Charles Jenkins (bishop)

Charles Edward Jenkins III (born 27 July 1951 in Shreveport, Louisiana)^[1] was the 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.

Career

Jenkins graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1973 and was ordained by James B. Brown, whom he would succeed, in 1977 having gone to seminary at Nashotah House.^[2] After serving briefly as an assistant chaplain at Louisiana State University he served in parishes in Louisiana and Texas.^[2] He was rector of St. Luke's, Baton Rouge when he was elected bishop coadjutor in 1997, and consecrated the same year, assuming the diocesan bishopric in the following year upon Brown's retirement.^[2]

Jenkins's term as bishop was marked most prominently by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and eventually he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, leading to his early retirement at the end of 2009.^[3] His own new house, which he had slept in only four times, was destroyed by the flooding.^[3] He testified before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in 2009 on the impact of ending the Disaster Housing Assistance Program for those displaced by the storm.^[4] Together with Episcopal Relief and Development he formed the diocesan Office of Disaster Response in order to coordinate the church's charitable response to the disaster as well as working with interfaith agencies.^[2][3]

In the Episcopal Church's struggles over homosexuality Jenkins has been generally seen as a conservative voice; he withheld consent for the consecration of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire, voted against liturgies for blessings of same sex relationships at the 2000 General Convention, and voted for a resolution to "Endorse Certain Historic Anglican Doctrines and Policies" that was proposed by Bishop Ackerman.^[1][5][6] On the other hand he was seen as opposing division of the church at the 2007 meeting of the House of Bishops at Camp Allen in Texas and was reported to be involved in the initial stages of formulating the bishops' statement from that meeting.^[7][8]

Jenkins was a nominee for presiding bishop in 2006,^[2] losing out to Katharine Jefferts Schori. He served on Frank Griswold's Council of Advice beginning in 2003 and was part of the special delegation to the Anglican Consultative Council in 2005 which discussed same-sex issues.^[2][6] He sat on the Nashotah House Board of Trustees from 1981 to 1991.^[2]

Jenkins retired on December 31, 2009 and was succeeded by Morris K. Thompson, who was consecrated on May 8, 2010.^[9]

References

1. "Jenkins, Charles. Louisiana. Retired". Louie Crew. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
2. "Nominees for the 26th Presiding Bishop". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
3. Nolan, Bruce (January 17, 2009). "Episcopal Bishop Charles Jenkins charts a new course after being traumatized by Hurricane Katrina". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
4. "Still Post-Katrina: How Fema Decides When Housing Responsibilities End: Testimony Of The Rt. Rev'd Charles E. Jenkins, D.D.". Episcopal Relief and Development. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
5. "Tallies on Resolution B001 at General Convention 2003". Louie Crew. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
6. LeBlanc, Douglas (May 1, 2006). "Inviting all to the table: Church must move 'from maintenance to mission', says Jenkins". Episcopal Life. Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
7. Nolan, Bruce (September 26, 2007). "Episcopal bishops stand their ground". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2010-12-23., quoted in Chilton, John B. "House of Bishops: stories and reactions (II)". Episcopal Cafe. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
8. Bates, Stephen (September 26, 2007). "US bishops try to find compromise on gay clergy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
9. Nolan, Bruce (May 8, 2010). "The Rev. Morris Thompson Jr. ordained as Episcopal bishop for Diocese of Louisiana". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2010-12-23.