After the birth of their daughter Denise, Dennis and Renay decided to rejoin their faith and become active members of a parish.  They settled atAmerican Martyrs Parish in 1981 and during the next thirty years they saw themselves become very engaged in the parish community both individually and as a team.

Renay is a Eucharistic Minister, taught Sunday School for eight years in the 80’s,  was a member of the Parish Council for five years, (two years as secretary) in the 90’s, is a Stephen Minister, and sings in the choir for the 5 PM Saturday Mass.  An event that is very important to Renay is the annual Seniors’ Christmas Dinner.  She has co-chaired this event for the last 15 years.

Dennis is a member of the Stewardship Commission, was an usher for ten years, and became a member of the original pancake team that ran the pancake breakfast from the mid 70’s to the mid 90’s.  Back in the old days, when the booths were made of wood, Dennis was a regular assembler and disassembler for the annual parish fair.

The team of Dennis and Renay have been responsible for the Pre-Cana Marriage Preparation Ministry for the past ten years, and have helped in the pizza booth at the Parish Fair for the past twenty years.

Although both Dennis and Renay are originally from the East Coast, they met for the first time when they were walking toward each other in a hallway where they both were working in Santa Monica.  They married three years later.

Dennis graduated from college with a degree in aeronautical engineering and a commission as a 2nd Lt. in the USAF from the ROTC program.  His first Air Force job brought him to El Segundo to work for the Air Force Space Systems Division.   After 3 1/2 years of active duty he obtained a master’s degree from USC in System Management and worked at System Development Corp. where he met Renay.  Renay obtained a degree in fine arts and later an MBA.  She has been working at the Air Force Space & Missile System Center for the last 25 years.

“It was an outstanding thing we did when we joined American Martyrs Parish!”

If you want to become more involved at American Martyrs contact Jenny Attanasio at 310-545-8244.