Adam Shoemaker consecrated as ninth bishop of Diocese of Long Island

The Rt. Rev. Adam Shoemaker stands with family during his ordination and consecration service Sept. 19 at the Tilles Center for the Performing arts at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus in Brookville, New York. Photo: Diocese of Long Island/Facebook

[Episcopal News Service] The Rt. Rev. Adam James Shoemaker was ordained and consecrated the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Long Island on Sept. 19, making him the first Episcopal bishop of Arab and North African descent in The Episcopal Church’s more than two centuries of history. Nearly 2,000 people attended the service in person at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus in Brookville, New York.

As bishop of the Garden City-based diocese, Shoemaker now leads more than 120 congregations across Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. This next step in his pastoral ministry is also a return home for Shoemaker, who was raised in Huntington.

“Returning home to serve as bishop of the diocese that first formed me in faith is an extraordinary gift,” Shoemaker said in a statement ahead of his livestreamed installation. “My own story has taught me to cherish the differences that make us who we are, and in these first months back on Long Island, I have seen again how our diversity is one of this diocese’s greatest strengths.”

Shoemaker, 47, was born as Adam James Haggagi in New York, New York, to Jamie Stanforth, an Egyptologist of Jewish descent, and Hamada Haggagi, an Egyptian Muslim. After his parents divorced shortly before his first birthday, Shoemaker lived with his mother and grandparents on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He was baptized at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles near General Theological Seminary, where he would eventually earn a diploma in Anglican Studies. A few years later, Jamie Stanforth married Thomas Shoemaker, and they moved to Long Island. Adam Haggagi’s last name was then legally changed to Shoemaker.

Shoemaker’s life experiences as an Egyptian American growing up in one of the most culturally, linguistically and ethnically diverse regions in The Episcopal Church have shaped his faith journey to focus on racial justice and reconciliation and embracing diversity in the church.

“I think my story has humanized so many of the differences that can sometimes divide – sometimes in tragic ways – and given me a heart for all that diversity,” Shoemaker told Episcopal News Service after he was elected bishop in April. “It’s been a lifelong journey for me to come fully into my sense of self. It’s been a journey of prayer and introspection.”

In his note to the Diocese of Long Island, which was published in the installation bulletin, Shoemaker thanked his six half-siblings, who all live in Cairo.

Shoemaker was elected bishop on April 18 by nearly 300 clergy and lay delegates gathered at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City. He succeeded the Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, who had served as bishop of the Diocese of Long Island since 2009.

Prior to his election, Shoemaker served congregations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Massachusetts. He had also served as a Young Adult Service Corps volunteer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was chief consecrator at Shoemaker’s installation. Co-consecrators included Provenzano, former Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry, Maine Bishop Thomas J. Brown, Virginia Assistant Bishop Gayle E. Harris, Texas Assistant Bishop Héctor F. Monterroso and the Rev. Katrina D. Foster, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

South Carolina Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley preached. She and Shoemaker worked together closely when he was rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, one of three historically Black Episcopal churches in Charleston. While at St. Stephen’s, Shoemaker and Woodliff-Stanley also worked closely with the rectors of Charleston’s two other historically Black Episcopal churches to form the Three Churches United. The coalition hosts and participates in events and initiatives as part of the diocese’s commitment to racial justice and reconciliation work.

The ordination service’s liturgy featured music and readings in languages reflecting the Diocese of Long Island’s diversity, including Spanish and Mandarin. The liturgy included readings from Isaiah 2:2-4, Ephesians 2:13-22 and Luke 10:1-9.

While a student at General Theological Seminary, Shoemaker met his wife, the Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker, priest-in-charge at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Charleston. They have three children: Malcolm, Aubrey and Hannah.

Shoemaker additionally holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Duke Divinity School, a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

“I am humbled and grateful to begin this ministry alongside the people of Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk, and hopeful for what God will do among us,” Shoemaker said in his statement.