Retired Covenant minister and superintendent George Elia passed away October 2, 2023, in North Carolina. He was 91.
George B. Elia was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 25, 1932, to Benjamin and Moorasa Elia. Although his Assyrian parents were Pentecostal, at age nine George began attending Immanuel Covenant Church as a result of a neighborhood outreach. He graduated from Chicago’s Lakeview High School in 1950, where in 2006 he was elected to the school’s “Wall of Fame.” As a young man, George became well-known as a soloist in Covenant circles, also singing as part of The Immanuelaires quartet.
On April 16, 1955, George married Ruth Evelyn Engblom.
After high school, George began a career with the Illinois Bell Telephone Company but was then unmistakably called to the ministry. He earned an associate’s degree from North Park Junior College in 1959; a bachelor’s from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in 1961; and a Master of Divinity degree (First Honors) from North Park Theological Seminary in 1965. Throughout these years, he also studied voice. George was ordained in 1966.
George served five different Covenant churches between 1963 and 1986: Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Bethel Covenant Church in Flossmoor, Illinois; Community Covenant Church in West Peabody, Massachusetts; Broadway Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois; and Trinity Covenant Church in Livingston, New Jersey. George then served as superintendent of the East Coast Conference of the denomination from 1986 to 1998.
In denominational leadership, George also served as president of the Covenant Ministerium, on the Board of the Ordered Ministry, the Board of Pensions, the Board of Church Growth and Evangelism, the Board of Directors of North Park University, the Board of Benevolence of the Evangelical Covenant Church, as vice-moderator of the Covenant Annual Meeting for two years, and as chair of the Council of Superintendents.
Ecumenically, George served as president of clergy associations in Homewood/Flossmoor, Illinois, Peabody, Massachusetts, and Livingston, New Jersey. He served as the Covenant Church’s representative on the Massachusetts Commission on Christian Unity from 1969 to 1975. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Christian Conference of Connecticut (as president 1992-1994) from 1986 to 1998. During 1994 and 1995, he also served as president of the New England Consultation of Church Leaders, which brings together the heads of Protestant, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches.
In 1965, George was featured in an article in the Covenant Companion magazine profiling the seminary’s 14 graduating seniors that year. The article concludes: “Speaking for his classmates, Elia says, ‘We desire to be instruments of reconciliation. This is a crucial day for our denomination, and the future lies heavily on each of us. Our genius as a church has been that we have been a companion to all who love the Lord, and this must continue. In place of suspicion, we must sow understanding. In place of argumentation, we must create dialogue and conversation. In place of mistrust, we must try to rekindle a deep and sincere love. The divisive and antithetical aspects of our church are bewildering to us. We’ve only one life to live, and we can’t spend that life arguing among ourselves. We’ve God’s work to do!’”
Upon retiring in 1998, George and his wife, Evelyn, moved to Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, where they became members of the Cape Cod Covenant Church. They loved their years of retirement on the Cape. They were years that included extensive travel throughout Europe and the joyful hosting of family and friends, as well as a deep involvement in their church community.
Following Evelyn’s death in May 2022, George moved to North Carolina to be close to his son Kurt and his family.
George is survived by three children, Kevin (Robyn), Kimberly (Robert Travers), and Kurt (Catrina), and ten grandchildren.
A memorial service is planned at Cape Cod Covenant Church (11 Satucket Road, Brewster, MA 02631) at 11:00 am on Saturday, December 2, with a luncheon to follow. All are welcome.
Memorial gifts may be directed to the scholarship fund that George established years ago at North Park Theological Seminary. Online gifts can be made at https://www.northpark.edu/giving/give/, with “George B. Elia Seminary Scholarship Fund” in the comments box and a note that it is a memorial gift for George Elia by selecting “I would like to dedicate this gift.” Or checks may be made out to North Park University, noting the memorial designation in the memo line, and sent to North Park University, Office of Advancement, Box 6, 3225 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, IL 60625-4895.
Peace be to his memory.
