About Us

Theological study with ermc

Working towards a Church which is united in its confidence in the Gospel, united in its commitment to serve the world and diverse in culture, spirituality and theology.

ERMC offers part-time and full-time non-residential training for those preparing for lay and ordained ministry and courses for those who want to learn more about God and their faith in community. Our students come from a large area in the Eastern Region of England and beyond, enriched by students from across continental Europe.

We are a community which is passionate for making connections between faith and life, especially affirming the workplace as a place of ministry. We prepare ministers who are grounded in the life of the local church and have firm roots in their local context. From there, we offer an approach to mission fit for the 21st century, fully and missionally attentive to the wider local context, critically informed by global as well as contemporary British approaches to and theologies of mission.

We see formation for ministry as part of God’s mission to and renewal of creation through the Holy Spirit. We are committed to being mission-minded people who are deeply immersed in the Scriptures, in the Tradition of the Church, to using our minds to think through issues of faith and to using both personal and communal experience as a valid way of doing theology. All this is grounded in prayer and creative worship so that we hope that our students’ faith will grow in wonder, practical application and imagination.

Training is offered through the placement, class-based learning, on-line resources and the residential programme. We have a wide range of teachers, support staff and local church supervisors who support students in their learning and formation.

We are members of the Cambridge Theological Federation and are in formal partnership with the Dioceses of Chelmsford, Ely, Norwich, Peterborough, St Albans, St Edmundsbury and Ipswich as well as the Diocese in Europe. With most of these dioceses we work together for Reader/Licensed Lay Ministry training.

At ERMC, we enable you to discover your gifts and grow into the minister God created you to be; to be inspired and challenged by your learning; to develop and apply your practical skills; and to grow in your knowledge and love of Jesus Christ

Philip Harvey, former student
“…opportunities for personal learning, theological dialogue and formation with fellow-ordinands and readers-in-training. It’s also a place for developing friendships and connections across dioceses and countries.”