Reverend Robin Adams
Pastor Robin Thomas Adams was born April 15th 1954 in Londonderry,
Northern Ireland, the middle of five children.
He was raised in an Anglican home and learned
a great deal about the faith as a child, but did not know
Jesus Christ as lord and savior until the age of 18. As a
freshman in college Robin remembers going up to
university in Belfast (to study Computer Science) as a
convinced atheist. However, he was encouraged to read the
Bible afresh by college friends and soon became involved
in Intervarsity Christian Union. Through an honest
examination of the scriptures and the prompting of the
Holy Spirit Robin knew Jesus was who he said he was, soon surrendering
his life to the Lord.
He says, "Discovering Jesus has been the most profound experience of my life. I wish that everyone could know the joy, peace and fulfillment that comes from living with Christ." The latter years at Belfast were spent in active service at the Church of Ireland chaplaincy where he learned a new respect for the Churches of his childhood.
After sensing a call to the ministry Robin spent three years attending Oak Hill Theological College in London England. Oak Hill is an evangelical Anglican College with a strong bias towards quality Pastoral Care. Ordained a deacon for the Church of Ireland in 1979 and then Priest in 1980 he served his first term as an assistant in the rural parish of Magheralin co. Down. It was here that he met and married Donna Napier. The second curacy was spent in St. Patrick's Coleraine, co. Londonderry a large and busy parish.
Ryan was born on February 13th 1984. In 1986
Robin and Donna moved to St. Aidans Sandy Row in Belfast where
he was the rector of a large inner City parish. Shortly
after the move a second son Scott was born (May 23rd
1986). In 1988 the Adams family did a pulpit exchange
with Hillary Bercovici then in St. Mary's Pokomoke. It
was a wonderful summer and sparked interest in moving to
America. The Lord lead the way to
St. Peter's Episcopal Church,
Tecumseh, Michigan in the summer of 1989. A third son
Joel was born in Tecumseh on January 9th 1990.
Robin received the call to become the Vicar of Episcopal Church of the Word, Gainesville, Virginia, in October, 1997. Both Robin and Donna believed that this was God's invitation for them to move on to a new ministry, and accepted the position at Church of the Word, starting in January 1998.
Robin enjoys jogging, camping, hiking, and reading science fiction. Donna likes all kinds of crafts. She previously had a gourmet catering business while living in Michigan. And for a few years after arriving in Virginia, Donna applied her skills in the culinary arts to a business of providing made-to-order wedding cakes. But that too is now a part of history. Now, Donna's opportunities to indulge her creative skills in delightfully pleasing food preparation are mainly displayed during the occasional gracious gatherings in the Adams home where they enjoy entertaining friends and members of the congregation.
Family life is a priority, and the Adams family knows how to make the most of their time together, as can be seen in this photograph taken on Thanksgiving 2007.
