Entries open for Theology Slam 2022
Entries open today (1 March) for Theology Slam 2022, the competition that spotlights the best young voices on theology and the contemporary world.
Now in its fourth year, the competition is organised jointly by the Church Times, SCM Press, and, for the first time this year, HeartEdge.
Theology Slam is open to anyone aged 18 to 35, and consists of a qualifying round and a live final. Entries open on 1 March 2022 and the deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on 6 June 2022.
In the qualifying round, applicants submit 500-word reflections and a 90-second video offering theological insights on one of six key issues:
- Work
- Body
- Grace
- Justice
- Space
- The Virtual
- Recovery
Four entrants will then be chosen to take part in the Theology Slam Live Final on 27 September 2022 during the HeartEdge conference in Manchester. Finalists will deliver talks of between seven and ten minutes based on their original entry. Each finalist will also receive a half-day training session on public speaking before they record their talk, (and feedback from a leading theologian).
The finalists’ talks will be judged on the night by an expert panel of leading theologians:
- Professor Anthony Reddie, director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture
- Canon Rachel Mann, Area Dean of Bury and Rossendale, Assistant Curate of St Mary’s, Bury, a Visiting Teaching Fellow of the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Met University, and a Visiting Scholar of Sarum College, Salisbury.
- Prebendary Isabelle Hamley, Secretary for Ecumenical Relations and Theology and Theological Adviser to the House of Bishops
- Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and contributor to Radio 4’s Thought for the Day
The winner will receive £250 to spend at Church House Bookshop and the Theology Slam trophy, and their talk will be published in the Church Times.
The Revd Jonathan Edwards, Associate Vicar for HeartEdge said: “Theology underpins and runs through all that HeartEdge does. As a result, we are keen to encourage and share new voices on theology and the contemporary world and the Theology Slam is a great opportunity to do just that. HeartEdge also looks to prioritise voices from the edge and young people exploring theology often find themselves in that space. To encourage a new generation to think theologically about the world around them - and encourage the church to listen to what they have to say – is just want we want to do. So, we are very excited to join with SCM Press and Church Times in organising Theology Slam 2022.”
David Shervington, co-founder of Theology Slam and Associate Publisher at SCM Press said: “This is now the fourth year we’ve run Theology Slam, and we continue to be consistently amazed at the quality of the entries. We’re especially excited this year to be partnering with HeartEdge for the first time, a movement which shares so much of the vision behind Theology Slam. I’m so looking forward to finding out which new, previously unheard voices Theology Slam helps to uncover this year.”
--ENDS--
For more information, contact David Shervington at SCM Press:
E: David.Shervington@hymnsam.co.uk
T: 020 7776 7545
More information at www.churchtimes.co.uk/theology-slam
To apply, visit www.churchtimes.co.uk/theology-slam-entry-form-2022
More information about the HeartEdge conference - https://bit.ly/3s8wACW