The Payne Memorial essay competition 2015-16

The Baptist Historical Society has launched the Payne Memorial essay competition for 2015-16.

The theme for this year is ‘Patterns of Ministry at Home and Abroad: Change and Continuity’.

According to the Baptist Historical society, submissions should explore the question of: How do Baptists relate to a three-fold ministry of bishop, presbyter and deacon?
The theme takes into account the fact that ‘discussion of ministry is very much a contemporary concern but it has been at the heart of Baptist understanding of the church’s mission from the earliest confessions of the seventeenth century onwards, and it is there more recently as a vital part of the Faith and Order document – Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry – seeking consensus amongst the churches.’

Whilst the area of potential study has been deliberately set very wide, candidates are advised to limit their area of investigation to what can be properly encompassed within an essay of no more than 6,000 words for the main text.

The essay should be original, unpublished, based on personal research, and not have been awarded another prize. The winning entry, and any other deemed worthy, will be published in the Baptist Quarterly. The Society reserves the right to make no award if no essay is of sufficient merit.

Submissions should be written with proper critical apparatus, for example professional footnotes, bibliography, and identification of appropriate archival material [preferably conforming to the style-guide for articles for the Baptist Quarterly].  They should be sent to the Secretary of the Baptist Historical Society no later than 31 December 2016.

The Payne Memorial Essay commemorates the life and work of the Revd Dr E.A. Payne (1902-80), General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, a President of the World Council of Churches and President of the Baptist Historical Society.

For more details visit http://baptisthistory.org.uk/