MEET PARISHIONERS Denis and Chrisy Ryan: Embracing a Life of Prayer, Service and Faith

After visiting St. Mark for a couple of Masses back in 2012, Denis and Chrisy Ryan began considering joining the parish.

“Our youngest son asked if we would change to St. Mark,” Denis says. “I replied, ‘We could, maybe there will be a sign to send us that direction.’ In that Mass, the priest announced his retirement, and my son at the age of 6 turned to me and asked, ‘Is that our sign?’ The rest is history.”

Denis and Chrisy met at the University of Dallas Rome campus dedication in 1995 and were married the following year. They have two boys and are active members of our parish community. They first became involved in parish life when they had enrolled their children in religious education, providing snacks and doing some volunteer work.

“Then I get the smile and, ‘Hey, have we met?’ from Dennis Pettit and Sean Stenovitch,” Denis says. “I became a Knight and we began to settle into the community.”

As for Chrisy, she began helping with Vacation Bible School and gradually joined other ministries that suited her interest and talents. Both Chrisy and Denis now find themselves involved in a variety of ministries. Denis helps out with the ACTS team, ACTS core, and is an active Eucharistic Minister. Chrisy serves funeral meals and participates in weekly adoration. The two also help with Life Teen meal service.

Chrisy enjoys the many events and organizations that exist here at our parish.

“It is nice to have so many so you can connect with a group that suits you,” she says. “I also enjoy how down-to-earth and friendly the parishioners are.”

Denis appreciates how active the parish community is, with many people involved and offering their time, talent and treasures on a regular basis.

“It’s inspiring and makes this a special place,” he says. “We are called to center ourselves on Christ in our lives and the numerous ministries allow each of us to do this in mind, spirit, and body.”

As Catholics, we need to have a foundation of prayer and faith in order to help serve others. Being involved with our parish community has helped Denis and Chrisy grow in the faith. Chrisy has found spiritual growth through attending adoration.

“Weekly adoration has allowed me to enjoy the blessings of the Rosary and quiet time with the Lord in this all too-busy world,” she says.

“I have begun to attend daily Mass more often and witnessing what so many faithful servants of Christ offer inspires me to volunteer my time to the St. Mark community and local and global community,” Denis says. “It’s not just the parishioners — my children have set an example, one going to Uganda on a mission trip and the other serving the homeless outside of his college community.”

Both Denis and Chrisy have daily practices that help them to live out their faith and grow in their relationships with the Lord, which include prayer and reading Scripture. The two of them have brought the faith to their children by living as an example of stewardship and active participation in our parish community.

“I have led and hosted Bible studies for over a decade,” Chrisy says. “I hope that it showed my family how important it is to continually learn about the Word and to also keep faithful Christian friends.”

“We are called to stewardship when the Mass ends, plain and simple — “Go in peace and serve the Lord,’” Denis says. “We need to show our children and our fellow parishioners the importance of giving back to the parish and community. We all have gifts it’s time to show that light!”

The Ryan family