St James Church in Cheshire has been awarded a grant of £7700 to explore how scientific practice, particularly coding and computational thinking – can serve as a participatory tool in God’s Kingdom, not just an academic discipline.

St James Church is one of fifteen churches and Christian organisations in the UK to receive funding from Scientists in Congregations, a grant programme run by Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science, for 2026-27. ECLAS is an ecumenical project based at St John’s College, Durham University, in partnership with the University of York and the Church of England. Full details of the awarded projects are available at www.eclasproject.org. 

Our project will design, pilot, and evaluate a replicable model for children and young people (ages around 9-14) that integrates learning python programming with the Gospel of Mark. It will be used to seed a new multi-generational science and faith worshipping community. The 12 weeks of coding and gospel engagement will begin from March 2027, with the “Byte-sized Faith” new worshipping community starting from April 2027.

“I am really excited about the prospect of exploring how scientific practice, a gift from God, is a key part of telling, receiving, and taking part in God’s story of new creation here on earth as in heaven. I look forward to sharing the journey with you in the years ahead.” Stefan Collier, Rector of Christleton.

David Wilkinson, ECLAS Project Director, said: “We are proud to make this significant investment into advancing the science-faith dialogue in the UK. These projects, which represent a wide range of topics, faith traditions, and geographic reach, will become exemplars to other churches and theological colleges who want to weave engagement with science and scientists into their mission and ministry.”

ECLAS and the Scientists in Congregations grant programme are funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

We would welcome any expressions of interest to be involved. Stefan may be contacted throughoffice@stjameschristleton.org.uk