The Archbishop of York has asked the Ven Sam Rushton, Archdeacon of York, to be Interim Diocesan Director for Strategic Transformation for a six-month period of secondment from her regular duties, beginning on 15 November 2021.
The Ven John Day, currently based in the Diocese of York while ministering across the Northern Province for the Archbishop, and a former Archdeacon of Christchurch, New Zealand, will take over the functions of Archdeacon of York for this period.
Parishes and deaneries have contributed this year to consultations across the Diocese to help guide us in becoming more Christ-like, and by growing the church which is his body. Sam Rushton’s role for the coming six months will be to facilitate the work that the Diocesan Leadership Team will do together in refining and completing the strategic vision for the Diocese emerging from the consultation responses. She will aim to steer the vision through Diocesan Synod, working to build up ownership of and commitment to the vision as it develops, and through communicating it clearly, to prepare the way for its implementation across the Diocese.
In an interim role funded and resourced from short-term savings in pooled diocesan costs, Sam will lead a bid for strategic funding from the national Church of England to employ a substantive Director for Strategic Transformation and build additional capacity to support parishes and deaneries as the prayerful vision emerging from the consultation develops into a framework for permanent and fruitful change for us all across the Diocese.
