Clergy and Staff

Grace Episcopal Church

The Right Reverend Charles Edward Jenkins, Bishop E-Mail

Grace Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. Bishop Jenkins is the chief pastor of Grace Church and of all the parishes and missions of the diocese. A native of northwest Louisiana, he is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University (B.A.) and Nashotah House (M.Div. and D.D.) . Bishop Jenkins has served as a curate  of St. Alban's Chapel, Baton Rouge, and of Grace Church in Monroe, as rector of St. Mark's in Arlington TX and of St. Luke's in Baton Rouge. In 1998, he was consecrated and seated as tenth Bishop of Louisiana. The Bishop's administrative office is now in Baton Rouge. But he maintains an office in the Noland Center next to the Cathedral in uptown New Orleans. Bishop Jenkins is married to the former Louise Hazel and they are the parents of two grown sons, Edward and Ben.

The Reverend Deacon Charmaine Mouton Kathmann, Deacon E-Mail

Deacon Charmaine Kathmann is a life-long member of Grace Church. She was ordained Deacon on December 1, 2007, together with four others in Christ Church Cathedral. Her ministries focus on outreach, especially ministry with the Mobile Respite Unit in the Lower 9th Ward and in St. Bernard Parish. In Grace parish, she works closely with the Outreach Committee to develop outreach and evangelism programs in the Mid-City neighborhood. In the liturgy, Charmaine serves as deacon and is responsible for writing the Prayers of the People each week for the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. She has training as a commercial artist and as an occupational therapist, and works full-time at the VA clinic in New Orleans. Married to husband Rickey (a building contractor) for 32 years, they have two sons: Nicholas (in Boston MA) and Gregory (in Kenner LA). Charmaine's father, Sal Mouton, continues to be among us and graces us with his good cheer and humor.

Marla Miller, Grace Child Center Director  E-Mail

Marla Miller is the Administrative Director of Grace Child Center. Marla brings outstanding qualifications to the job, including: training and experience in early childhood administration; starting up an Episcopal child care center; study in the School of Theology in the Diocese of Olympia, Washington; participating in and teaching a course at a community college on fundraising for nonprofits; a background in the corporate world where her responsibilities included fiscal and personnel management.  Marla is the mother of one grown son, J.D., who continues to live in Seattle.  A native of San Antonio, Texas, Marla learned Spanish from early childhood onward and is looking forward to recovering her fluency. She has moved from Seattle to New Orleans, and began work at GCC on July 16.  We welcome Marla to the City and to Grace Child Center.

Joseph Foxhood, Administrator and Parish Musician E-Mail

Joe Foxhood was born in Chicago in 1961 and spent most of his life in the Midwest.  He began playing the organ at age 5, and started playing in church at age 9.  After high school he attended the American Conservatory where he studied harmony, composition and organ under Dr. Robert Lodine.  Later he studied organ privately with Dr. David Schrader.   Most of his experience comes in the Anglican way of working for and with respected musicians in a parish setting. He is a member of the Royal School of Church Music and embraces its key missions, namely that musicians one leads should be encouraged and supported to make the best music that can be made with the resources and in the setting one has, and also that it is not enough to play only the notes, but more importantly to understand and convey the texts well. He sees his mission at Grace Church to be one of drawing from myriad sources such music as will speak to the hearts of all who attend our worship offerings, and to continually convey to all the joy and connectedness to God music can bring. Since November 2007, Joe has taken on the responsibilities of Parish Administrator. 

Bonnie Zakotnik, Assistant Organist E-Mail

Bonnie Zakotnik is a native of Washington, D.C. and has been a resident of New Orleans for over 30 years. A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, Bonnie came to New Orleans to complete an MFA degree in Organ Performance at Tulane University. She studied under Dr. Elise Cambon. She also has a Law Degree from Loyola University in New Orleans and has a private law practice in the city. Bonnie plays our weekly Evensong services on Wednesdays and other services during the week. Prior to Katrina, she played for the Friday evening Spanish mass. She is also a member of the Quartet Ex Nihilo, which performs at special services at Grace Church.

Other Clergy associated with Grace Church

The Right Reverend Joe Morris Doss, Bishop (sometimes) in Residence E-Mail

Bishop Joe Morris Doss was rector of Grace Church from 1973 until 1985. During his tenure at Grace many innovative ministries were begun. A large adult education program, the development of the Hispanic Ministry, innovative liturgies and drama were important elements that have continued to form the life of Grace Church. In 1980, he and Fr. Leo Frade (then the Priest Associate at Grace Church - now Bishop of Southeast Florida) and a number of communicants were involved in the Mariel Boatlift, in which many Cuban refugees were brought to this country. Bishop Doss is a native of Alexandria, Louisiana and a graduate of LSU and LSU Law School. Following Law School, he entered General Theological Seminary and was ordained in the Diocese of Louisiana. After his ministry at Grace Church, he served in Palo Alto, California, and then as Bishop of New Jersey. Since his retirement, he and his wife Susan reside on the North Shore, in the Lewisburg section of Mandeville, on Lake Pontchartrain. Their children, Katherine and Andrew, are in graduate school in North Carolina and Washington DC, respectively. He is the author of The Death Penalty: Law and Morality; The Songs of the Mothers; Let the Bastards Go; and the play Earnest. In his retirement, he leads an ecumenical effort to foster reform and unity within the global church.

The Reverend Shola Gideon Falodun, Assisting Priest/Missioner  E-Mail
and the 9th Ward Mission

Father Shola Falodun has been associated with Grace Church since 2002. Through the sponsorship of Grace Church, Fr. Shola  received his "Green Card" in May 2006. 

Starting in August 2006, Fr. Shola began working in cooperation with the Diocese and the Church of the Annunciation to establish a new mission endeavor in the devastated Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. This mission is called "All Souls" and began its life in September 2006. The congregation is currently worshiping in borrowed space, but hopes to begin to build its own church by the end of the year. The All Souls' Mission joined Grace Church at the Palm Sunday service. At this service, Bishop Jenkins announced that in September each Episcopal Bishop in ECUSA, attending the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans, will be bringing a gift for this new congregation. Grace Church is very proud to share in this new effort with Fr. Shola.

Father Shola came to New Orleans since 2002, to do extended studies in Clinical Pastoral Education. Shortly after his arrival, he became connected with Grace Church and served in various capacities. Fr. Shola is Nigerian from the Yoruba region, and was a priest of the Church of Nigeria of the Diocese of Ijebu. He served under license in the Diocese until 2006 when he transferred into the Episcopal Church and became canonically resident in the Diocese of Louisiana. His training was at the Immanuel College of Theology and at the University of Ibadan, receiving degrees in 1987. His thesis during his theological studies was in indigenous African sacred music. Ordained deacon in 1987 and priest in 1988, he has served in various parishes in Nigeria and as a chaplain to the Bishop (similar to Canon to the Ordinary in the U.S. church). He also participated in a parish exchange program with the Anglican Church of Canada and the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is also an avid soccer player. From a family of prominent Anglican Churchmen, Fr. Shola works among the African immigrant population in the New Orleans area, many of whom are from Anglican backgrounds but do not find a home in the Episcopal Church when they emigrate to this country. In September 2004, Fr. Shola began a service for African Immigrants. The African Anglican Ministry at Grace Church worshiped on Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. Since Hurricane Katrina, this service has been suspended, because much of that congregation relocated elsewhere in the country.  In the immediate aftermath of the storm, he worked in hurricane relief for the diocese and doing Sunday supply work. Married, Fr. Shola is the proud father of two girls and a boy.  In June 2007, his wife, Stella, and his three children joined him permanently in New Orleans. 

The Reverend Prospero Mesa, Assisting Priest (Hispanic Ministry) E-Mail

Fr. Prospero Mesa is a retired priest of the diocese and presides about once a month at the Spanish Eucharist and assists with pastoral care in the Hispanic community. A native of Cuba, Fr. Mesa and his family came to New Orleans in 1980 on God's Mercy, Grace Church's own boat in the Mariel Boatlift through which many Cuban refugees were brought to this country. Ordained an Episcopal priest in Cuba in 1964, Fr. Mesa served as Dean of the Catedral de la Santisima Trinidad (Holy Trinity Cathedral) in Havana until his move to New Orleans. After his arrival in 1980, he served for seven years at Grace Church with our Refugee Resettlement Ministry and also conducted Spanish services in Kenner. He then served as chaplain of St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie and has taught at Tulane University.  His wife, Raquel is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Xavier University in New Orleans. Avid fans of the opera, Fr. Mesa and Raquel enjoy traveling to see their three children and six grandchildren and travel regularly to Cuba and Europe.

Clergy formerly associated with Grace Church

The Reverend Richard Banks, Former Assisting Priest  E-Mail

Father Banks has accepted a call to be the Rector of Church of the Holy Family in in Monterey, Mexico. He assumed his new duties on June 15, 2008. Holy Family is the English-speaking Anglican/Episcopal parish in Monterey, which is Mexico's second largest city.
His e-mail is richardbanks@prodigymedia.com. 
His U.S. Mail box is:
The Rev. Richard Banks
1209 San Dario Ave, PMB 7-305
Laredo, Texas 78040
His phone numbers are: 011 52 81 8378 1722 (Home and Office); 011 52 811 588 1977 (Cell)

The Reverend Walter Jacob Baer, Former Rector E-Mail

Father Baer resigned as rector of Grace Church effective August 31, 2008. He has accepted a call as a Chaplain at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. His last Sunday at Grace Church was August 17.

His phone number at St. Martin's is 504-736-9928 and his e-mail address is: Walter.Baer@stmsaints.com 

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