New Lichfield Diocese CEO looking forward to returning home for new role leading parishes and churches into next decade

Sam Rushton grew up in and went to school in Lichfield, holding the distinction of being The Friary School’s first female Head Prefect, before going to Oxford University.

Ms Rushton entered the banking industry as a graduate trainee with Lloyds Bank, and then spent 10 years in strategy and planning, and programme management.  

During her career in Lloyds Bank, she undertook a number of strategic reviews at Board level, including for Cheltenham and Gloucester, TSB Scotland and Lloyds Bank International, based in Geneva and led two major change programmes before leaving in 2002 to train for ordained ministry.  

Ten years before leaving banking, Ms Rushton said she found Christian faith when she and her husband, Peter, took their son for baptism. 

Attending a church where the Vicar was committed to nurture and growth, her new-found faith deepened, and her vocation was kindled through learning and service, while her ministry has since focused on enabling and equipping ‘ordinary parish ministry’.

Ms Rushton will bring in skills to help maintain and develop the culture of teamworking and collaboration among diocesan staff and structures. 

This will support parishes in their role as local places of encounter with Christian faith as the whole diocese engages with making real the diocese’s soon to be launched strategy for 2025-2030 in 421 parishes in The Black Country, Staffordshire and North Shropshire.

She said: “When it is working well, it is anything but ordinary.

“As diocesan CEO I want to make it possible for every parish to serve their local community effectively and with joy, and to bring the Kingdom of God a step closer in their local place every day.

“It is a joy to be returning to Lichfield and I look forward to working with the staff at St Mary’s House whose reputation precedes them.

“I shall miss North Yorkshire, but it feels somehow fitting to be following in the footsteps of St Chad who journeyed from Lastingham on the edge of the North York Moors to Lichfield.”

Ordained in 2005 after studying at Trinity Theological College, Bristol, she served her curacy in Bristol, then became Diocesan Adviser for Licensed Ministry. 

In 2015, she became an Archdeacon in York Diocese, serving in Cleveland and then York as well as spending a year as Director of Strategic Transformation.  

She said: “It was always my intention to be a parish priest but God obviously had other ideas, using the leadership gifts and experience gained in one large organisation committed to serving local communities to serve his church in similar ways.

“God always has a better plan for us than we could imagine for ourselves. He is the God of surprises.”

The Bishop of Lichfield, Rt Rev. Dr Michael Ipgrave, said: “Sam commended herself to us with her career equally divided between banking and diocesan leadership, her passion for parishes and her grasp of what it takes to bring about effective change.

“I commend her to our parishes, communities and equally our committees as someone they can do business with. 

"They will more often than not find that they are on the same side.”

The Chair of Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance, David Wright, said: “Mrs Rushton’s broad experience of financial institutions and the church offer great confidence that she can steer a path between financial prudence and making sure that available resources support growing mission and ministry.” 

She will take up her post at the end of April.