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Memorial Service Held for Elsia Franklin
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS (January 13, 2004) - A "Celebration of Life" service was
held earlier today at Hillcrest Covenant Church for Elsia Franklin, wife
of Bernard Franklin, previous pastor of City Church, a Covenant
congregation in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 54-year-old Franklin died last Friday morning after a lengthy
illness. Hillcrest Covenant pastor Mark Seversen and Bishop Joseph
Garlington of the Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
officiated and spoke at the service.
Last night, a memorial service was held at Mt. Carmel Church of God in
Christ in Kansas City, Kansas. Participants talked about Elsia's
giftedness in ministry and her faith journey. Elsia had come to Christ
through the Covenant Church of Pittsburgh and met her husband in her
mid-30s. A gifted singer, she helped lead worship at City Church even
after she was diagnosed with cancer nearly four years ago.
Bernard Franklin had become a pastor with a Covenant church through a
cooperative effort between his non-Covenant, bi-racial congregation and
parishioners from First Covenant Church. It became a church planting
effort with cooperation from Hillcrest Covenant, the Midwest Conference
and the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism of the Evangelical
Covenant Church. City Church currently meets at the site of First
Covenant Church, which officially combined its congregation with
Hillcrest Covenant as part of the overall reconfiguration. Bernard left
ministry primarily to minister to his wife and now works in the Kansas
City area with the DeVoss Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Elsia Franklin is survived by her husband and four children: Brandon,
Blake, Morgan and Christina. Memorials are earmarked for City Church,
City Vision Ministries of Kansas City, Kansas; Urban Youth Leadership of
Kansas City, Missouri, and Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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