St E CYO Reunion Gazette

Funny Ol Dog Edition

Sat Nov 12, 2011

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Born: Ordained: st 1 Parish: Newman Chaplain: Married: Grandfather: Psychologist: Professor: Pastor: Blog: 1935 Mount Sterling, IL 1960 St. Elizabeth 61-65 Eastern IL Univ. 65-70 Sangamon State 70-71 1972; Two children 2 grandchildren Brighton Hospital Univ. Detroit Mercy St. Stephens Episcopal Hamburg, Michigan Johns Journal

e Three Vocations and a Shove

It would be much easier if He simply IMed: Sav sols. TTYL. ed One would think that there would be an app for that. However, the messages may not be instant and they dont come in the telling. John Franklin has learned that they come in the listening. Life can be a funny ol dog. Sometimes that ol dog runs in circles and other times he jumps on you giving you a big shove. That funny ol dog has been a lifelong companion to John Franklin. John completed his seminary training in Rome in 1960. Coming straight to Granite City and St. E from Rome, he was assistant pastor at St. E until 1965. Many of us remember John from our grade school and teenage years. His next posting was Eastern IL Univ., where he found too many Catholic students to fit in the campus Newman Center. So, John celebrated Mass outside on the lawn of the Newman Center on the main intersection in town - until the University president relented and allowed the student Newman Club to rent a room on campus for meetings and Mass. Moving to Sangamon State, now U of I Springfield, John found an enthusiastic converted-Catholic University President who wanted a religious center in the heart of campus but insisted that it be non-denominational. John coordinated ten groups, from Orthodox Judaic to Southern Baptist to create and run the very successful center. But Johns trusty ol companion was just getting started. In 1972, Johns life turned toward his 2 vocation: marriage and family life. John Franklin and Cheryl Cunningham married in 1972 and raised two kids. Both psychologists by training, Cheryl eventually focused on HR work while John looked for a job nearby. After turning down several entreaties by the university to start an addiction counseling program, the ol dog jumped and knocked John over until he relented. John ended up developing many methods and practices in the field and the ol dog pushed him again, this time toward a PhD and tenure allowing John to train several generations of counselors. But that ol dog still hadnt come full circle. After he retired from teaching in 2007, the Episcopal Church rd accepted Johns Roman ordination and he began his 3 vocation - as an Episcopal priest in serving a small parish in Hamburg, Michigan. As one might expect of a person who has become an expert in integrating the many perspectives, talents, and skills gained over a lifetime, John holds counseling sessions at his new parish in the evenings, continuing both his pastoral and counseling work. With a career that has had taken so many turns, we are so pleased that yet another arc of his life is returning to where it began as we welcome John Franklin back to St. E where he first started his ministry. Welcome home, Father Father Counselor Doctor Professor Grandfather Father John.
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Then and Now

Im still the same cockeyed optimist I was when I was at St. E. I still have this naive belief in the goodness of people and their ability to love if they will just trust. I hoped I conveyed that then, because I believed it.

Changing Lives One Story At A Time

Brighton Hospital is the 2 oldest alcohol and drug treatment facility in the country and the first addiction center licensed in Michigan. Opening in the early 50s, it has become a national leader in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. Brighton has helped thousands change their lives and overcome their addictions. John Franklin helped Brighton gain accreditation after leaving his addiction counseling position at Sangamon State. He spent nearly 30 years at Brighton, serving as counselor to literally thousands of people. Denise Bertin-Epp, CEO of Brighton Hospital, said about John, he has helped so many lives, both patients and staff. He listens and learns from everyone because he knows that everyone has a life story to tell. John teaches people about love and embraces all for their differences. He has advanced the field so much created so much evidence based research that has made the field so much better. Moving to the Detroit area, John began working at University of Detroit Mercy. Gaining his PhD and tenure, John helped establish the addiction treatment training program at Mercy, training multiple generations of addiction therapists. Summarizing John Franklins career contributions at Brighton Hospital Denise said simply, John is a gentle giant. He has taught his students how to change peoples lives.
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