Long Island Episcopal Diocese elects the Rev. Adam Shoemaker as new bishop
The Rev. Adam J. Shoemaker addresses the church at the Bishop Election Convention at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City on Saturday. Credit: Thomas Hengge
The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island selected the Rev. Adam J. Shoemaker to be its next bishop, choosing a native Long Islander as successor to its longtime progressive leader.
Shoemaker, an Egyptian American who grew up in Huntington, currently lives in South Carolina, where he serves as rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. He was once a missionary to Rio de Janeiro and has served in churches in North Carolina and Massachusetts.
"I'm just so deeply humbled by the trust placed in me by this convention in the diocese where I was a child," Shoemaker said in a phone interview after the vote.
He was one of three candidates up for election, joined by the Very Rev. Hickman Alexandre and the Very Rev. Michael T. Sniffen. Shoemaker will take the helm in September from the Rt. Rev. Lawrence Provenzano, 71, who has served in the diocese's top role since 2009.
The Right Rev. Lawrence Provenzano, center, who has been bishop since 2009, with Chair of Dispatch Sharon Brown-Veillard, left, and Chancellor James Weller. Credit: Thomas Hengge
Provenzano has been a progressive advocate during his time ministering to the 36,000 Episcopalians in the diocese. He has been an outspoken supporter of the immigrant community and same-sex marriage. The Episcopal Church voted to start performing such marriages in 2015.
Shoemaker acknowledged the "great responsibility" with that role and feels "it is incumbent on us to especially care for those on the margins."
"I would certainly look to follow in Bishop Provenzano's footsteps in that regard," he said.
The voting body of the diocese, which consisted of both laypeople and clergy members, took four ballots to elect Shoemaker at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City. A candidate must receive the majority of votes from both voting bodies to be elected. Alexandre withdrew his candidacy after the second ballot.
Shoemaker, 46, addressed the packed cathedral, with its high ornate archways accented with golden flourishes, through a video call and received a lengthy standing ovation. He said he was filled with "hopeful expectation" and looked forward "to coming home to the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island."
Attendees give a standing ovation for the Rev. Adam J. Shoemaker after he spoke once the vote was final. Credit: Thomas Hengge
The diocese spans from Long Island through Queens and Brooklyn.
The voters used a device around the size of a cellphone to register their selection. Soon after, the votes were displayed on large screens at the front of the cathedral. Shoemaker picked up the greatest number of votes in the second ballot and again for the third ballot — falling just two laypeople votes short in that round of voting. On the fourth ballot, he received 95 clergy votes and 76 lay votes; he needed 81 and 69, respectively.
The Rev. Cecily Broderick Guerra, of Christ Church in Sag Harbor, said the bishop serves as the diocese's "spiritual leader" and has the opportunity to serve for decades. The mandatory retirement age of the position is 72.
That leader is expected to "lead out in the diocese by making really critical statements about Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and the national scene because we need sensible religious voices to speak in the time that we're in," she said.
Provenzano leaves the diocese "in a stable place," he said in an interview after the vote. He said the gospel is clear in its teaching of taking care of the poor and disadvantaged, adding that the LGBT community and immigrants need to be considered within the church community.
"I hope that my now soon-to-be successor will keep that momentum moving forward," Provenzano said.
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