Member Institutes
The Cambridge Theological Federation was formed by Ridley Hall, Wesley House, and Westcott House in 1972. Westminster College became a member in 1976. The East Anglian Ministerial Training Course and the Margaret Beaufort Insititue of Theology joined in 1993, and the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in 1999. The Centre for Jewish Christian Relations and the Henry Martyn Centre are Associate Members of the Federation.
The Eastern Region Minstry Course is ecumenical in nature, offering theological education and ministerial training in two forms: (a) a centre-based model at St Albans and Norwich, where weekly classes are held at both Cathedrals; (b) a distributed training model, where centre-based training is not possible. All students are locally based throughout the Eastern Region and beyond, and attend six residential weekends and an annual Summer School. From September 2009 ERMC will be training Readers from the Diocese of St Albans, in addition to its main work of training candidates for ordination in the Church of England and Methodist Church. Independent students may also study with ERMC.
The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies is a centre for the theological education of clergy and laity of the Orthodox Church, and is the first of its kind in Britain. It serves churches from across the spectrum of the Orthodox world and attracts students for full and weekend courses from Europe, Asia and the United States, as well as from Britain. It is based in Wesley House.
The Margaret Beaufort Institute for Theology, founded in 1993, is the Roman Catholic member of the Federation. It is based at 12 Grange Road, a House established in the 1930s as an educational and spiritual home for Catholic women studying in the University of Cambridge. The Institute is international in outlook and admits women students from many countries and backgrounds, most of whom are training for lay ministry.
Ridley Hall opened in 1881 in Sidgwick Avenue, named after the Reformation leader Nicholas Ridley, presently provides residential training for up to 60 men and women for ordained ministry in the Church of England. Ridley is rooted in the Evangelical tradition but aims to develop an open evangelicalism, ready to learn from the other traditions in the Church of England and from the rich diversity of the world-wide church. It is the base for the Ridley Hall Foundation and the Centre for Youth Ministry.
Wesley House is the Methodist member of the Federation. Located in Jesus Lane, it was founded in 1921 specifically to benefit from proximity to Cambridge University, and it continues to maintain close links. New Methodist patterns of training mean that our student body is becoming increasingly diverse, and that we also work with part time and non residential students. We are also committed to training for lay ministry, and to resource regional training needs.
Westcott House, opposite Wesley in Jesus Lane, was founded in 1881 by the then Regius Professor of Divinity, later Bishop of Durham, Brook Foss Westcott, as a residential college for Anglican ordinands, mainly but by no means exclusively, from the Church of England. Whilst refusing to be identified with any particular tradition, Westcott has firm roots in liberal catholic Anglicanism and is committed to both mission and social justice in a generous and open-minded way.
Westminster College on the corner of Madingley Road and The Backs is the URC member of the Federation. The Presbyterian College, started in London in 1844, moved to its present site in 1899. Westminster is home to the Cheshunt Foundation, which continues the traditions of Cheshunt College, founded in Trefecca in 1768, and through this caters for students of the wider Reformed tradition and sponsors sabbatical terms for ministers. The Cheshunt Institute for Reformed Studies and the Henry Martyn Centre are also based in Westminster.
The Centre for the study of Jewish-Christian Relations, an Associate Member of the Federation founded in 1998, is based at Wesley House. As a forum for teaching, research and dialogue, it enables Jews, Christians and others to work together in an academic environment. The Centre offers a number of programmes in the field of Jewish-Christian relations, including an MA degree.
The Henry Martyn Centre is based around the Henry Martyn Library of 7000 books on mission and world Christianity housed in Westminster College. It became an Associate Member of the Federation in 1999. It is the administrative base for the British and Irish Association for Mission Studies. The Centre arranges seminars and special lectures and provides a focus for mission studies in Cambridge and has strong links with mission study centres throughout the world.
The Norwich Diocesan Ministry Course/Norwich Theology Centre became an Associate Member of the Federation in 2006. Working closely with ERMC, candidates for Reader or Ordained Local Ministry train here together with some ERMC ordinands. Weekly evening classes, Saturdays at Ditchingham, residential weekends and, from September 2009, an initial summer school with ERMC, form the backbone of the teaching. Non- Anglican and independent lay students may also choose to study here.
The St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Ministry Course also became an Associate member of the Federation in 2006. Candidates for Reader and other recognised lay ministries in the Church of England train on this course, along with those who will become Ordained Local Ministers. Teaching is delivered through Saturdays and residential weekends and local tutor groups which meet most weeks in the evening. The course is developing closer links with ERMC and Norwich.