A HAMILTON DISTRICT CHRISTIAN HIGH PUBLICATION
WINTER 2025
Vol. 18 Issue 2
Lives of Service to God: Katie& Al Karsten Submitted by Duncan Todd, Principal
I had the joy of sitting with Katie Karsten and learning a little more, over a cup of coffee, about her life walking with the Lord. If you see Katie at HDCH, she’s usually in the gym to watch one of her athletic grandchildren play in a volleyball or basketball tournament. She always seems to have a welcoming smile and a slightly mischievous twinkle in her eye. Katie spent four years at HDCH back in the Athens Street building, graduating in 1969 shortly before the first moon landings! Katie met her husband, Al, at HDCH. His parents had taken him out of school after Grade 8 to work the family farm, but a few years later, with a desire to pursue a university degree, Al came to HDCH for a year to gain some credits for an adult-entry into Calvin College. So, he and Katie started hanging out during his year at HD, but Katie tells me (with a slight eye roll to show that she didn’t necessarily agree) that Al was clear, when he went off to Calvin in Grand Rapids, that he didn’t think a long-distance relationship was a good idea. That twinkle is back in Katie’s eye when she tells me that, when she learned he was back in town for his spring break and going to the rollerskating rink with some friends, she felt it might be a good idea to go and do some roller-skating herself. They just happened to bump into each other there, and two years later they were married.
Al & Katie (Balder) Karsten, class of 1969
Katie also went to Calvin the following year, and both graduated in 1973 with a degree in Sociology. That summer she and Al moved back to Ontario and the young couple soon took up a position as “house parents” in an Elizabeth Fry Society group home, where they were responsible for caring for girls between the ages of 16 and 18 who were in conflict with the law in some way. The birth of their first child made a move out of the group home necessary. Al took up a position in Child Welfare. At that same time, Al and Katie offered years of volunteering to community agencies such as Homestead (now known as Indwell) and Beginnings, a private adoption agency. Wherever Al became involved, he kept finding himself in leadership roles. People recognized a man who was passionate about serving well and getting things done. He worked for Children’s Aid Society in various units until he left to join Christian Reformed World Missions Canada in 1991.