Emmanuel Theological College is an exciting new development in the North West of England, a joint-venture between the bishops of six Church of England dioceses including Carlisle to provide high-quality theological education and training that is Christ-centred, hope-filled and mission-orientated, seeking to equip the whole people of God to serve the whole mission of God.

Providing rigorous, faith-filled, and inspiring academic programmes validated by the University of Durham, Emmanuel students:

• are training to be authorised church ministers, or

• are independent students wanting to study theology that will resource contemporary Christian discipleship by staying alert to the realities of the twenty-first century and inviting students to connect their faith with real life.

For the Church of England Emmanuel currently trains clergy and Readers, but plans soon to be expanding the range of ministries to include youth workers, lay pioneers and others. Emmanuel’s academic programmes are attentive to the implications of theology for a variety of other spheres including leadership, work, politics, ethics, mission, and society and the College encourages all its students to make connections between their classroom learning and whatever context they are currently living and working within. 

Emmanuel has training centres throughout the North West, including in the Diocese at Church House in Penrith. Teaching at Penrith takes place on Tuesday evenings for ten weeks each school term, together with some study days and weekend residentials for ministry trainees. All sessions are fully supported by a wide range of electronic resources on Emmanuel’s virtual learning environment, including videos, reading extracts, articles and website links.