Meet The Pastor
Rev. Carla Warnock
I grew up in the farm country of northeastern Pennsylvania. I felt amazing love within my family and heartbreak with the death of my mother when I was 15. When I was 12, my father moved us to a small community where he had purchased a country store to be home to care for my invalid mother and me. I learned skills such as pumping gas, stocking shelves, slicing meat, operating a cash register, counting out the change to each person, and especially to properly bag items into a paper bag. When I was 18, my dad married a wonderful woman who for 51 years was my mother. I also gained a younger brother and sister.
As a child, I attended the Methodist Church that happened to be across the street from my maternal grandparents. I remember being in the children’s church and choir. I remember helping at church dinners and the annual ice cream social. After we moved, I attended the Baptist church because of their youth group. I was active in Youth for Christ (YFC). I met my husband, Ted, at a YFC skating event. We were both 17 and he went home and told his mother he met the girl he was going to marry, but didn’t know her real name. We have been together ever since. We have lived in many places, moving for work, for the USAF, for missionary service, for children, and to help with grandchildren.
My passion for caring began as a registered nurse. This career lasted 45 years with 21 of these serving as a United Methodist missionary first in Haiti (1998-2001) then caring for the missionaries and their families until “retirement” in 2019. As retirement neared, I began the journey toward chaplaincy which included training and certification as a lay minister onto licensed pastor and seminary. In April of this year, I graduated seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. I also serve as a volunteer in the Chaplain Corps in the Civil Air Patrol - which is the auxiliary of the USAF. In addition to serving as your pastor, I work as a part-time chaplain at the SGMC.
I am passionate about pastoral care. Hospital, facility, and home visits have been and will continue to be part of my ministry to your church and community. For those who cannot attend worship, I want very much to communicate with you via phone calls, text messages, email, cards, and/or home visits. Please feel free to contact me. I want to serve alongside each of you in ministry and mission. I want to hear your stories.