It is with great sadness that we report that external funding for the Diocesan Discipleship Adviser role has come to an end earlier than we had hoped. The role, held by Sammi Tooze, will end next month.
Over the past four years, the Diocesan Discipleship Adviser role has supported our shared vision of Living Christ’s Story, helping churches nurture a culture of discipleship rooted in everyday life and supporting our priority of becoming more like Christ.
Sammi leaves a substantial body of work, including the diocesan Rhythm of Life, pilgrimage resources, the GROW Youth Discipleship Ambassadors programme, the Diocesan Prayer Diary, and work with the Worship Working Group to create the Working Out Worship podcast series. Sammi has helped nurture a culture of everyday faith across the diocese, offering one-to-one support tailored to individual parishes and deaneries as they explore discipleship in their own communities.
Sammi has also contributed to the life and mission of the Church through General Synod, Diocesan Synod, and Deanery Synod, as well as a range of national initiatives and networks. This has included serving with the Liturgical Commission and the National Discipleship and Mission Steering Group, contributing to publications through Church House Publishing, and writing for the Everyday Faith project. Sammi has also worked alongside Faith in the North, particularly in developing and publishing a pilgrimage toolkit, helping churches explore the connections between pilgrimage, mission, and discipleship.
Diocesan discipleship resources will remain available for churches to use, with new material exploring baptism to follow in the new year, ahead of the diocesan Year of Baptism. New resources to help churches engage with our diocesan Rhythm of Life will also be published in January.
Reflecting on her eight years with the Diocese of York, Sammi said:
“It has been an honour to work for the diocese over the past eight years, although it’s sad that this role is coming to an end sooner than hoped. It has been such a joy to walk alongside parishes and colleagues, sharing in the journey of discovering what it means to become more like Christ, and witnessing the extraordinary creativity, imagination, and compassion that shape and enrich the life of our churches.”
Sammi also spoke of her hope that the culture nurtured through this work would continue to grow:
“I have been particularly encouraged by the way our diocesan Rhythm of Life has helped us embed a culture in which discipleship is not simply something we do, but something woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. My hope and prayer is that this gentle, life-giving culture will continue to flourish in our communities, taking root in the ordinary and bearing fruit in all that we are.”
We are hugely grateful to Sammi for all she has contributed to Living Christ’s Story. She will continue to be involved in the life of the diocese through her governance roles, and we ask that you keep her in your prayers as she prepares for the next stage of her ministry.
