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Beloved in Christ,
On September 19, I was ordained and seated as your bishop, and in the days since, the work of building our transition team and process has begun in earnest. As I mentioned, one of my most important commitments to you is to listen. I write to give you an update on that work — why we are undertaking it in the way we are, and what you can expect to see and experience in the months ahead.
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Why we are doing this, and how | I have asked our transition team to help me create a trustworthy transition process grounded in our baptismal covenant — one that, with God's help, embodies God's love and respects the dignity of every person in this diocese. This will be a listening season, and we have agreed that it will be: |
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driven by the diversity of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, making room for many voices, experiences, communities, and perspectives that make up our common life
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built through conversation because conversation can help us know one another more deeply and strengthen the relationships we share
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multidirectional, a two-way exchange rather than a one-way announcement. I will listen to you and I hope we will also listen and learn from one another
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consistent in its actions and communications
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mutually humble, recognizing that none of us comes to this work with all the answers. We come ready to listen, learn, and discern together
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If I ask you to share your experiences, hopes, concerns, and ideas, I believe you should also know what I am hearing and what happens as a result.
Out of this season, we intend to create shared priorities, a regular reporting rhythm, an emerging vision and culture of growth in relationship, and concrete action steps. As we listen, we commit to telling you how we are engaging and what we are hearing, in a timely way, along with any immediate actions that arise in response. At the end of the process, everything we have heard will be analyzed and reported back to diocesan leadership and to all of you.
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This fall, our full transition team is coming together, beginning regular core meetings in early October and preparing to introduce this work at Diocesan Convention in mid-November. The larger team will gather for a retreat in early December to build out our training and our listening plan together.
This larger team includes individuals from across the diocese. I am grateful for those who have agreed to serve in this capacity:
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The Rev. Elliot Conrad, Christ Church, Bellport
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The Rev. Miguel Escobar, San Andrés, Brooklyn
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The Rev. Grace Flint, St. Francis, Bellmore
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The Rev. Denise Galloway, Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City
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The Very Rev. Hickman Alexandre, St. James', Brookhaven
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Dr. Lorna Lewis, Transfiguration, Freeport
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Carlton Mitchell, St. Joseph's, Queens Village
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James Olszewski, St. George's, Astoria
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The Rev. Myldred Prévil, St. Bartholomew's, Brooklyn
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Noemi Sanchez, St. Luke's, East Hampton
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The Rev. Kate Schneider, Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City
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The Very Rev. Lawrence Womack, St. Augustine's, Brooklyn
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The Rev. Lu Zhang, St. George's, Flushing
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Listening groups will run from January through May 2027, giving every corner of the diocese a real chance to be heard. Over the summer, we will turn to analyzing what we've heard and reporting back to you. From August through the fall, we will begin implementing the action steps that emerge, with a further update planned at Convention in November 2027.
With the calling of the Rev. Licia Affer to serve as Canon to the Ordinary as of November 1, 2026, Licia will also serve on this transition leadership team.
We will share more specific dates for listening sessions in your area as they are set, and we will keep you posted at each stage along the way.
I invite you to join me in praying for this season of transition:
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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.
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I am deeply grateful for your patience, your prayers, and your partnership as this process unfolds. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Dr. Lena Mullings (lmullings@aol.com) or the Very Rev. Gideon Pollach (Gideon@stjcsh.org).
Transitions ask a great deal of a community's trust, and I do not take that trust lightly. Please watch for further communications as dates and details are confirmed, and know that you remain in my prayers as I remain in yours.
Faithfully,
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The Rt. Rev. Adam J. Shoemaker
Bishop of Long Island
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