IN REMEMBRANCE OF REVEREND CHARLES EDWARD JENKINS, SR.

The following was taken from the Obituary written by Mrs. Charliese Jenkins King, the Jenkins' oldest daughter of the late Reverend Charles Edward Jenkins
A retired African Methodist Episcopal pastor and Presiding Elder Emeritus. Charles Edward Jenkins’ light shined with a passionate glow along with an overwhelming quest to do good works throughout the 79 years of his full and complete life in service of the Lord.

On August 24, 1928, Charles Edward Jenkins was born to Charles Atkins Jenkins and Louise George Jenkins. Charles was the first child born into the third generation of a family legacy of those who built and loved the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Both his maternal and paternal grandfathers were officers in their local church, Quinn Chapel AME Church, Paris, Tennessee. Charles Atkins Jenkins, the paternal grandfather, has his name engraved in the cornerstone of Quinn Chapel Church. Both Charles and Louise were members of the choir until they became ill and could no longer serve.
His only sibling, Jacqueline Jenkins Williams, was also a faithful member of the choir and played piano from time to time. His mother, father and sister predeceased him.


From the beginning, Charles had a voracious love of books and learning. He was educated in the public schools of Paris, Tennessee attending Henry County Training School. He went on to Central High School where he became an outstanding student athlete excelling in both sports and academics. It was at Central High School that Charles caught his first glimpse of a beautiful and graceful girl in his class who was known to be a great dancer (Charles had no dancing skills!). Her name was Lula Mae Reynolds. He decided that she would be the special person in his life. Charles and Lula graduated together from Central High School. He was Salutatorian of the Great Class of 1947.

Charles continued his quest for knowledge throughout his life. There was never enough money to do all the things he wanted to do for himself or his family, but he persevered and did what he could. And “what he could” was phenomenal. He took classes at Lane College, Jackson, Tenn.; Alabama A & M College, Normal, Ala.; and LeMoyne College, Memphis, Tenn. He later received a Diploma from Union Bible Seminary in Westfield, Indiana and completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1958 from Zion College, which later became the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Charles didn’t stop learning until he became too ill to read. He believed in continuing education all his life both formally and independently. He took classes in Evangelism at Southern Theological Seminary as well as in Communication at Presbyterian Theological Seminary both located in Louisville, Kentucky. He also regularly attended the Billy Graham School of Evangelism in Birmingham, Ala. Charles Edward Jenkins was awarded honorary Divinity Degrees from Monrovia College, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa; East Tennessee School of Religion, Chattanooga, Tenn.; B.F. Lee Theological Seminary, Jacksonville, Fla.; Union Baptist Seminary, Birmingham, Ala. and Monrovian Institute, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa.

After living the legacy of the AME Church all of his life and having excellent role models in both his grandfathers who were servants of the Church, Charles developed a strong interest in serving at Quinn Chapel. His pastor, the Reverend H.W. Henning had watched him grow over the years and admired his character and leadership qualities. Rev. Henning began to mentor Charles and became his “Father in the Ministry.”

At nineteen, Charles had a clear path for his life, he would become an AME minister and he would spend his life with Lula Mae Reynolds. On March 18, 1949, Charles Edward Jenkins was ordained a minister in the AME Church and he also married Lula Mae that same day. All through his life and ministry, Charles and Lula were an inseparable couple who grew stronger in love, faith and commitment to the AME Church. They started a family with the birth of Charliese Lunelle, and later, Mary Louise; Charles Edward, Jr. (Butch) and Frederick (Smokey).


As their family grew, so did Charles’ ministry. “Rev. Jenkins” began his service in 1949 in the Lexington Circuit in Tennessee as pastor of two churches, Lewis Chapel in Lexington and St. Mark in Parsons. In 1951, he was appointed to Ebenezer in Clarksville as well as two missions, St. Matthew’s in Rossview and Lucy Memorial in Kelso. In 1955, he was appointed to St. Paul, Fayetteville followed by St. Paul, Chattanooga in 1960. In 1965, “C.E. Jenkins” was transferred to Asbury Chapel in Louisville, KY. His ministry would expand over five decades with appointments to Warren Chapel, Chattanooga (1971); Avery Chapel, Memphis (1979); and his last pastorate at St. John, Nashville (1980). In 1991, he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Louisville-Paducah District of the West Kentucky Conference and in 1993, Presiding Elder of the North Nashville District in the Tennessee Conference. As dictated by the laws of the AME Church, Charles Edward Jenkins retired and became Presiding Elder Emeritus in October, 2004.

All of us knew that Charles Jenkins loved to talk but he took his ministry of communications out into the world at large as an outstanding writer, broadcast talent, and engineer. He launched his radio ministry in 1949 in Paris, Tenn. and later in Clarksville. He produced a weekly program called Moments of Inspiration in Fayetteville, Tenn. in 1955. He continued to broadcast at WN00 in Chattanooga with his weekly program Moments with God in Louisville at WFIA. At WNOO, he developed a love for the technical side of broadcasting and the engineers there trained in him on the equipment. The Federal Communication Commission in Radio Operation licensed him in 1979. He founded Jenkins Production Company producing and creating recorded albums for clients through Nashville record companies. Later, he became a prolific writer and public relations specialist in service to the AME Church. In 1952, he became a Connectional Writer for The Christian Recorder. In 1976, he developed the 13th District Directory and later was assigned by Bishops Howard Thomas Primm, W.F. Ball, C.E. Thomas, Vernon R. Byrd, and H.H. Brookings to write and publish the minutes for the Annual Conferences.

His love for writing expanded over the years leading him to write and publish five books: Moments with God (1970); Evangelism in the Modern World (1973); The Centrality of Preaching (1973); When a Man Sees God (1984); Reach Out and Touch Him (1990); Keeping Sane in a Crazy World, (2002) and What Time Is It? (2004). He received twenty-five honors and citations over his fifty-four year career. He was so proud of the fact that he was elected delegate to the General Conferences thirteen times beginning in 1956 and ending in his retirement year at the 2004 General Conference.

Charles Edward Jenkins deeply loved the AME Church and it equaled his love for his family, friends, colleagues, and members. You not only felt that love, he would show you and would tell you… often. Our love and gratitude for this good man with a good heart who had an undying commitment to his God, his church and his family continues in those who are left behind which include his loving wife and partner in the ministry, Lula Mae Reynolds Jenkins; Daughters, Charliese King (George N. King, Jr.) Bethlehem, PA; Mary Louise Jenkins, Nashville, TN;
Sons, Charles Edward Jenkins, Sr. (Katrina Gaither Jenkins), Rochester, NY and Rev. Frederick LaVorne Jenkins, Sr. (Adrienne Cummings Jenkins), Mt. Juliet, TN; Grandchildren, Charles (Trey) Edward Jenkins, III, Orlando, FL; Frederick (Von) LaVorne Jenkins, Jr.; Sean Christopher Jenkins; Jonathan Alexander Jenkins and Ashlee Renee Jenkins, Mt. Juliet, TN; Great Aunt, Willie Dee Jenkins, Canton, Ohio; Brother-in-Law, L.B. Reynolds (Ruberta Reynolds), Puryear, Tenn.; nine nieces, and four nephews.

Charles Edward Jenkins, Sr. departed this life on Saturday, December 15, 2007 at Alive Hospice in Madison, TN.

The legacy of Reverend Charles Edward Jenkins, Sr. lives on through all those whose lives he touched in some way. The legacy of his ministry is alive and well. The torch has been passed on to several of his sons in the ministry, which includes another Jenkins man who is willing to serve the AME Church for the fourth generation. The Reverend Frederick L. Jenkins, Sr. serves as pastor of Scott’s Chapel AME Church in Hermitage, Tenn.