Our Leadership

Adam grew up in Pennsylvania but found his way to Florida where he attended Flagler College in St. Augustine. At Flagler he studied philosophy and religion. At that time, “I would have said that I was not interested in becoming a priest, I was not even interested in church at that point in my life,” he says. “I knew, however, that I found theology and scriptural interpretation engaging; I thought perhaps I would teach one day.” His then-girlfriend, now wife, Laurie, introduced him to the Episcopal Church and it was there that he found the connection between spirituality, faith and critical thinking.

Adam and Laurie were married while still in college. A year after they graduated they joined the Peace Corps where they served in China for two years teaching English as a foreign language to university students. Laurie, who is a gifted teacher, connected with her students deeply in the classroom. Adam says he connected more with my students playing basketball and teaching them how to cook Western food. While Adam and Laurie did not attend church while there, Adam felt that the time was deeply formational for him. “I realized that we are created for relationships and in relationships we learn more about ourselves and the gifts we have. My students taught me and I helped them to see strengths and gifts they didn’t know they had; I believe this to be a staple of the Christian life and fundamental to what it is to being a priest,” he says.
After the Peace Corps Adam pursued his call to ordained ministry through Church of the Servant in Wilmington, as well as his time working as a Campus Minister at UNCW working for the diocese. He used many of the lessons he learned in China in his ministry there. He continued to learn and be formed while at Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained on Dec. 22, 2018 at St. Paul’s.

Laurie and Adam now have two beautiful daughters, Aleea and Hazel, and son Lucas.

A native of northeast Ohio and later raised in Virginia, Fr. Richard spent 20 years in inner-city ministry as a lay person in the Dioceses of North Carolina and Maryland. Married for over 30 years to Barbara Ellington-Banks, her career as a Foreign Service Officer took them abroad to Belize, Jamaica and Guatemala. As a priest for over 20 years, he has served parishes in Guatemala City, northern Virginia, New Orleans, and most recently Mexico before moving to Wilmington. He is fluent in Spanish.

Fr. Richard studied at Virginia Commonwealth University and the National Institute for Lay Training, and holds degrees from the University of the West Indies and the United Theological College of the West Indies. He spent two summers in the Doctor of Ministry program at The Virginia Seminary.

His son Colin lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife Jill. Daughter Alison lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with husband Adam and their two small children. Both of his parents and three siblings live in Richmond, Virginia, with their families.