfect games thrown by the home team pitcher?

On November 30, 2003, MARION L. FAIR; beloved husband of the late Millie Spencer Fair; brother of Elmer Fair and the late John, Oliver, George, Clarence and Charles Fair and the late Carrie Abbott and Myrle Drechsler. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Memorial Service from Mt. Gilead United Methodist Church, Sunday, December 28, at 2:30 P.M. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mt. Gilead United Methodist Church, 5302 Glen Falls Road, Reisterstown, MD 21136. Inquiries may be made to Eline Funeral Home, Reisterstown, 410-833-1414.

HAIFA, Israel -- Much ado is being made about the fact that the Syrians and the Israelis are finally talking face-to-face about making peace with each other, but Gershon Gilead remembers similar talks that concluded with an armistice more than 50 years and two major wars ago. At the time, Gilead recalls, a full peace treaty seemed possible within a year or two. "We were all of the same opinion. This was a milestone on the road to peace," he says. In his apartment overlooking the Mediterranean, Gilead, 79, keeps a symbol of that hope, which only now holds the promise of fulfillment.

The community fight over a proposed "megachurch" on the Carroll-Baltimore County border continued yesterday at a Baltimore County hearing, as residents voiced concerns that the 2,000-member church would disrupt their quiet neighborhood.Carroll Community Church, a nondenominational Christian congregation in Eldersburg, proposed last year to build a sanctuary and retreat on 65 acres at Route 91 and Mount Gilead Road.But the plan has met with resistance from residents, who fear the development will bring traffic congestion and pollution.