FIFTEEN churches and Christian organisations have been awarded nearly £300,000 of grants to support engagement between science and faith.
Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS) has awarded £175,419 in grants to theological education institutions (TEIs) under its Science for Seminaries programme, and £114,812 to churches under its Scientists in Congregations programme.
“The awards support churches and TEIs to engage with science and scientists as a way of exploring and enriching their Christian faith,” ECLAS said in a statement on Thursday of last week.
ECLAS, an ecumenical project based at St John’s College, Durham University, in partnership with the University of York and the Church of England, has awarded 96 Scientists in Congregations awards since 2016, and 19 Science for Seminaries grants since 2021.
ECLAS and its programmes are funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The projects range in subject matter, and include research into satellites, microscopes, food, the environment, and spiritual intelligence.
Recipients of the Scientists in Congregations awards include Shieldfield Art Works, a gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, which has been awarded £10,328 for its two-year arts programme, “Creating Fallow”, and Jubilee Farm, in Northern Ireland, which has been granted £9546 for its project “Eating Creation: Exploring the relationship between food, health and the environment”.
King’s Church, Warrington, received £8000 towards its escape room project, which “brings science, faith, and creative problem-solving together”, ECLAS said. Designed for families and children, the goal is to solve a series of science-based challenges alongside biblical themes of light and revelation.
It is hoped that the escape room project will be replicated and made available as a resource for other churches and community groups, ECLAS said.
The Queen’s Foundation was awarded £60,000 under the 2026-27 Science for Seminaries awards. The foundation’s project is entitled “Neurodivergence, Psychology, and Intersectionality for Ministry”, and will explore how churches can become more inclusive environments for neurodivergent people (Features, 12 November).
The Theological Colleges Environment Network was also awarded £60,00 for “The Elisha Project”, a programme that aims to consolidate existing environmental work across TEIs.
“Christology and the Cosmos”, run by Emmanuel Theological College, will explore theological understandings of time and space, as well as Christian hope, in the light of contemporary cosmology. The college was awarded £55,419.