I am also a reader and subdeacon at St Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, OCA, a mission parish of the Orthodox Church of America at 93 Dodgingtown Road in Bethel. The pastor is Father John Eissman, and he can be reached at 426-4698. Our church is so full of the pageantry and forms used in the early Christian church of 300 AD, it is like a little crown jewel. There are only 25 families in our congregation and our mission is to serve. Wherever there is grief, illness, or a life-challenging circumstance, we offer healing prayers. These are meant to help anyone undergoing a difficult passage and they need not be church members.

How Long In Newtown: I’ve lived in Sandy Hook for 13 years. Before that, I lived in Bethel, and before that I lived briefly in Newtown on a farm on School House Hill Road. I was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., and went to school at Syracuse University.

Family: My wife Alice and I have three children, Anna Marie, 14, Elena Rose, 11, and Michael, 8, who all attend the Housatonic Valley Waldorf  School in Newtown. There is a unique educational approach there, and the focus is on developing the whole child through art, music, and dance.

Alice was an opera singer and now she is a music teacher in the Bridgeport Public Schools. She’s also a church choir director.

Hobbies: I love working the land, tilling my garden, hiking along Newtown’s many trails and in Fairfield Hills. There is something about being a part of yearly natural cycles that I find inspiring — like making maple syrup, which we do at the beginning of March.

Pets: We have ducks, chickens, and a pot-bellied pig. We started out with stuffed animal pigs for the kids, and the pot-bellied pig just seemed like the inevitable next step.

TV, Movies, Or Reading Books: We don’t watch much TV in our family, mainly because the pace is so fast. The media really hammers you. I’ve introduced the kids to the Marx Brothers movies and they’ve become real fans. They all play musical instruments. Newtown soccer and baseball has been fantastic for the kids. I can’t thank the coaches enough for all that they do.

I am an avid reader of the lives of the saints. It helps me understand how difficulties and adversities contribute to a person’s inner strength. I feel like the suffering that Christ endured is a symbol of the struggles in life we must all go through, and that a greater purpose can be found in this experience if we are open to it.

Organizations: F&S Oil Company is one of the sponsors of Nighthawk Nation, a sports website that passionately sponsors and reports on all the sports in Newtown. It is a vital medium.

Most Vivid Memory About Newtown: I’ve always enjoyed the tree lighting ceremonies, the Labor Day Parade, and the Library Book Sale. Newtown is very beautiful. I love the look of the open land at Fairfield Hills. The beautiful landscape of Newtown is all around us –– the rivers, the streams, and the trails. It is so enriching and we must not take it for granted.

Favorite Vacation Spot: We go to the beaches in Rhode Island, to the lakes of New Hampshire. We often take day trips to ski at Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut above Kent, and we’re going to try Butternut this year.

Personal Philosophy: I believe in the commandments to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. I was brought up in the Jewish faith, and it is interesting to me that these two greatest Christian commandments are also reflected in Jewish Sh’ma or prayer.  These are the rules that I try to live by, that help me live each day.

Snapshot: David Unschuld