Carn
and Joyce Catherwood
Carn
and Joyce CatherwoodCarn Catherwood was born in Manitoba, Canada, and spent his childhood and teens in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Early in his elementary school years, he found himself living in bilingual areas and attended French-language schools. This started a lifelong interest in diverse languages and cultures, which would later turn into useful tools for his ministry.
At the age of 13, he was struck with polio. He told God that if he would spare him, he would seek to serve him for the rest of his life. He was eventually healed of polio, which left only slight damage to his leg muscles.
He heard the World Tomorrow radio broadcast when he was 14 and decided to attend Ambassador College and fulfill his promise to God. He arrived in August 1957, and was one of the first Canadians to attend and graduate from Ambassador. He spent three years on the Pasadena campus and his senior year at Bricket Wood, England, the first year that it opened its doors.
Upon graduation, Carn was hired as a ministerial trainee. In 1962, he was sent to raise up and pastor the church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In January 1963, he married Joyce Sefcak, who was attending Ambassador College in Pasadena at the time. Joyce was born in Texas and moved with her family to California when she was 10. Carn and Joyce subsequently had three daughters, Suzy, born in Kentucky and twins Laura Beth and Sharie Kay, born in Montreal, Quebec. Their daughters are now married with families of their own, and the Catherwoods have seven grandchildren.
Carn's ministry has been diverse, and his language skills have enabled him to serve church members in French-speaking parts of Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. Carn and Joyce and their daughters have lived in Belgium, France and Canada, as well as in several areas of the United States.
Over the years he has served as pastor, area coordinator, international regional director and editor of the Italian-language magazine. He also functioned for 14 years as department manager of, first the Italian and then, the French-Italian departments, on Ambassador College campuses in Pasadena and Big Sandy, Texas.
One of the highlights of his career was as lecturer for 14 years in the Christian leadership class offered on the campus in Pasadena.
Currently Carn serves as a staff member of the Church Administration Department involved in various aspects of the church. He is district superintendent of the Big Sandy district, a member of the Council of Elders and is on the board of the Office of Reconciliation Ministries of the church.
Carn and Joyce make their home in East Texas. Joyce is caregiver for her parents, Lee and Florence Sefcak (married 67 years), who live next door to them. Joyce travels with Carn when she is able and has been assisting the Church Administration staff in the women's sessions conducted during the U.S. district conferences.
The following pastors, wives and congregations are in the Big Sandy district.
Dallas North, Paris and Sherman, Texas: Arnold and Trish Clauson
Frisco, Texas: Jeb and Barbara Egbert, associate pastor
Dallas, Texas, Central: Lynn and Sherry Hebert
Fort Worth, Texas: Tom and Adrienne Pickett
Austin and Waco, Texas: Dave and Val Clark
Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Victoria and Kerrville, Texas: Sonny and Jane Parsons
Huntsville, Texas: Al and Carrie Foy, temporary contact
Harlingen, Texas: Dan Jr. and Juana Maria Flores
Houston, Texas, South: Mark and Debra Mounts
Houston North, Houston Hope Community Church and Lufkin, Texas: Chris and Dee Beam
Beaumont, Texas: Gene and Catherine Koch and James Scales Jr.
Big Sandy, Longview and Tyler, Texas: Dave and Sandy Orban, Paul and Freia Smith (associate pastor)
Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana, Texarkana, Texas, and El Dorado, Arkansas: Mike and Susan Booze
Baton Rouge, Alexandria and Lafayette, Louisiana: Anthony and Karen Rice
Lake Charles, Louisiana: Richard Young
New Orleans, Slidell, Raceland and Hammond, Louisiana: Mike and Pam Horchak
Jackson, Hattiesburg, Meridian and Natchez, Mississippi: John and Cathy Novick
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2000