2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 51
BY SENATOR FOIL
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To express the sincere condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of the
Rt. Reverend Charles Edwards Jenkins III, the tenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese
of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, it is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the citizens of Louisiana
learned that Rt. Reverend Charles E. Jenkins III, at the age of sixty-nine, while surrounded
by his family, completed his life's journey and peacefully entered into eternal rest with our
Lord on April 9, 2021; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jenkins was born on July 27, 1951, in the cotton country of
Shreveport, Louisiana, to Don Green and Helen Huckabay Jenkins, and grew up in
Mansfield, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, he graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1973 and Nashotah
House Theological Seminary in 1976; and
WHEREAS, in 1975, he was married to Louise Hazel Jenkins and their union was
blessed with two sons, Edward and Benjamin; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jenkins was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop James
Brown in 1977 and thereafter served briefly as an assistant chaplain at Louisiana State
University and in various parishes in Louisiana and Texas; and
WHEREAS, while rector of St. Luke's in Baton Rouge, he was elected bishop
coadjutor of Louisiana in 1997, consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana on
January 31, 1998, and invested as the tenth bishop of Louisiana on March 28, 1998; and
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WHEREAS, Reverend Jenkins was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree
from Nashotah House in 1992, an honorary doctorate from the University of the South,
Sewanee, Tennessee in 1999, and in his continuing educational pursuits, he studied for five
years with Rabbi Edwin Friedman; and
WHEREAS, while safely evacuated in Baton Rouge during Hurricane Katrina,
Rt. Reverend Charles Jenkins said the televised images of thousands of people suffering in
New Orleans compelled him to retool the work of his 19,000 members of the Diocese of
Louisiana to remedy the social injustices exposed by the storm; and
WHEREAS, as national relief money poured in, Rt. Reverend Charles Jenkins
launched ministries, including Jericho Road, that put the Louisiana diocese into new work
such as building houses, running medical clinics, and forging new relationships with
African-American neighborhoods and other ministries; and
WHEREAS, Rt. Reverend Charles Jenkins said he wanted to "institutionalize in his
church" the reckless and inspiring generosity that prevailed in the first months after the
storm, having the programs become a part of the diocese's identity as Christians and not be
merely an aberration; and
WHEREAS, together with Episcopal Relief and Development, an international relief
and development agency of the Episcopal Church, 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; and
WHEREAS, through the partnerships he formed, Reverend Jenkins became involved
in long-range community rebuilding plans, including Jericho Road, a ministry he started to
help rebuild homes in New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, upon his retirement, he moved to St. Francisville where he served as
Bishop in Residence at Grace Church and often presided over services at St. John's Laurel
Hill, the Chapel of Grace Church; and
WHEREAS, while living in St. Francisville, he fished frequently and puttered about
outdoors; and
WHEREAS, many viewed Reverend Jenkins as a champion of the oppressed, a
crusader for justice, a seeker of the Beloved Community, and a child of the Living God; and
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WHEREAS, he is survived by his wife, Louise Hazel Jenkins; two sons, Benjamin
and Edward (Beth); two granddaughters, Eleanor and Claire and a host of nieces, nephews,
and cousins; and
WHEREAS, despite the fact that the death of Rt. Reverend Charles E. Jenkins III will
leave a substantial sense of loss in the lives of the individuals he touched, he shall always
be remembered most for his wit and humor and for his leadership and community rebuilding
efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita which led him to address the systemic racial and
economic inequities in New Orleans by building bridges and serving with other
communities.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express sincere condolences upon the death of Rt. Reverend Charles Edward Jenkins III.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to his
wife, Louise Hazel Jenkins.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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