The story of William Rian Adams is a spiritual journey fraught with many lessons, failures, and happiness. I’m sure the story will continue to grow and change. As a poetry writer, I find spiritual growth through the power of words. I’m also a priest in the Episcopal Church, and I served as a chaplain for a decade. The ministry carried me around the world and gave me the opportunity to serve at two historic churches.
About
I’m passionate about ministry, poetry, playing music, and key lime pie. I’ve been a priest for eleven years, and I’ve written poetry for a decade and a half. However, two years ago, poetry became a considerable part of my life, and opened the door for spiritual growth.
I felt as a teenager I would serve the church in some capacity. Although I never considered the thought of priesthood. God has a strange way of calling us when we least expect it. Also, there was a deep history of military service that dates back to the revolutionary war. Family members served in varied capacities, one was a field surgeon, while others landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6th, 1944, and others in Korea and Vietnam.
Somehow I knew I would join the military as part of the family tradition, and I felt I would serve the church out of a sense of a call to ordained ministry.
I decided military chaplaincy would fulfill both calls.
I received my commission at 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group. I’ll never forget when I raised my right hand and said, “I, William Rian Adams, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States… so help me God.” I’m fortunate because I worked in a diverse community of people from all walks of life. It was a rare opportunity to deploy with service members of all religious backgrounds.
The chaplaincy added skills in organizational and leadership that my seminary education did not provide. In total I was in the military for ten years, with seven and a half years of active duty. After medical retirement from service, I worked at two historic parishes while learning the blessings and struggles of shifting from the military back to the civilian world and the local church.
I also love playing music because it’s a relaxing hobby. I played professionally on occasion, but it took the fun out of it. My taste is very eclectic. I play bluegrass, classic rock, some country, Jimmy Buffett (because he’s a category of his own), and I write lyrics and music. I own a Gibson maple sunburst Les Paul, three Fender Stratocasters, and two Gibson banjos. One is a late 1990s style 3, and the other is a pre-war walnut style two conversion.
The Backstory of My Poetry
I started writing poetry again in the summer of 2017 after I endured the greatest crisis of my life. Those days led to soul searching, reevaluation of my faith and ministry, and my future vocation.
William Tecumseh Sherman said, “War is hell.” There is no way to understand the hell of war until you’ve seen it firsthand. As a chaplain, I worked alongside men and women who were the bravest people I know. I will never forget them.
“Afghanistan!” I said when the corps chaplain told me I could go to Iraq (the conflict there had reached a close), or Afghanistan. He asked, “What’s wrong with you. Why do you want to go there?” I said, “Because I can make a bigger difference.”
Little did I know that Afghanistan would permanantly change me.
When I came back home after a year of hell, I wasn’t the same man. I repressed and denied the toll the war had on me. I also underwent three surgeries and developed petite mal seizures (short moments of confusion with full cognizance) from head trauma.
Weakness is a word that violates the masculine ego. However, a moment of weakness forever shaped my story. In a highway altercation, a driver intentionally swerved into my lane multiple times and threw a coke bottle that ruined my hood. I told them I would defend myself.
It was a failure with the potential to be a lesson.
I realized I needed help to unlearn habits that kept me alive in Afghanistan.
There wasn’t a conviction, the state later expunged the case, and it no longer even exists. The event was a sign. I realized my need to be mentally, spiritually, and physically healthy. Therefore, I consider it a blessing. I processed my combat experiences in therapy. I sought a new neurologist who specialized in epilepsy to stop the seizures. Equally important, I recharged spiritually. The primary method I used was writing poetry.
Love, War, and Soul: by William Rian Adams
Everyone struggles with life! I wrote poetry about it. Recently I published my first book, Love, War, and Soul: Poems of Passion, Darkness, and Light. The poetry book was a massive part of my healing process.
The book released on my birthday in March 2019. Through words, I met God again, my soul grew, the war took on a different light.
The Future
These days my life is eclectic. I continue to enjoy poetry. I’m working on two projects. The first is a collection of poems about overcoming tragedy and hardship with resilience and faith. The second is, you guessed it, about love.
“Fortune finds the stubborn,” I told a young soldier who faced a crisis. My life is similar because I refused to give up on God, family, faith, and the church. I still serve as a priest to a congregation. I look for ways to share how they engage the present and the future. I’m lucky each Sunday to stand at the altar and welcome all people.
Sermons are a passion for me because they are a creative outlet. I post them on my site. Music, veteran’s ministry, and the study of strategic leadership also provide creative outlets. All three help me stay spiritually and intellectually grounded.
No matter what circumstances you encounter, life and love are never hopeless.
You can find Love, War, and Soul or for sale on Amazon.
Posted by William Rian Adams