On Saturday, September 19, 2026, nearly 2,000 clergy, lay leaders, and community members gathered at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York, to witness a historic moment in the life of the church: the ordination and consecration of the Rt. Rev. Adam J. Shoemaker as the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. In a recent profile published by Religion News Service, reporter David Katibah spotlights the historic significance of Bishop Shoemaker becoming the first bishop of Arab and North African (SWANA) descent in the Episcopal Church’s 237-year history.
Raised in New York with a personal lineage connecting Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions, Shoemaker brings a deeply reflective, pastoral approach to leading one of the most ethnically diverse dioceses in the nation. Reflecting on his lifelong personal journey of embracing his Arab-American identity, Shoemaker shared with RNS:
“The journey that I’ve been on my whole life to reconcile the disparate parts of my personhood and certainly my Arabness … it’s been liberating. It’s helped me to become more fully the beloved child of God that I believe I’ve been called to be, and the priest and hopefully the bishop that I’ve been called to be.”
Looking ahead to his ministry as bishop, he emphasized his call to serve as a public theologian—compelling him "to speak for fundamental Christian values, baptismal covenant values — dignity, respect, the inherent dignity and worth of all."
The profile captures the widespread sense of hope and joy surrounding his consecration, highlighted by local parishioner Donna Landers-George of Church of the Advent in Westbury, who summed up the feeling across the diocese:
“He’s the bishop for what is yet to come, a bishop for the future.”
Read the full profile by David Katibah below to learn more about Bishop Shoemaker’s background, ministry journey, and vision for the Diocese of Long Island.