Families To Share Experiences With Life-Threatening Illnesses

VIENNA, VA — If you knew you were running out of time in your life, reexamining your priorities and outlook on life would be a reasonable decision. Two local residents will be sharing their personal experiences with illness in an upcoming “Living and Dying” sermon series at a Vienna church.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, a United Methodist church at 2351 Hunter Mill Road, will explore the topic in an interview with two local residents and their families on two dates.

The first sermon on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 10:15 a.m., will feature Mike Bair, 53, of Reston and his wife Michele, the former longtime choir director at Good Shepherd. In 2022, Mike Bair experienced post-Covid pneumonia that hospitalized him for five months and nearly killed him. The couple's three children were in high school at the time of his hospitalization.

The other sermon on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 10:15 a.m. will feature longtime church member and former high school physics teacher Myron Hanke, 79, and his wife Lyn. They will discuss Myron Hanke’s brain glioblastoma diagnosed earlier this year. Hanke joined the church's pastor in visiting shut-in residents this year to offer hope, and family friends published a special booklet with Myron’s Lenten devotionals written over the last 24 years.

To learn more about the church and its upcoming events, visit www.GoodShepherdVA.com.