To honour the late Georges Lombard - lay member of the Protestant Church in Geneva and treasurer of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches from 1948 to 1970 - and to encourage theological work that relates past and present Reformed thought to pressing contemporary problems, such as economic injustice and environmental destruction, the Lombard family and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches are offering one prize of US$1,000 and two prizes of US$500 for theological essays on the subject "The good Samaritan today (Luke 10.25-37): Salvation, solidarity and Christian mission".

The Lombard prize is open to theological students and young pastors who belong to member churches of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. They must be 30 years old or under in December 2003. Female authors are encouraged to participate.

The essays should show evidence of solid exegetical work, familiarity with the Reformed tradition, awareness of contemporary challenges to Christian mission, both globally and contextually, as well as theological imagination, rather than merely echo traditional interpretations of the story of the good Samaritan. Interdisciplinary reflection (eg, theology and economics) is welcome. Essays must be in English and be typewritten or word processed. They should be no fewer than 3,500, and no more than 4,500, words long. They must be sent to the WARC general secretary, Rev Dr Setri Nyomi, by mail or email before December 31 2002.

Entries should include the following information, where applicable: full name, sex, address, telephone, fax and email details, church membership, theological seminary or faculty, date of birth, date of ordination, mother tongue, and where the candidate learned of the competition.

The essays will be submitted to a jury jointly appointed by the Lombard family and the Alliance. The deliberations of the jury will remain confidential and their decision will be final. The results will be announced late in March 2003.

The competition is coordinated by Rev Dr William A McComish, Dean of Saint Peter's Cathedral, Geneva, and treasurer of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.