St Matthew’s Church in Walsall has been awarded a grant of £9,850 to deliver Embodied Faith: How Does God Meet Us in Body? The project explores how Christian worship and prayer are experienced through the body and how science and faith can enrich one another.
St Matthew’s is one of fifteen churches and Christian organisations in the UK to receive funding from Scientists in Congregations for 2026-27, a grant programme run by Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science. Other recipients include a cathedral, a community farm, and a Methodist art project.
Embodied Faith will bring together St Matthew’s Church, the University of Wolverhampton, and the wider Walsall community through a living lab session, a public interactive event at church, and informal outreach talks in community venues. The project will explore physiological responses to practices such as prayer, worship, and reflection, while creating space for open discussion about scientific vocation, wellbeing, and Christian faith. The project will run across 2026-27, with opportunities for congregation members, scientists, students, neighbouring churches, and the wider public to take part.
The project co-directors, Rev. Preb. Jim Trood and Dr. Alex Dallaway, said “We are delighted to receive this award for Embodied Faith. This project will help us affirm the scientists and healthcare professionals within our congregation, explore how prayer and worship engage the whole person, and create fresh opportunities for conversation between church, university, and community. We hope it will strengthen Christian witness and encourage others to see that science and faith are not in conflict, but can enrich one another.”.
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.