CONNECT WITH US
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAILS
The latest news and information
Martin, Carey A.
1/1/1988
| To have known Carey A. Martin was more than knowing that he was born in Hobart, Louisiana, on February 13, 1919 and died on January 12, 1988 in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Carey was raised in a Baptist Christian home and married Bobbie Buratt who was a Methodist Christian. He joined the Methodist Church after he had been married for 18 years and was active as a lay person in the Carpenter’s Chapel United Methodist Church. These were important events in his life and for the United Methodist Church, yet this still falls short of really knowing him. There are many other facts about Carey that should not be overlooked. He graduated from Oak Grove High School in 1936, served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946, was employed by the Ethyl plant for 11 years. He answered the call to preach while living in Galvez, Louisiana at the age of 36. At the time of his call, he and Bobbie already had their family of three sons and one daughter. He graduated from Southeastern Louisiana College in 1962. However, to know these facts is not to really know Carey. To know Carey is to know his wife, Bobbie, who lived and served with him before and after he entered the ministry, for 48 years. It is in knowing his four children, Glen, Al, Dale, and Lynette, who have honored their father by the lives they have lived and are now living. It is knowing his 8 grandchildren and his love for them and their love for him. When you talk to those who were members of his first appointment, Wesley Chapel and Lee’s Landing, you begin to learn from them of the sacrifices he and Bobbie made during those years. You come closer to knowing him when you know that while he was sending two of his sons through college, he was at the same time completing his own four years of college work, and that during those eight years he served these two churches. It is then you can begin to know of his love for his Lord, his family, and his congregations. You begin to understand the deep faith he had in the Lord when you follow his ministry that included Wesley Chapel, Lee’s Landing, Kentwood, Eunice, Ville Platte, Denham Springs, Algiers, and Winbourne. In all of his appointments through Algiers he either made major renovations or undertook new construction. Each of these churches was strengthened under his ministry. During his last two years at Winbourne he began to develop a physical handicap that limited his ministry and forced him into early retirement in 1982. His time of relaxation and recreation took the form of golf and woodwork. Those who joined him in golf found it a joy to play with him. Many were those who received a treasured piece of woodwork from his shop. These remain as reminders of his expressions of love for others. Carey was ordained a deacon and admitted on trial in 1962 and in 1964 he was ordained an elder and received into full connection into the Louisiana Annual Conference. He served well as a member of our Annual Conference. For two years he served as secretary of the Board of Evangelism and two years as Chairperson of the Board of Discipleship. Those who knew him best knew that he was no different from the rest of us who have answered the call to preach. Yet he left us an example in ministry that we would do well to follow. His greatest gifts to those of us who knew him were his faith in God, in others, and in himself, his love for God and for those whose lives he touched, the gospel he shared with those who hungered to hear it and to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. I count it a privilege to have known Carey. Maybe you do, too. |
|
| Source: Journal Louisiana Conference, 1988, p.189-190.............By Brady B. Forman | |
CONNECT WITH US
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAILS
The latest news and information
