Rian Adams – Priest, Poet, Advocate

Rian Adams
The Rev. Rian Adams

Rian Adams is an Episcopal priest, a retired military officer, poet, writer, and author. He tries to follow the way of Jesus and live in a two commandment world: Love your God, love your neighbor. Rian holds a conviction that hope and love are the guiding lights on life’s dark roads. He dedicates significant energy to the spiritual discipline of poetry. Poetry is a form of soul care for him, and he applies the power of analogy to describe spiritual and psychological emotions. 

Equally important is a timely reflection on sacred subjects and how they converge with life. He maintains a spiritual blog where he reflects on theology, psychology, veterans advocacy, and current events. The works of Carl JungJohn Sanford, and Heinz Kohut informed his doctoral dissertation in pastoral theology. Rian’s dissertation also relied heavily on the works of Cardinal Walter Kasper, Jill McNish, and Stephen Pattinson.

That work highlights how shame, specifically religious shame in the name of or on behalf of God, breaks a person’s psyche and injures the connection between the self and the divine. 

As an advocate for veterans with disabilities, Rian dedicates time to wounded warrior organizations. He provides spiritual direction to military veterans for free as an act of solidarity. He calls on Christian denominations to develop programs to help military chaplains reintegrate into civilian and parish life. Rian identifies with veterans who struggle with moral injury because he incurred wounds during his service. He believes that veterans deserve intentional spiritual care since they are the 1% who served and are a marginalized demographic.

Love, War, and Soul: Poems of Passion, Darkness, and Light

Rian Adams, Love, Way and Soul

Rian’s book, Love, War, and Soul: Poems of Passion, Darkness, and Light, is available now on Amazon. Short poetry gave him the language to heal from spiritual, physical, and psychological wounds. He experienced the pain of coming home when a battle with Post Traumatic Stress led to one of the most challenging times in his life.

Part of the process of restoration was poetry.  

The first section, love, is short poems about the beauty of love. Love takes us by surprise when we least expect it. We even stumble on it in church, in a book, or with steak and a great bottle of wine.

The second segment, war, confronts the hazards of life and the struggles of combat. Rian composed some of these poems on extended deployments. Others are from the stories of friends and family. However, they move beyond actual war and speak to spiritual and psychological struggles.

The final section, soul, are poems about spiritual prosperity. We grow as spiritual people when we embrace the soul. Soul work is the road to hope and happiness because it takes us to our pain. There we confront our issues and transform them. These poems tell the stories of spiritual growth, hope, attachment, grace, and acceptance. Some use imagery from the four Gospels, others from various spiritualities. All point toward the purpose of transforming pain into love.

When joined, love, war, and soul, connect spiritual matters with human experiences.

The hope, above all else, is that these poems serve as a small guide on life’s journey. The greatest adventure is to grow into who we are. That journey starts with love; loving ourselves, and loving others. Love transforms the world. 

Click HERE and order a copy!

More of Rian’s poetry is at: www.rianadamspoetry.com
Updated by Rian Adams, August 2021