Rev. Samuel Colley-Toothaker, Rector

The Reverend Samuel Scott Colley-Toothaker, Fr. Sam, is a native of Maine. Born on May 3, 1960 he grew up in the small costal town of Cape Elizabeth located in Southern Maine. The youngest son of Erna and Clifford Toothaker Fr. Sam was raised in the Roman Catholic Church, though his paternal grandmother, Ruth, made sure that he was well versed in his father’s boyhood tradition, the Anglo Catholic Church.
Having heard the call to priesthood at an early age, Fr. Sam entered the process for ordination to Holy Orders in the Roman Catholic Church at age seventeen, first through the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine and then ultimately through the missionary order of The Oblates of May Immaculate.

Toward the end of his training, Fr. Sam was completing his internship in Clinical Pastoral Education when he met a lovely blond nurse named Linda and fell "head over heals" in love. They were joined as husband and wife two years later. Fr. Sam and Linda have two sons, Thomas and Samuel, both of whom are in college.

After leaving the Roman Catholic seminary to marry Linda. Fr. Sam worked for a number of years in the corporate world as an Investment Banker. In 2000, Fr. Sam, at the prompting of God, Linda and with the consent of the Episcopal Bishop of Maine once again entered the process for ordination this time attending Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated in May of 2004 with a Masters of Divinity degree.

In September of 2004 Fr. Sam entered a year-long residency program in Clinical Pastoral Care at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News Virginia where he served as a Resident Chaplain. He completed this program of study in September of 2005.

On February 1, 2005 he accepted a position as Youth Minister at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Newport News under the mentorship of The Reverend Doctor Robert D. Marston. On April 3, 2005 he was ordained as a Transitional Deacon and was subsequently ordained to the priesthood on October 27, 2005.

He continued to serve God and the people of St. Andrews as Assistant Rector for Youth and Family Ministry until he received an appoint by Bishop John C. Buchanan, as Priest-in-Charge of The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in May of 2007. In August of 2007 the Vestry and people of Epiphany called Fr. Sam to serve as permanent Rector. Together Fr. Sam and the people of Epiphany celebrated their New Ministry on September 15, 2007.

Presently Fr. Sam serves as a member of the Executive Board of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, Co-Chairs the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, is a member of the Board of Directors of Diocesan Foundation on Mission and Ministry, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Danville Free Clinic, and is Vice Chair of the David School in David Kentucky.