After
years of service, Carolyn Jenkins retires from St. Peter Claver Center
By
NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer
Anyone who knows about the work of the St. Peter Claver Center for Evangelization,
knows that the force behind it has always been Carolyn Jenkins.
As its founding director, Jenkins has worked tirelessly over the past
12 years to make the vision for the center a reality.
When St. Peter Claver Parish was slated to close, the Holy Ghost Fathers
who staffed the parish, along with select parishioners and archdiocesan
representatives, formed a committee to research the best way to continue
to serve the Catholic African-American community in Center City. They
conceived the idea to open an evangelization center, which would provide
retreats, sacramental preparation, adult faith formation, cultural workshops,
ministry workshops, enrichment courses, and many other programs of evangelization.
Jenkins was on that committee, and it seemed natural that she would be
asked to head the center, because of her dedication, zeal and experience.
She was raised in St. Peter Claver Parish, where generations of her family
worshipped, and where her parents received their sacraments and were married.
Her grandfather was personally instructed in the faith by St. Katharine
Drexel.
For her part, Jenkins taught fifth through eighth grade at the parish
school for 10 years. She knows the community well.
“Being part of the committee, I knew what the ideals and vision
for the center were,” she said. “So, in accepting the job,
I wanted to bring those to fruition.”
Through the years, Jenkins has seen the center grow, with the help of
many loving people, and through the support from the Archdiocese, the
St. Martin de Porres Foundation and the Stewards of St. John Neuman, among
others.
She said her greatest joy has been seeing the work of the center touch
so many lives, and seeing those who have been helped by the center take
on the center’s evangelization efforts, and go out to reach others.
The center has worked closely with parishes and various archdiocesan offices
to assist and advocate for members of the Catholic African American community,
while preparing them to become full and active participants in their parishes.
“Through the center, we can capture the spirituality and attention
of the Catholic African American community — and we need to keep
it once we get it,” Jenkins said. “It’s not just something
that needs to happen here at the center, but it needs to continue throughout
the Archdiocese, in the parishes.”
Jenkins knows that members of the Catholic African-American community
need to be continually reassured that they are wanted in the Church, and
supported by the Church.
She hopes to see more African American Catholics in positions of leadership,
beginning with the center. Jenkins will step down as director on June
30.
“It just seems it’s time for someone else to come in with
fresh ideas — for someone else to continue on from here,”
she said.
She plans to continue teaching at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where
she is an adjunct professor, and to spend more time with the Sisters of
St. Joseph and her family, particularly her 11-year-old grandson.
Jenkins will not disappear completely from the center, however. Now that
she won’t have such a hectic schedule, she’ll be able to help
out with some of the center’s programs, she said.
“The path I’ve taken has been strictly by faith,” she
said.“Before teaching, I worked for the corporate world for 12 years.
I didn’t plan on any of this, but God willed it. Through the years,
I’ve called on the strength of my faith to overcome any challenges.”
Jenkins said she prayed a great deal before deciding to retire from the
center. She trusts that God is leading her to new adventures.
In the meantime, there is no overlooking how much she will be missed —
not only at the center. Jenkins has contributed 33 years of service to
the Archdiocese, as a teacher at St. Charles Borromeo Parish school, and
as a liaison between the St. Martin de Porres Foundation and the archdiocesan
Office of Education.
The Archdiocese showed its gratitude for her years of dedication by throwing
Jenkins a special retirement party on Sunday, June 11, which was attended
by Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop Robert Maginnis.
She said she was touched by their presence, and support.
“It made me feel that the center was very special to [the Cardinal]
and he will continue to be committed to it,” Jenkins said. “The
celebration was a reassurance that we have reached the people. Sometimes,
when you’re working all the time, you aren’t aware of how
you’re impacting the lives around you.”
CS&T staff writer Nadia Pozo can be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.