Tom Bennett’s legacy extends beyond war
To expand on Jim Bissett’s excellent chronicle of Tom Bennett: Tom was an enthusiastic participant in campus ministry at WVU. He was one of the students who helped bring different faith traditions together in a shared campus ministry — the University Christian Council. Instead of continuing to have separate programs for different denominations, the UCC united programs, staff and resources, creating an ecumenical team ministry.
One of the early actions of the UCC was creating an Evansdale Ecumenical Center in 1968 in an apartment located above Edna Dillon’s flower shop on Oakland Street. The week the news of Tom’s death was reported in Morgantown, the UCC met to change the name of the center to Bennett House. Soon after, the Bennett House relocated to 221 Willey St.
At the Bennett House, in the collective spirit promoted by Tom, work serving the university and its students, as well as people in need in nearby communities, continued. The Bennett House provided an interfaith pre-marital counseling program; the first collaborative women’s center support services; travel-study programs; a gathering place for international students; draft counseling and advocacy services for students and faculty; and collaborative worship services at multiple locations open to all.
The Bennett House ministry also organized protective drug counseling services, a 24-hour NEED information and problem referral telephone service for the community, In Touch and Concerned for elder support. It provided innovative teaching resources to support courses taught at the university, churches and elsewhere. With BOPARC and city council support, it developed a community-wide recreation plan to promote more alternatives to drug use. It provided leadership for the 1972 Morgantown Recreation Levy that enabled construction of the Municipal Ice Rink and the Krepps Park Pool.
The lists go on.
But times changed. However, the contributions of Tom and others continued for nearly a decade to help build a better life for people of all ages in Morgantown and at WVU. Tom would have enjoyed being here in person, but the center created in his name was a major part of it all.
Reba Thurmond
Morgantown
