Meet Parishioners Roy and Nancy Bennett: Living Stewardship and Discipleship Through an Active Faith

If you have been coming to Mass at Immaculate Conception for a while, chances are that you have received a warm welcome from Roy and Nancy Bennett at some point! Roy and Nancy have served together as ushers since they first joined our parish family in 2002. The ministry is just one of many they have enjoyed over the years and the one that perhaps best fulfills their desire to make and maintain close connections to so many others in our faith community.

Reflecting on life at Immaculate Conception, Nancy is quick to give credit where credit is due. She is thankful for the many ways that her twin sister, Joan Finnegan, encouraged her to make a full return to the Catholic Church and really dive into parish life. For many years prior, Roy and Nancy had been alternating their Sundays between Catholic churches and the Methodist churches of Roy’s upbringing.

After years of splitting their time between faith traditions, the Bennetts realized that they needed to make a change.

“We were going to Catholic church every other weekend and Methodist church every other weekend, and I felt totally lost,” Nancy says. “Something was missing and I wasn’t getting anything out of it. We needed to get our trust back in God. My sister, Joan, was the one who got me to come get involved with the church. She is my mentor.”

Not long after the Bennetts committed to attending Mass weekly, Roy decided to enroll in our parish RCIA process. He entered the Church, and he and Nancy had their marriage convalidated in the Church by Fr. West in 2002.

Roy still remembers the feeling he had as he was confirmed in the Catholic faith during the Easter Vigil Mass.

“The word that comes to mind is ‘humbling,’” he says. “The RCIA process was enlightening, and the Easter Vigil was the end of a long journey. I was very satisfied with it.”

As demonstrated by his 37-year career in the Army, followed by continued service and volunteerism, Roy has always felt called to serve others. As soon as he joined the Catholic Church, he was eager to get involved in our faith community. From that moment on, Nancy and Roy plunged right into parish life, and they haven’t looked back!

In addition to serving as ushers, the Bennetts often spend time in adoration and sign up to bring the Vocations Chalice Box home. Nancy participates in the Altar Society and volunteers with a group that cleans the church. She is an Extraordinary Minister at Mass and, before COVID-19, for the homebound. She also helps coordinate funeral meals. Participation in all of these ministries has provided a great opportunity for connecting with fellow parishioners.

“We started ushering right away because it’s a great way to meet people and we were the new kids on the block,” Nancy says. “And coordinating the funeral meals is so rewarding. You get to know the people and the families, and they are so grateful and appreciative.”

Having landed at Immaculate Conception almost 20 years ago, the Bennetts are thankful for the wonderful friendships and connections they have forged here over the years.

“I’ve met a lot of good people here who have become friends,” Roy says. “I know I can pick up the phone and call them if I need something or just need to chat. Staying involved and going to Mass is a blessing to me.”

Like Roy, Nancy feels a deep sense of gratitude for the abundant blessings the couple has found in their active faith life.

“I don’t think there was a time that we both didn’t want to be involved,” Nancy says. “We knew that this was going to be our calling — to be involved in the church and community. We have thoroughly enjoyed it and the people. We’ve had some great pastors that have always been very supportive and wonderful fellow parishioners. It’s just a lifetime of relationships, and that includes being with God, as well.

“This parish is like our second home,” she adds. “We just count our blessings every day [in this pandemic] that we can still do this and go to church. After last spring, we couldn’t wait for those doors to open up again! Some people understandably still haven’t come back, and I pray that one day we will be able to be together as a family in the Catholic Church.”

Roy and Nancy Bennett (second and third from left) with their daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons