“Find a good church—a loving church and one that preaches the gospel and the truth about God,” advised Roger Kennedy. “Find a good bible teaching church with people who love you and will stand with you through the good times and the hard times.”
Roger Kennedy is a strong Christian and truly loves church. His love of church started when he was a young child as he went with his family.
“My family knew that when Sunday came that we were going to church,” recalled Roger. “My family knew that when Wednesday night came that we would be going to church on Wednesday night. That was the most important thing to us: church.”
He still loves attending church and has enjoyed serving in a leadership position at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church for many years now.
“I became a deacon at my church in 1970, and that’s been one of the best things that God has called me to as far as a position to try and lead other people,” declared Roger. “You have to let people know where you stand as far as what God wants you to do and be able to help other people.”
Another thing that has always been evident in Roger’s life has been a strong work ethic.
“Jerry, Jimmy, Lee, and I went up north to Ohio and built grain elevators. Then, we came back, and Crickett and I moved to Pascagoula. That’s where we had our first child, and we stayed there for about a year,” remembered Roger. “We came back, and I went to work at the Quitman Knitting Mill for about a year. Then, Lockheed Martin was coming into Meridian. At that time, Lockheed was paying people to quit their jobs if they’d come with them and go to school up there for training on how to work on aircraft. A lot of us quit and went to training full time for it, and in November 1969 I went to work for Lockheed Martin full time. I worked there for 43 years, and Lockheed was good for our family and took care of us. I know it was part of God’s plan.”
His hard work continued into his home life. He is passionate about helping others and has become a huge blessing to everyone in his neighborhood.
“I’m kind of known as the patrolman of the neighborhood. I ride the golf cart around the streets making sure everything is alright,” informed Roger. “I usually cut my grass and some of my neighbors’ grass, and I’ll pick up any trash along the street in the neighborhood if I see any.”
He even shows kindness to the different animals in his neighborhood and loves taking care of his own pets as well.
“I love animals,” proclaimed Roger. “We’ve had a lot of dogs and cats that are just like family. If I see any cats or anything in the area, I’ll usually feed them.”
A lot of his laid back, caring personality can be attributed to the beautifully simple childhood he had. He was able to spend time with friends and family while simply doing what he enjoyed and working outside.
“I lived out in the country, and when we would come in from school, we’d just about go straight out the back door to go hunting and fishing,” Roger reminisced. “We were always fortunate to be around family, and during those days, we could walk up and down the streets. We could walk down to the little stores. We were all just raised in that little community and always had a good time. We’d ride bicycles all the time. We were raised to go to church, love God, respect people, love people, and help people. I still like to help and do things for people. We worked in the fields all the time. We would go down to my uncle’s. He planted cotton, and we would pick cotton all day and work in the fields. We knew Sunday was a day of rest and wouldn’t work on Sundays. My childhood days were some of the best times.”
Although he is still recovering from the miracle he received this past year, he has gotten much stronger and is doing everything to continue being a blessing to those around him. He uses the testimony he has to be a witness to those around him. There is no doubt that he will continue to make a positive impact on everyone he meets each day.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
