Vince & Carrie Lawrence: Thankful To Call Our Parish “Home”

There is an old saying that goes, “home is not a place... it’s the people.” When Vince and Carrie Lawrence left their native Chicago suburb in 1999, they could not have imagined how truly at home they would feel in Fort Mill over 20 years later. This abiding sense of place and community is tied inextricably with the couple’s faith home here at St. Philip Neri.

Vince and Carrie were born in the same Chicagoarea neighborhood and attended the same parish grammar school. Vince then went to the all-boys Catholic high school while Carrie was a student at the all-girls school. Shortly after they had both graduated, they met at a local sock hop dance. The couple was married in their home parish, and Carrie joined Vince in Puerto Rico, where he was stationed with the U.S. Army. Following Vince’s two years of military service, they returned to the Chicago area.

In their small suburb of Elk Grove Village, the Lawrences were known to all as “Vince the Barber” and “Carrie the Lunch Lady.” Between their two highvisibility jobs, they always knew what was happening in the town and school! Vince and Carrie raised their two sons, Tom and John, in Elk Grove. Just over 20 years ago, they moved to the Fort Mill area to be closer to John and his family.

Almost a thousand miles from their native Illinois, the Lawrences discovered St. Philip Neri through an ad in the paper.

“It all goes back to when I was looking at the paper and there was a notice of all the church services in the area,” Vince says. “I saw an ad for St. Philip Neri and we drove down and found it. As God would have it, Fr. John [Giuliani] was walking out from a Saturday Baptism and showed us around. That was how it all started.”

Having served as a Eucharistic Minister at the couple’s home parish, Vince quickly stepped up to fill the same role here. Carrie began lending her baking skills for various parish activities and events, including the annual Italian Festival. Then, thanks to a chance meeting, the couple became even more involved in parish life.

“It turned out that one of our son’s neighbors knew a Catholic couple, Jack and Del Hayes, and wanted to know if we had ever met them,” Vince says. “So, Jack and Del had us for coffee. They were involved with the Pilgrim’s Inn and asked if we wanted to help on their day. Soon we had a day as well, and we helped them and they helped us. That became a very close relationship with them. It got us more involved with St. Philip Neri and we got to know more people.” When the Lawrences later faced a health scare, they turned to their Catholic faith and the support of our parish priests to help them through. Carrie had been diagnosed with colon cancer and was preparing for surgery. Vince asked Fr. John for his prayers and half-jokingly mentioned that if all went well, he would provide his personal barber services to all the priests at St. Philip Neri. Thanks be to God, the surgery was a success — and ever since, Vince has cut and trimmed the hair of all our parish priests!

“That is my main way of giving back for what the good Lord gave me and Carrie,” Vince says. “We have been so fortunate over the years. When I look back on our life and think of all the things that have happened, it’s amazing, and I’m very thankful that it’s all worked out the way it has.”

This October, the Lawrences will celebrate 66 years of marriage. With immense gratitude for all of life’s blessings, they hope to continue to serve in any way they can as time goes on.

“I’m thankful that God brought Vince and I together and that we’ve been married all these years and have a happy marriage,” Carrie says. “I have friends at St. Philip Neri, and I like to bake and take things in there. Just working my way to heaven, I hope!”

From a newspaper notice about church services, to the many people who first said “hello” to them across a pew, to the close friendships cultivated while serving together in our parish ministries, Vince and Carrie feel blessed by the faith family they have found at St. Philip Neri. Today, they couldn’t imagine anywhere else they would rather call “home”!

“I was ‘Vince the Barber’ in Elk Grove and then came here and nobody knew me and I didn’t know anybody,” Vince says. “We were very ready to go back to Chicago until we got to meet Jack and Del and the others. Things kept multiplying, and we are now home. It all revolves around St. Philip Neri.”