Errol Bertel Cornin

Pastor Errol Bertel Cornin was born April 1, 1946 in New Orleans Louisiana. He was third of nine children born to the beloved Simon Rudolph Cornin Sr. and Elenora Griffin Cornin. His siblings were brothers the late Simon Jr., the late Oliver,and the late Bernard Cornin and his sisters Brenda, Aleta, Christella, Pamela, and the late Linda. The first 18 years of Pastor Cornin's life was spent in Phoenix Louisiana, where he was raised and educated. In school he was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities and graduated valedictorian from Phoenix High School. As a young boy Pastor Cornin was introduced to various types of music forms from musiciansDuke Ellington to Charlie Parker and Glenn Miller sitting on his father's knee listening to the radio. Music always played a really big part in Pastor Cornin's life. He never forgot starting his first band with his brothers when he was only twelve. His brother Oliver was 14 and his brother Simon was 15. Drums were his instrument of choice.  About five years after he and his brother started the band, they began to be sought after by big-name musicians, such as Charles and Aaron Neville, Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, and Hank Crawford as studio musicians. That was also around the time he started college at Southern University in New Orleans. During school breaks Errol and his brother Oliver toured with Lee Dorsey and the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. While touring he developed a close relationship with  guitarist David Douglas and singer Willie West. When not touring, he returned to Southern University where he became one of the founding fathers of Kappa Alpha Psi Epsilon Nu fraternity chapter. He graduated from Southern with a degree in finance and accounting. After graduation Pastor Cornin was recruited by Coopers & Lybrand in New York through an interview that was set up by one of his frat brothers. After moving to New York, Pastor Cornin gained a lot of knowledge of finance and accounting on Wall Street during the day, but was also able to perform with many known artist at night in famous clubs, such as Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Etta James, and other notable musicians. He also got the opportunity of meeting other greats such as Miles Davis and James Baldwin. He loved living in New York which appeared a lot more exciting to him than the slower pace of New Orleans. At this time, he met and married Jean Southwell. They became lifelong friends, even though their union did not last,  it produced a beautiful daughter Natasha. After awhile his New York lifestyle began to take a toll on his life. It became increasingly overwhelming and consuming, so he began to seek opportunities elsewhere. He wanted the feel of New York but someplace less frenzied and at a much slower pace. He heard about some opportunities available in Boston Mass., so he moved to there. This is where he met and married his future wife and best friend Deborah Morgan. They met in 1993 and they married on November 30, 1996.  The Lord blessed their union with two miraculous and much  beloved sons,  the late Leland Matthew and Theophilus Maxwell. When Pastor Cornin met his wife Deborah, she was and is a virtuous praying woman who was already saved and sanctified. She revealed to him the truth about what it meant to be saved and in 1993 not long after they met, Pastor Cornin was baptized in Jesus name. He then was filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as a spirit of God gives utterance at Mission Church of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Somerville, Mass., under the leadership of Apostle Henry Moultrie. Up to this point in his life, he had an idea of who and what Jesus was, having been taught in the Baptist Church  by his mother Elenora Cornin, but he did not have the full truth or the full knowledge of what salvation actually meant. He had no real relationship with Christ. After coming to the true knowledge of who Jesus was and is, he was able to acknowledge and ask for forgiveness for his past sins. Before salvation, aside from his daughter Natasha, his sons Leland, and Theophilus, God had blessed him with four other beautiful daughters, Nicol his oldest daughter was born to his first love Carol, from New Orleans and three other daughters Torran and identical twins Takeena  and  Tashanna who were born on his birthday to another special woman named Lavon from Georgia. His new-found understanding, helped him to ask for forgiveness from his children for not being the father he should have been to them. Salvation changed his life. His love for his family, witnessing about the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ, and winning souls to Christ became the major focus for all he would do for the rest of his life. Having many times felt himself imprisoned by the trials of life, he had a special love and desire for prison ministry. Lots of men in prison were delivered and came to the Lord because of his ministry. On September 10th 2010 Pastor Cornin  had a stroke due to complications from Diabetes. Over the next 12 years he would have 19  plus operations / procedures which included four open heart surgeries, the loss of a toe, then a foot, then a leg, he had leg bypass, he was blinded in one eye, and his kidneys began to fail. However, no matter what he ever went through, he never complained. Anyone that went to visit him were awe inspired at how he encouraged them with his upbeat, life-affirming spirit. The one word that everyone used to describe him  was, "Content". At one point Pastor Cornin stated to his wife," If I go into Heaven with one limb or no limbs, to God be all the glory and honor! If I have to crawl in or run into Heaven, it's all about love for Christ."  No matter what he went through, he never stopped praising our Lord Jesus. Even with the devastating, sudden and unexpected loss of his beloved 20 yr. old son Leland Matthew,  he never stopped witnessing, he never stopped praising Jesus. You could always count on him to pray for you and pray for whatever situation was affecting you. He  established Hephzibah Holy Temple an Apostolic Pentecostal  ministry at the Sherrill House Nursing Facility where he resided due to his illness. Every Sunday without fail, whether there was one soul or many souls, senile or clear minded, he would preach the gospel like there were a thousand people in the room and witness of the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ. He was a true soldier and general for Christ. He was known by many names  Elder, Reverend, friend, Minister, Dad, Brother Pastor or Errol. He was all, but what he was in word and deed, was a warrior. He gallantly fought and won every challenge life threw at him with unwavering faith and trust in Jesus Christ. His goal was Heaven, but he wanted as many souls as Heaven could hold to make it in with him. Pastor Cornin's final request and wish was that everyone sitting in this church/burial and or viewing on social media today, would come to understand the great love and sacrifice Jesus Christ made for each and every one of them and  choose to accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Then go out and share the Good News.  He leaves to celebrate his life and memory his faithful, beloved and loving wife Lady Deborah Cornin,  his son Theophilus Cornin of Boston, MA, his daughters Nicol Walker from New Orleans,  Natasha Cornin from New York,  and daughters Torran Anderson, Takeena and Tashanna Pullin from Georgia and grandchildren along with  his beloved sisters and their families, BrendaJackson, Aleta and Leon Waters, Pam and Russell Simeon from Louisiana and  Christella and Michael  Clark from California Sister in Laws and their families Aloma Cornin beloved wife of the late Oliver Cornin and Gloria Cornin  beloved wife of the late Simon Cornin Jr and beloved son in Christ and his family Donald and Carissa Desilus from Boston; God daughters Dorose Higgins, Scarlett Foston, Mercedes Reid and a host of other cousins, family and friends too numerous to mention.