A Tribute to the Rev. Betty Conrad Adam 1939-2022
Compassionate Houston’s founder, the Rev. Betty Adam died peacefully on June 30, 2022. Family and Friends gathered on July 14 at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston for Betty’s funeral service.
“Betty was a beautiful and humble human being, an accomplished and compassionate leader who radiated tenderness and kindness.” “She leaves a legacy in her ministry and in the nonprofit organizations she inspired and created and will truly be missed.” “We are blessed to have known her and served her vision with the Houston community.” As a past board member sums it up beautifully, “Betty leaves with her work completed as I hold forever the joy and wisdom she brought to my life.” Read More for a reflection from Pam Lewis, Board Chair.
Betty, may your soul rest in eternal peace.
Betty Adam Founder
Background:
Soon after the Charter for Compassion was launched in 2009, Reverend Betty Adam introduced the Charter to a group of Houstonians at the Rothko Chapel. Representatives of eight world religions explained the importance of compassion in their faith traditions. The response to the Charter was gratifying, and its vision caught the attention of Houstonians, who began to dedicate themselves to concrete acts of compassion in their personal lives and in the communities to which they belonged. These Houstonians, as well as leaders of various non-profit organizations, emerged as co-founders of what was to become the non-profit Compassionate Houston.
About Betty:
Betty, a native Houstonian married to Ken Adam with two adult sons, Mark and Michael, and five grandchildren was an ordained priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Before her ordination, she had completed a master’s and a doctorate in philosophy from Rice University in 1983 and taught for eight years as adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Thomistic Studies. In 1988 she received a Master of Divinity from the Houston Graduate School of Theology and in 1990 a Certificate of Theological Studies from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. In 1991 she was ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in the Diocese of Texas and served as Assistant to the Rector at St. John the Divine for two years, and as Canon Pastor and Canon Theologian at Christ Church Cathedral for more than twenty years. In 1995, she was awarded a Merrill Fellowship from Harvard Divinity School.
In 2014 Betty was certified as a teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) by Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) program. She has taught CCT classes at Christ Church Cathedral, the Hines Center, Brigid’s Hope, and Dawn Mountain/Center for Tibetan Buddhism.