Covenant News

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.

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