Born in St. Kitts in 1875, Emma Francis was the daughter of a Moravian minister. After the death of her mother, she felt a call to missionary work. Francis moved to Germany to study at Bible House. When she finished her missionary education, Bible House’s board considered placing her as a missionary in Sudan, but decided that she would not be considered equal to a white person. The Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse in Friendenshort, Germany invited Francis to train as a deaconess.
Once commissioned as a deaconess with the title of “Sister,” Francis returned to the West Indies. There she established an orphanage, Ebenezer Home for Girls on St. Croix in 1907. Thus, Sister Emma Francis became the first black Lutheran deaconess in North America. From 1921 to 1927, Sister Emma Francis served the Lord and the community of immigrants from the West Indies in New York City. She helped found Lutheran Church of Transfiguration in Harlem. In 1927 she returned to St. Croix to resume her service at Ebenezer Home for Girls until her death in 1945.
Learn More About Sister Emma Francis