Thursday 2 January 2014

Wesley House, Cambridge and the Eastern Region Ministry Course

I ate my first Christmas dinner of 2013 on December 6th in Wesley House Cambridge and it was delicious! I was there to visit the students, staff and Trustees and to preach at the annual service for the commemoration of the Founders and Benefactors of Wesley House.

I arrived in Cambridge at lunch-time and met with Dr Ian McIntosh, Principal of the Eastern Region Ministry Course (ERMC). ERMC offers training for lay and ordained ministry for students from the eastern region of England and from continental Europe.  It was good to have the opportunity to talk with Ian about the continuing vibrant life of ERMC and to have the opportunity to thank him for the contribution that the course has made to the formation and training of ordained ministers in the Methodist Church.

After lunch I met the Wesley House students. I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend time talking with them about the role of President and about my experiences and also engaging with a variety of questions that they asked and we explored together.

I also talked with the staff and with the Trustees who talked to me about the plans for the future of Wesley House, you can read about these plans in the Michaelmas newsletter on the Wesley House website http://www.wesley.cam.ac.uk/documents/Newsletter_Michaelmas_2013.pdf

It was a privilege to preach at The Founders and Benefactors commemoration where I spoke of the Christian hope that is grounded in the knowledge of God and the immeasurable greatness of god's power. A transforming, renewing, life-giving power that we know because we know the risen Christ.

The day ended with the Christmas dinner, an abundant feast and a joyful occasion.

The staff of Wesley House continue to train the final cohort of Methodist students sponsored for initial training for ordained ministry alongside independent students. We are grateful to them for their continuing commitment to standards of excellence and for their commitment to, and care for all the students in this community.





1 comment:

Sally said...

Thank you for including ERMC, I trained with them, the only Methodist in my cohort and it was a wonderful experience.