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Samuel Wells (born 24 March 1965) is an English priest of the Church of England. He is a widely-respected preacher, theologian, spokesperson, and convener of conversations on faith. Currently, he serves the position of Vicar at St. Martin in the Fields. Wells is married to Jo Bailey Wells (PhD), who is a former Dean of Clare College, Cambridge, and was the active Director of Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Duke Divinity School. She is also an ordained priest in the Church of England. They have two children together, a son and a daughter.

Education and Early Ministry
Sam Wells was an undergraduate at Merton College, Oxford, attended seminary at New College, Edinburgh, and studied for his Ph.D. at Durham University. Before going to seminary, he was a community organizer in Liverpool. Ordained in 1991, he served Church of England parish appointments for 14 years in Newcastle, Cambridge, and Norwich. He spent 10 years in incarnational ministry in areas of significant social disadvantage. For six years he was closely involved in establishing a community-led development trust, the first such organization in the East of England. He also established a non-profit organization offering disadvantaged children opportunities to discover wonder and joy through creative play. He ran a number of soccer teams and was a regular speaker on local radio.

Dean of Duke Chapel
In the summer of 2005, Wells became dean of Duke Chapel and research professor of Christian ethics at Duke Divinity School. Wells' regularly preached at Duke Chapel and led worship. He developed and chaired the Faith Council, which consists of 12 members from different faith traditions. He lead interfaith dialogue and discussions on faith and ethics. Wells initiated Dean's Dialogues which were public interviews done by Wells discussing pertinent topics to the University and the Durham community.

While acting as the Dean at Duke Chapel, Wells’ responsibilities included guiding the ministry and music life of the Chapel, preaching and leading worship, overseeing the diversity of campus ministries, interacting with students, faculty, administrators and staff, teaching in the divinity school and the school of public policy, and promoting the Chapel’s initiatives, especially interfaith interaction and incarnational ministry in Durham, North Carolina.

Vicar at St. Martin in the Fields
Currently, Wells is Vicar for St. Martin in the Fields. He was installed on July 2, 2012. On his new position Wells said, "St Martin’s is at the crossroads of London and the world, of faith and action, of social justice and the arts, of tradition and innovation, of commerce and charity, of political and personal struggle. It has long been a place where the Holy Spirit goes looking to experiment, where the communion of saints is present in awesome diversity, where Jesus regularly turns up in the face of friend and stranger. It’s hard to think of a more exciting vantage point from which to envisage what church and witness mean. It is a great honour to be invited to join this dynamic ministry."

Publications

 * Be Not Afraid (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2011)
 * What Anglicans Believe: An Introduction (Norwich: SCM/Canterbury Press, 2011)
 * What Episcopalians Believe: An Introduction (Harrisburg, PA: Church Publishing Inc., 2011)
 * Living Without Enemies: Being Present in the Midst of Violence (with Marcia Owen; Downers Grove: IVP, 2011)
 * Christian Ethics: An Introductory Reader (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
 * Introducing Christian Ethics (with Ben Quash; Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
 * Liturgy Comes to Life (Durham, NC: Duke Chapel, 2010)
 * Living Out Loud (with Stanley Hauerwas; edited by Luke Bretherton, et. al.; London: Paternoster, 2010)
 * Praying for England: Priestly Presence in Contemporary Culture (edited with Sarah Coakley; London and New York: Continuum, 2008)
 * Speaking the Truth: Preaching in a Pluralistic Culture (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008)
 * Power and Passion: Six Characters in Search of Resurrection (The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2007; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007)
 * God’s Companions: Reimagining Christian Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006)
 * The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics (edited with Stanley Hauerwas; Oxford, UK; *Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 2004; Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, 2011)
 * Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos; London: SPCK, 2004)
 * Community-Led Estate Regeneration and the Local Church (Cambridge: Grove Booklets, 2003)
 * Faithfulness and Fortitude: In Conversation with the Theological Ethics of Stanley Hauerwas (edited with Mark Thiessen Nation; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2000)
 * Transforming Fate into Destiny: The Theological Ethics of Stanley Hauerwas (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1998; reissued Eugene, Oregon: Cascade, 2004)