Picture By: Keith Blundy
David Jenkins in 2013 at St Mary’s Barnard Castle in the Diocese of Durham.
Adding to the earlier reflections on the news of the death of Bishop David Jenkins the Most Revd John Sentamu, Archbishop of York said: “I am saddened to hear of the death of Bishop David Jenkins, and I offer my condolences to his family at this time.
“Bishop David made his mark on the lives of countless clergy and laity with his uncompromisingly rigorous commitment to intellectual honesty in the service of theology and the Kingdom of God. Those who listened only to the soundbites from his lectures and sermons which occasioned controversy would have done well to listen longer and harder: his belief in the reality of the resurrection of Christ – despite his doubts about particular historical details- gave him confidence to address injustice with a no-nonsense prophetic directness which often hit home. If his hearers felt disempowered – his message gave them hope: ‘You may not feel up to it, but God is down to it in Jesus, and he is with you and in you in the Holy Spirit!’ He took his teaching ministry as a bishop very seriously indeed, determined that all people, lay and ordained, both find a sustaining faith in Christ and learn to put it into practice in transforming society.
“His ‘Way Ahead’ diocesan mission in Durham bore lasting fruit.
“He was the External Examiner for my Doctoral Thesis at Cambridge University and the robust, very enjoyable and humorous Viva still lives with me. A gifted teacher who always drew the best out of the learner-though the quickness of his intellectual ability and the speed at which he communicated his thinking left me, at times, breathless.
My prayers are with his family at this time. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”
+Sentamu Eboracensis
Keith Blundy
Archbishop John Sentamu gives personal reflection on the news of the death of Bishop David Jenkins
Earlier reflections on the news from the Bishop of Jarrow and Archdeacon of Sunderland