Dear Beloved in Christ,
This past weekend was a joyful one for our diocese, as we celebrated the faith and contributions of our Latino communities at Saturday's Celebración de la Herencia Latina and gathered on Sunday for my Welcome and Seating at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. I am deeply grateful for the warmth of the welcome I received and for everyone who helped make both occasions such beautiful expressions of our shared life in Christ.
Recently, I had the joy of reconnecting with my wife and children in South Carolina. While I serve here in the diocese with all of you this year, they are preparing for their move next summer. My spouse, the Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker, is a tremendously gifted priest who founded a church plant, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in West Ashley. Our children, Malcolm, Aubrey, and Hannah, are enjoying their school year while looking forward to being together again as a family.
Being with my family brought to mind one child in particular. In my first few weeks of episcopal visits, one little boy has stood out as a highlight I keep returning to. For much of the Mass, he seemed determined to play hide-and-seek with me. His playfulness and wonder remind me of the gift of a child’s faith. He also keeps me mindful of the Church’s call to offer an environment of safety and welcome, and to help co-create a world where all of God’s children can grow and thrive in dignity and respect.
Who Serves Our Diocese: How We Are Governed
Part 1 of a four-part series
Every Sunday, our congregations gather around font and table under the care of their clergy and vestries. Many of us know how our own parish is led. Fewer of us know how the Diocese of Long Island is led, or who does that work.
As we prepare to gather for Diocesan Convention next month, I want to spend the next few weeks introducing you to the people and bodies who share leadership with me. Some are elected through Convention; others I appoint. Each has an important role to play in our common life.
The Episcopal Church is governed by bishops, clergy, and laity together. In our diocese, that shared leadership flows from Diocesan Convention, which elects members of many of the bodies you will meet in this series.
Four bodies play particularly important roles in our diocesan life:
- The Standing Committee, led by its own president, is my council of advice. It certifies candidates for ordination, consents to the election of bishops and to certain parish property matters, and serves as the ecclesiastical authority when there is no bishop.
- The Diocesan Council, which I lead, is called to carry our shared work forward between Conventions, much as a vestry does for a parish: shaping the budget, setting policy, and overseeing our common mission.
- The Trustees of the Estate, of which I am president, hold property and invested funds in trust for the diocese and for a number of its institutions and congregations.
- The Commission on Ministry manages the ordination process and advises me on those discerning a call to holy orders.
Put simply: the Council is called to steer our mission, the Trustees steward our resources, the Standing Committee safeguards our common life, and the Commission on Ministry guides those called to holy orders.
Over the coming weeks, you will meet each of these bodies and the people who serve on them. I hope you will read along, and I hope some of you will hear a call to serve.
Meet the Diocesan Council
If you have ever served on a vestry, you already understand what the Diocesan Council is meant to be. Convention meets once a year. Between Conventions, the Council is called to carry the work forward on behalf of the whole diocese.
What the Council is called to do
At its best, the Council shapes the diocesan budget and presents it to Convention, sets policy, oversees our shared programs, and makes sure the priorities Convention sets are put into practice.
That is the vision I hope we will grow into together: a Council where grants, new mission initiatives, and spending decisions are shaped in partnership with the whole diocese.
Who serves
I serve as president of the Council. Its membership includes clergy and lay people elected by Convention, along with appointed members and certain diocesan officers who serve by virtue of their office.
I am grateful to these members for their time and care:
DIOCESAN COUNCIL
Serving until 2026
Serving until 2027
Serving until 2028
How to get involved
Council members are elected at Convention. If you have a heart for mission and a head for planning, I encourage you to consider standing for election. If you are interested, please contact Fr. Eddie Alleyne, chair of our Nominating Committee, at: ealleyne@dioceseli.org.
Learn More About Diocesan Council
Listening Phase and Transition Team Update
That commitment to shared leadership and transparency is also guiding the work of our diocesan staff and transition team.
I’m delighted to share that the Rev. Gideon Pollach has created a remarkable tool to support our work on clergy transitions. This database lists every faith community, maps each one’s location, and tracks correspondence, any clergy transitions, and next steps. By bringing all of this information together in one place, we hope to make transitions streamlined and intentional, and to make sure they reflect God’s love.
Gideon and Mieke Vandersall are also building a similar tool for our listening process, which will be introduced at convention and made available on our website. Users will be able to view listening reports from across the diocese, see how our leaders are engaged in the work, and follow emerging themes and action steps. This is one more way we are working to make our shared work as transparent as possible.
Preparing for Convention
As we prepare for our time together, I invite you to join me in prayer:
O God of beginnings and renewals,
You call us into places we have not yet walked, and entrust us with people we have not yet met.
We come with trembling hands and open hearts, ready to be surprised by Your Spirit.
In our eagerness, keep us humble.
In our uncertainty, keep us steady.
In our joy, keep us generous.
Let this ministry be a place where truth is spoken in love, where the weary find rest, and where Your justice rolls down like a mighty river.
We offer our plans, our gifts, and our very selves to You—
trusting that what You begin, You will bring to fullness.
Amen.
The Rt. Rev. Adam J. Shoemaker
Bishop of Long Island
Next week in Who Serves Our Diocese: Meet the Trustees of the Estate.