‘It was always giving back, not giving’
‘It was always giving back, not giving’CHARLOTTE — When they died, longtime St. Vincent de Paul parishioners Chuck and Terry Davis left more than $338,000 to their parish in the form of an endowment.
The Terry and Chuck Davis Endowment was the last in a long line of efforts the Davises made to support their parish since they first joined in 1999.
For 17 years they lived at The Cypress, a continuing care retirement community near the church, before Terry passed away in 2015. Even though Chuck moved to California to live near family after his wife’s death, he did not forget St. Vincent de Paul Church and his faith community. When he died in March, he made arrangements to be interred next to his beloved wife in the parish’s columbarium – which he also helped to design.
Father Mark Lawlor served as the Davis’ pastor at the time. He was a close family friend and offered both funeral Masses.
“Shortly after I was assigned to the parish in 2003, a resident of The Cypress requested that I consider celebrating a First Friday Mass in their Health Center. I celebrated the First Friday Mass for the next 13 years.”
In that time, he recalled, he came to know many of the residents who were parishioners and who participated in the Mass. “Chuck and Terry always helped to coordinate the Mass by checking with the administration for the room and Chuck often served as the lector,” he said.
He was invited to lunch at the Club House following the Mass and through these lunches he came to know the Davises very well.
“They were very devout in their Catholic faith and generous in all aspects of stewardship,” Father Lawlor said. “They were part of our columbarium committee and were instrumental in forming the policy and the design of the columbarium.
“When we began our capital campaign for the Ministry Center and Chapel, we had our first information session at The Cypress and Chuck spoke in favor of the initiative. The Davises were supportive of the project from the beginning and bought the monstrance for the Chapel of the Holy Family,” he said.
Another generous gift the couple made was in gratitude for their marriage of 67 years. They made the memorial donation for the stained glass window in the chapel depicting the Betrothal of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary. “It was very sad when Terry died in her home in 2015,” Father Lawlor recalled. “Following her death, the family donated many household items to the Homeless Relief Ministry of St. Vincent de Paul.” He was blessed to receive some of their wedding china to remember them by.
The couple’s son, Bob Davis, served as executor upon his father’s passing.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone in my life who was more dedicated and more supportive of the Church and more true to their faith than my mom and dad,” he said. He recalled that his mother’s family was very devout and his father, who grew up as a Southern Baptist, converted to Catholicism in college before marrying his mother.
Davis shared that his parents never missed Sunday Mass and they volunteered at many parish events over the years. “Every part of their lives was centered around the Church.”
“They lived modestly on a fixed income,” he explained. “They wouldn’t subscribe to cable TV because they didn’t want the monthly expense. They were so conservative with their spending and yet would think nothing of donating thousands of dollars to the Church,” he said.
Davis believes his parents were invested in the people of St. Vincent de Paul Parish and wanted to make a difference in their lives. In their humility, he said, the last thing they would want is for people to know all that they did for the parish.
“Their motivation was pure. They never did it for publicity. It was always giving back, not giving.”
The Terry and Chuck Davis Endowment will be used specifically for maintenance of the church and buildings on the church property.
“Chuck and Terry passed from this life, but they are fondly remembered,” Father Lawlor said. “Their gracious donation and the establishment of this endowment will provide for the positive ministry of the Church for many generations to come.”
The endowment is being administered by the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation. Founded in 1994, the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation now totals 261 endowments totaling more than $50 million in assets.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Learn more
Individuals can establish an endowment in the diocesan foundation by leaving a bequest in their will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a gift of real estate, a gift of life insurance, cash or securities sufficient to set up an endowment, or a life income arrangement such as a trust or annuity. For information about setting up an endowment to benefit the Church in western North Carolina, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Hot spots are popping up across the Diocese of Charlotte and receiving rave reviews. St. Gabriel parishioner Anna Eyl writes she cannot envision a Thursday without going. Carla Styber writes that if she could, she would camp out there all day; she never wants to leave. Marie Seclair describes the silence, peace and beauty there to be unmatched anywhere on Earth.
Even the saints agree. St. Mother Teresa admitted it is the best place you will spend on Earth. Padre Pio boasted that one hour here is worth more than a thousand years of human glory. St. Peter of Alcantra said the graces there can be bestowed on anyone who asks for them.
It is a place open 24 hours a day to everyone, denied to no one, and conveniently located. The stay could last a minute or a week, but without regret and always a longing to come back.
What is this place? A Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, of course!
The Charlotte diocese has five of them, including at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, and St. Aloysius Church in Hickory.
Not familiar with Eucharistic Adoration?
A sign displayed on the sign-up table at St. Gabriel Parish explains: “Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is the response of the Church to our Lord’s invitation to be vigilant, to keep watch and pray. Indeed, adoration suspends that moment in the Mass when the priest elevates the consecrated Host exposing Our Lord for intimate prayer and contemplation. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament suspends that moment.”
Staying for an hour – what’s called “making a Holy Hour” – recalls when Jesus asked His apostles to keep watch with Him for an hour while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, before He was handed over to be crucified.
Operating a Perpetual Adoration Chapel requires that someone is always present with the Host, making sure that Our Savior is never left exposed alone. That sounds simple, but conducting this feat means recruiting 336 dedicated volunteers every week, two for each hour. Many wake up in the wee hours of the night, leaving their cozy beds to reach their duty post.
Celi Anatrella, secretary and Eucharistic Adoration coordinator at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, explains why she goes to Eucharistic Adoration: “My hour was two to three in the morning. It was a sacrifice because I had to get up in the middle of the night, and in the winter get up in the middle of my sleep, but it is a very anointed time for me.”
Anatrella adds, “It becomes something that is part of you. When you get to spend time with someone, you get to know that person. You get to love that person, so you want to spend more time with them. You have to start somewhere. It is like when you first meet someone, you are only going to start to like with them and get to know them. You can’t love what you do not know; you can only love what you do know. So, I think when you fall in love with Jesus, you want to spend all the time you could with Jesus.”
Anatrella credits the growth and success of St. Mark Parish to its Adoration Chapel. “I think the growth in the parish, the growth in faith and the vocations from this parish are because Our Lord is here. We get many graces. It is a growth in our holiness. We’re blessed here. The only time the Lord asked the apostles for anything was the night He went into agony. He did not ask for an activity, He just asked for an hour of company: ‘Come and spend an hour with me.’ Of course, when we come spend an hour with Him, God is going to give us graces to grow in holiness. My crazy vision is that we have 10 people sign up every single hour – not just one or two – so the Lord is never alone. Then we will really be transformed because lives change when we spend an hour with God.”
Gail Carroll, coordinator of Eucharistic Adoration at St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, also emphasizes the power of Adoration to transform people: “He is calling so many people now. Jesus is totally veiled in the Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. When I sign up people for adoration, I encourage them to spend the first 15 minutes mediating on the fact that He is truly looking at you. Here, present, veiled as the Precious Bread – just marvel over that and soak it in; the light just permeates you. Look! You are experiencing the glory of God.”
“Adoration encourages us to enter deeper into Jesus’ love because He is truly a prisoner of love,” Carroll adds. “He waits for our visit. He called you for that special hour, a date with Him to spend an hour. He is the greatest lover. There is no deeper love that you can experience than with Jesus’ Presence in the Eucharist. It’s communion, unity with Him, and then to adore Him in that presence gives Him so much delight. We want to love Him back as much as He loves us, so that is what it is all about. It is all about love. Jesus in creation is shouting, ‘I love you’.”
St. John Bosco once said, “Do you want the Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely. Do you want the devil to attack you? Visit Jesus rarely in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you want him to flee from you? Visit Jesus often!”
— Lisa Geraci, Correspondent
More online
At www.charlottediocese.org: Not sure if a parish near you offers Eucharistic Adoration? Check the convenient parish directory and searchable map on the Diocese of Charlotte’s website