Samantha Jayne Rushton (called Sam; born 1965) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest, who was most recently the Archdeacon of York.

Early life and education

Rushton was born in 1965. She studied Pure and Applied Biology at

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1987. She then worked in

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, and her final job before leaving for

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

was with

Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Established in Birmingham in 1765, Lloyds Bank e ...

. Having left her first career, she

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

into

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by ...

, an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Anglican theological college. She completed her training and graduated with a BA degree in theology in 2005.

Ordained ministry

Rushton was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 2005 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 2006. From 2005 to 2008, she served her

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

at St Michael and All Angels,

Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about north-east of Swindon town centre. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 8,258. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...

and St Leonard's Church, Broad Blunsdon in the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

. Then, from 2008 to 2015, she combined a diocesan appointment with parish ministry: she was Adviser for Licensed Ministry in the Diocese of Bristol, and a curate in the parish of St Paul,

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

with Hardenhuish and Langley Burrell, and at St Michael's Church,

Kington St Michael Kington St Michael is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about north of Chippenham in Wiltshire, England. Location Kington St Michael is about west of the A350 road, A350 which links Chippenham with junction 17 of the M4 mo ...

. She was also Warden of Readers from 2011 to 2015, and Area Dean of Chippenham from 2013 to 2015. In March 2015, it was announced that Rushton would be the next

Archdeacon of Cleveland The Archdeacon of Cleveland is a senior ecclesiastical officer of an archdeaconry, or subdivision, of the Church of England diocese and province of York. The Archdeaconry of Cleveland stretches west from Thirsk, north to Middlesbrough, east to Wh ...

in the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...

. On 6 May 2015, she was collated and licensed as

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

during a service at St Peter and St Paul's Church, Pickering. In October 2019, Rushton transferred to a new role as Archdeacon of York. She was formally welcomed on 19 October at a public service in

Selby Abbey Selby is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town w ...

led by the Bishop of Selby, the Right Reverend Dr John Thomson. On 11 February 2025, it was announced that Rushton was to resign her archdeaconry (on or around 31 March) to become Diocesan Secretary (

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

) of the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

in late April.

Personal life

Rushton is married to Peter Rushton. Together, they have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rushton, Samantha Jayne 1965 births Living people 21st-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of Cleveland Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol