The Arnolds: Savoring the Joy of Serving Jesus

When it came time to decide where to retire, it was pretty much a “no-brainer” for Barry and Chris Arnold.

“My husband was in the military, and he was assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base in 1985 for three years,” Chris says. “During that time, we fell in love with Immaculate Conception Church. We saw it was a very active parish and had such an amazing priest, so we became very involved with it. We left in 1988 and were gone for seven years. Then Barry came back to Little Rock Air Force Base in 1995, and we finally decided we wanted to retire here — mainly because of the parish.”

Over the years, the Arnolds have found profound joy and peace by being an integral part of our parish family.

“We enjoy serving our fellow parishioners and our parish priest,” Chris says. “Our parish community is so wonderful that we are naturally motivated to give back to it. We see volunteering as part of our stewardship commitment. The call to stewardship is the call to do what Jesus has asked us to do and take care of those in need. We find real joy in doing that! When you give to someone else, and you see how happy it makes them feel, it makes you happy as well.”

For many years, Chris has enjoyed serving as a sacristan and an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.

“When I am serving as a sacristan, I am doing it for God, the priest, and the people who will be attending Mass,” Chris says. “I feel thankful that I can help. When we do things for other people, it is very rewarding.”

Chris also loves being a voice for the defenseless through the Respect Life Committee, which contributes to pro-life efforts and organizations such as the Arkansas Pregnancy Resource Center, the 40 Days for Life campaign, and the March for Life, which takes place each January at the Little Rock capitol building.

“The pro-life movement has been a passion of mine for a long time,” Chris says. “Life is the beginning of everything, and if we don’t have a love and respect for life, everything just goes downhill. If we don’t care about a baby in the womb, we won’t care about an adult who is suffering. If we start thinking that the life of an innocent, unborn child is not important, then we think we can make excuses for mistreating everyone else in society.”

Furthermore, Chris enjoys preparing meals for people in need through the Martha’s Kitchen Ministry. She and Barry also serve at the Stew Pot soup kitchen downtown.

Barry currently coordinates and trains the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and serves as a lector.

By laying down their lives for Christ and others, including their family members, Barry and Chris have been abundantly blessed. They have four children and four grandchildren, whom they serve with God’s love as well.

Week after week, they draw their strength and energy from spending a Holy Hour with the Real Presence of Our Lord at Eucharistic Adoration. The graces that flow from this devotion help them live out their Catholic faith in a beautiful way.

“Adoration is helpful to my spiritual life,” Chris says. “It gives me time to be alone with Jesus in a quiet place where I can reflect and feel closer to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We both experience a lot of peace when we go there, and we really enjoy it.”

Chris and Barry Arnold celebrate their annual “Arnoldfest” with their entire family.