The Rev. Dr. Adam J. Shoemaker was elected ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island on April 18 by nearly 300 clergy and lay delegates, meeting at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York.
Shoemaker was elected on the fourth ballot by 95 votes in the clergy order and 76 votes in the lay order. The election required a majority in both orders on the same ballot, in accordance with the diocesan constitution.
Shoemaker said, “I am deeply humbled by the trust this convention has placed in me and accept the call to serve as your next diocesan bishop with hope and faith in what God will do among us. I look forward to laboring together across the Diocese of Long Island as one body in Christ, and I ask your prayers as we begin this new chapter together.”
Shoemaker serves as rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He has previously ministered in congregations in North Carolina and Massachusetts and served as a missionary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
An Egyptian-American raised in Huntington, New York, he was formed in the Episcopal Church at St. John’s, Huntington, and Trinity Church, Northport. He is a graduate of the General Theological Seminary, where he met his wife, the Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker, and also holds degrees from Harvard Divinity School and Boston University. He earned his Doctor of Ministry from Duke Divinity School, where his doctoral work examined the congregational impacts of urban gentrification. Together they have three school-aged children: Malcolm, Aubrey, and Hannah.
Deeply rooted in a diverse family heritage, he maintains strong connections with extended family in Egypt and has a particular interest in language and culture. He speaks advanced Portuguese and basic Spanish.
Other nominees on the ballot were the Very Rev. Hickman Alexandre, vicar of St. James Episcopal Church in Brookhaven, New York, and the Very Rev. Dr. Michael T. Sniffen, dean of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York.
The bishop-elect will succeed the Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, who has served as bishop since 2009.
Pending the required consent of a majority of the Episcopal Church’s diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction, Shoemaker will be ordained and consecrated on September 19, 2026, at the Tilles Center in Greenvale, New York.
The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island includes congregations in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties and is one of the most diverse dioceses in The Episcopal Church.