Bishop Barry Jenks of the diocese of British Columbia has announced that he will retire, effective July 2. Bishop Jenks will be 65 on July 1.
“Rest and gardening” are his immediate plans, he said, adding that he and his wife, Barbara, will probably continue to seek volunteer opportunities.
Consecrated in September, 1992, Bishop Jenks is known for his strong support of social justice issues, including those involving indigenous peoples and the Third World.
He was ordained deacon in 1964 and priested in 1965. He initially served in two parishes in the diocese of New Westminster, moving to the diocese of British Columbia in 1970.
In the 1980s, he was the diocese’s director of program and executive assistant to the bishop. He has a strong connection with the South American country of Guyana, where he served for three years in the late 1980s as director of Christian education for the diocese of Guyana.
In 1992, he was a member of an election observer team in Guyana that was part of a larger group sponsored by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter?s Carter Center in Atlanta. He has also served as a parish priest in several Victoria churches.
Bishop Jenks and his wife have two grown children.
