From Bishop Charles Jenkins Of Louisiana

The Diocesan Convention of 2008 will have a different look than Conventions of recent years. We will be meeting at St. Luke's Church, Baton Rouge, on February 29 and March 1. You are invited to join us - even if you are not elected a delegate from your congregation you may register and attend as a guest. For information on how to do so, please visit our website at www.edola.org/convention2008.php.

We will begin on Friday afternoon, February 29, with the opening gavel at 3 p.m. It is my intention to begin the process of electing deputies to General Convention that Friday afternoon. I then intend to begin a series of reports that will illustrate the life and ministry of the Diocese of Louisiana. This Convention is designed to do more than just the necessary business of the Diocese. The Convention is intended to be one of Community building and restoring the sense of identity common to our life and missions in the Diocese.

Our guest will be the Rev'd Jo Seoka, of the Diocese of Pretoria in the Church of South Africa. I met with Bishop Seoka and his wife, Dr. Timeya Seoke, this past summer when I took part in the mission consultation sponsored by Trinity Church, Wall Street. The Bishop and Dr. Seoka are both well-versed Christians. I have asked Bishop Seoka to address the Convention by preaching at Evensong (Friday afternoon at 4:45 p.m. in St. Luke's Church) and then again on Saturday morning.

I asked Bishop Seoka to come as our guest not simply because he is an impressive Christian but also because of his kn9owledge of and participation in the Truth and Reconcilation Commission in South Africa. As you may know, several of us in New Orleans are in a period of discernment concerning an attempt to do something similar in Louisiana. If God leads us to such a ministry, which is a huge undertaking and a great risk, it may well be that our learning can and should be applied applied elsewhere across the state. I no longer have much contact with the civil parish of my birth but I do not perceive that the issues of education, health care, economic opportunity, racism, and the like are much better in rural Louisiana than in urban Louisiana. So it is that I seek what Ron Heifetz (founder of the Center for Public Leadership) calls an adaptive rather than a more technical response to these issues. A technical fix is important, but without the adaptive remedy the problem will occur repeatedly. As I listen to political hopefuls, there is much rhetoric about technical fixes and only an occasional bit of adaptive remedes. We in Louisiana have too long settled only for the technical fix without seeking the adaptive solution. It is my hope that Bishop Seoka will be a resource for us as we continue in discernment on this matter. I am enthusiastic about the possibilities but must curb that enthusiasm as we as a group wait upon God.

I am certain that Bishop Seoka will also be willing to share with us his perspective on the situation in the Anglican communion. I will speak to this during the Bishop's address at Convention (currently scheduled for mid-morning on Saturday in the gym at St. Luke's) but I need write something of it now. It is my intention to remain a constituent member of the Anglican Communion and active as a Bishop in the Episcopal Church.

I am not compromised by either the left or the right. I will continue to associate with people from both ends of the spectrum. I will continue to hold mission as the essence of the Church and will try my best not to allow disagreement to sidetrack mission. Indeed, there has been and continues to be a great deal of change in my life. My position on the "hot button" issues remains unchanged. Also unchanged is my commitent to the dignity of all and my intention to remain in contact with all who will have me. This perplexes many.

I do not think the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is to be the creation of man or simply an assembly of like-minded people. Call me old fashioned and high church if you need to do so, but I still believe the Church is of the will of God and is brought into being by the action of the third person of the Trinity. Because I am so convinced from Scripture, Tradition and Reason, it is my intention to remain part of this Church and Communion. Never should we underestimate the value of a differentiated presence in the midst of an anxious system.

January 31 of this year was the tenth anniversary of my consecration as the tenth Bishop of Louisiana. Thank you for your graciousness and kindness to me. Please keep me in your prayers.

God's blessings to you,

The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins

From ChurchWork, Spring Issue, 2008

The issue is not yet online at the website of the Diocese of Louisiana.