Church Society Grants 2025

Author(s)Ros Clarke
Date 13 March 2025
Category News
Tags News
Church Society is delighted to announce our annual awards to support people in study, training and research. This is a crucial part of our ministry to support the church now and resource it well for the future. We have three categories of grants named for three faithful Anglicans of the past: Dean Henry Wace, Bishop J. C. Ryle, and Lady Mary Vere. You can find out a little more about each of them at the end of this post.
Dean Wace Scholarship

In order to encourage and support the next generation of theologians, Church Society awards a number of scholarships each year to evangelicals within the Church of England who are seeking funding for masters and doctoral level courses (MPhil, ThM, MTh, DMin, PhD etc) in theology and related disciplines (church history, biblical counselling, etc).

Applications are due on 1st June, 2025, and should include:

  • a description of the course of study and its projected benefit to the church
  • a budget
  • the name and email address of an academic reference from the candidate’s educational institution.

Applicants should normally be members of Church Society, and are also asked to indicate if they are in general agreement (and note any exceptions) with the Church Society doctrinal statement here. Awards can be up to £1500. Applicants will be notified within 2 months if they have been successful.

It is expected that recipients of the Dean Wace Scholarship would subsequently seek to share some of the fruit of their research with members of the society via the Crossway magazine, The Global Anglican theological journal, or some other means.

Bishop Ryle Bursary

Bursaries are offered to Church of England ministers seeking funding for specific writing projects, sabbatical training proposals, and such like, as well as ordinands seeking an additional year of study below masters level.

Applications are due on 1st June, 2025, and should include:

  • a description of the proposal
  • a budget
  • the name and email address of a suitable reference. If there is no appropriate person to give an academic reference, please name a Bishop, Archdeacon or Churchwarden who can give a reference for you.

Applicants should normally be members of Church Society, and are also asked to indicate if they are in general agreement (and note any exceptions) with the Church Society doctrinal statement here. Awards can be up to £500. Applicants will be notified within 2 months if they have been successful.

It is expected that recipients of the Bishop Ryle Bursary would subsequently seek to share some of the fruit of their research with members of the society via Crossway magazine, The Global Anglican theological journal or some other appropriate means.

 

Mary Vere Grants

Many women struggle to access formal theological education but are nonetheless committed to study and to service within the church. In order to support such women, Church Society makes annual grants towards the cost of their training for non-ordained ministry in the Church of England. Women are, of course, also welcome to apply for the Bishop Ryle and Dean Wace awards where eligible.

Applications are due on 1st June, 2025, and should include:

  • a description of the course of study
  • your intended future ministry
  • a budget
  • the name and email address of an academic reference

Applicants should normally be members of Church Society, and are also asked to indicate if they are in general agreement (and note any exceptions) with the Church Society doctrinal statement here.  Awards can be between £500 and £2000. Applicants will be notified within 2 months if they have been successful.

It is expected that recipients of the Mary Vere Grant would subsequently seek to share some of the fruit of their research with members of the society via Crossway magazine, The Global Anglican theological journal or some other appropriate means.

If you have any further questions, or you wish apply for any of these grants please contact the Church Society office with the information specified above.

Dean Wace, Bishop Ryle and Lady Mary Vere

Image of Lady Mary Vere from the University of Leicester used under Creative Commons License 2.0.

Dean Henry Wace (1836-1924) was a Principal of Kings College London, Dean of Canterbury, and Editor of The Churchman (now known as The Global Anglican). He is described in the Dictionary of National Biography as "an effective administrator, a Protestant churchman of deep scholarship, and a stout champion of the Reformation settlement.”

J.C.Ryle (1816-1900) was the first Bishop of Liverpool and a great champion of evangelical faith at a time when the Church of England was in thrall to the Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement of the 19th century. He wrote many tracts for the Church Association.

Lady Mary Vere (1581-1671) was renowned for her godliness, and her commitment to theological study and debate. She regularly corresponded with many clergymen, and spent several hours each day in personal study. Lady Mary also used her influence to secure appointments for clergymen in the Churches of England and Ireland.

Image of Lady Mary Vere from the University of Leicester used under Creative Commons License 2.0.