Bishop

Bishop James Adams was born in 1948 in El Paso, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas at El
Paso with a Bachelor in Science, Secondary Education with emphasis on Mathematics and Business. He
received his Master of Divinity from General Theological Seminary in 1979 and was ordained deacon that
same year and priest 10 months later in the Diocese of the Rio Grande. While attending seminary, Bishop
Adams was privileged to serve on the Nominating Committee which brought The Rev. James Fenhagen to be
Dean of General Seminary.

Bishop Adams served as Deacon at St. Michael and All Angels in Albuquerque under a Diocesan program in
which he also served as the Chaplain at the New Mexico State Girls School (youth correctional facility). When
that program ended he served first as Curate and then as Assistant Rector of Church of the Holy Faith in
Santa Fe.

Having been called as Vicar of St. Paul’s Church in Plymouth, James and his wife, Stacey, moved to
Wisconsin in 1982. Elected as Rector of Christ Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1987, he also served the
Diocese of Fond du Lac as Chairman of the Liturgical Commission (1983-1992), was a member of the
Christian Education Committee from 1987-1992 and on the Province VII Christian Education Task Force from
1990-1992. When Bishop Adams was elected as Rector of Trinity Church in El Dorado, Kansas (1993-1998),
he also served the Diocese of Kansas as Chairman for the new Christian Education Committee and was
elected to the Executive Board member and Trustee of the Diocese of Kansas, where he was a member of
the Finance Committee. He also served on the Province VII Christian Education Commission from 1995-1998.
From Kansas, Bishop Adams returned to Wisconsin, Diocese of Milwaukee, when he was elected Rector of
Trinity Church in Wauwatosa in 1998. He also served the Diocese and Province VII as Co-Chair of the
Christian Education Committee until he was elected as the 4th Bishop of Western Kansas in October, 2001.

Bishop Adams has served three Dioceses and two Provinces in Christian Education. He has also helped start
two and run three diocesan schools of ministry. He has taught in Diaconal and Canon IX programs for the last
20 years, in 5 Dioceses, primarily in Liturgics, Preaching and Scripture. As Bishop he has served on the Board
of Trustees of The St. Francis Academy, and continues to serve on the Board of St. John’s Military School and
that of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas.

As a founding Bishop of the Anglican Communion Network, Bishop Adams continues to preach and work to
preserve orthodox theology and doctrine in the Church.