About Us
LEADERSHIP
Reverend Norma K. Canty, Senior Pastor of Cathedral of Joy Christian Center, Inc. located in Brooklyn, New York. Previously she served in the Cathedral of Joy Church
of God under the pastorate of Reverend Dr. Hattie L Downer from 1976 to 2001.
September 8, 2001 she was official installed as the Senior Pastor of Cathedral of Joy Church of God by the Eastern New York Ministerial Association of the Church of God.
In addition, to her pastoral activities, Pastor Canty is the Founder/CEO of Compassion House Community Development, Inc., a not-for-profit entity that extend its humanitarian outreach by operating as a Social Service/Referral and Emergency Food Agency.
Pastor Canty developed and implemented the Women’s Survival Ministry for abuse women going through physical, mental and emotional stress. She is also a Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor. Pastor Canty is a License Chaplain for New York State Chaplain Task Force (NYSCTF). She holds a degree in Social Work, and has several certificates in the Human Services.
1976-2002: Pastor Canty was employed in a civil service role as an Administrative Assistant with the New York City Department of Office Management and Budget, and later with New York City Department of Investigation. She retired in 2002 after serving over twenty-five years. She was a Union Delegate for several years as an advocate for her co-workers.
Minister Julio Diaz, Assistant Minister, at Cathedral of Joy Christian Center, has been a faithful member and Pillar of the Church since 1984, under the Pastoral Leadership of Reverend Dr. Hattie Downer. Presently, Minister Diaz is a teacher of the Adult Sunday School, a Mentor and a Trustee Board Member, and serves as Assistant Director of Compassion House Community Development Corporation.
Minister Terrence L. Canty, Associate Minister, Chair-Elect on the Trustee Board and Facility Director at Cathedral of Joy Christian Center. He was mentored and taught the Word of God under the ministry of Reverend Hattie Downer at Williamsburg Church of God at 105 Knickerbocker Ave. Brooklyn, and Cathedral of Joy Church of God at 43 George Street. He has served in the capacity as a minister for several years under other Pastoral Leadership in Pennsylvania.
History of the Church
Reverend Ivory Downer at the age of seventy-five (75), in the summer of 1950 actually began the church when she erected a “Big Tent” on Moore Street feeling led by the Lord, to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. A loan was obtained from the Church of God Mission Board and Mother Ivory Downer called her vision “Gospel Tent for All Nations.”
It was in this “Gospel Tent for All Nations,” that mother Ivory Downer began to preach to all who came to hear the Word of God. As the weather grew cold, a storefront was secured and eventually a permanent place of worship was found and Mother Ivory Downer named it The Williamsburg Community Church of God, Inc., located at 105 Knickerbocker, Brooklyn, New York.
The Williamsburg Church became too small and in keeping with Mother Downer’s and Rev. Hattie’s vision, and the persistent prayer and faith in God for a larger place for mission work, God answered their prayer on June 16, 1974, when Reverend Hattie was “divinely” given a sizable and centrally located facility, located at 43 George Street, Brooklyn, New York. The name was also “divinely” given when the voice of God spoke to her spirit and said, "this is none other than The Cathedral of Joy.”
On May 14, 1975 with rejoicing and praising God for what He had done, Rev. Hattie Downer marched her congregation to its present location. Her Pastoral/Teaching and humanitarian outreach in the Church and the community continued on a broader scale. She used the building to extend her mission work to reach throughout the United States, and has laid the foundation for the Church to keep helping those who are in need of support and compassion. Reverend Downer retired in October 4, 1984 and served as Pastor Emeritus until March 2017.
Reverend Norma K. Canty, was official installed as the Senior Pastor, September 8, 2001. Her pastoral leadership, to the Church and its humanitarian outreach services have continued to operate with a spirit of love, humility, and compassion. She has assumed many responsibilities within the church and community for over forty years. In addition, Pastor Canty provides visionary ideas needed to keep the Church focus and moving forward with its mission. Therefore, we have established a Mission/Chapel to let other Churches and Ministries spread and reveal the love of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Canty envisioned expanding its social services and ministries in the building for the Kingdom of God, therefore, the name was amended in 2011 to The Cathedral of Joy Christian Center, Inc.