Bob and Jenny Chapin

CWM
Jul 30
2 min read

Updated: Aug 26

In Giving, We Receive

Bob and Jenny Chapin, both from Georgia, were raised to give back to the church in whatever capacity they could.

Bob grew up in a very strong Presbyterian household. His parents were heavily involved in Sunday services and weekly events – whether that meant serving as clerk of the session, sharing their voices in the choir, or bringing a dish to the Wednesday night dinner – and their church was within walking distance from home.

“That was our second home,” says Bob.

Jenny’s family similarly lived just a short bike ride away from Our Lady of the Assumption, a Catholic parish in Brookhaven, Georgia. Her parents served in every way they could.

“Both sets of our parents instilled in us to just get in. And to help.”

This is exactly what Bob and Jenny did, and the shared mission of giving back to their parish family continued and deepened as they met, married, and their own family began to grow.

When the Chapins met, they knew they wanted to be worshipping together. Bob entered the RCIA program and joined the Catholic church in 1988 when he and Jenny were newly married, and they immediately jumped in. Newly Catholic, Bob joined Jenny on the team of the RCIA program. They later became Eucharistic ministers, were asked to help facilitate baptism prep classes, got involved in a Marriage Encounter offshoot, and spoke at faith formation classes.

“We’ve learned that, the more ministries in the church we can do together as a couple, the more it continues to strengthen our marriage,” says Bob. “We’re big believers in the three-twined cord – God and Jenny and me – intertwined, always. So that’s why we started trying to do as many ministries together as we could.”

When asked what prompted them to give, Bob states simply that they answered each call to action as it came. Neither expected to become founders of a new parish, but when the archdiocese invited the couple to join the formation committee for the establishment of the Mary Our Queen parish in August of 1994, Bob and Jenny rolled up their sleeves and readily answered “yes!”

“I’ve learned that by getting involved in stuff like that – just like whenever you give of your time, talent, and treasure – when you give, you usually get more back.”

Accordingly, the Chapin family gave generously and was blessed in turn.