Westfield House

Westfield House Application Packet
Program Information
Housing Information

Westfield House is the theological college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE).

History

The House was built more than a century before its inauguration as a house of theological studies on the 22nd of February, 1962. It is situated at 30 Huntingdon Road, opposite New Hall and Fitzwilliam College, about half a mile from the city center. Fitzwilliam is the college of the University of Cambridge to which Westfield House is attached.

The situation of Westfield House is fitting, for the first Lutheran studies in England took place in Cambridge. English Reformers such as Robert Barnes, Hugh Latimer, and Thomas Bilney gathered to read and discuss the writings of Martin Luther in the White Horse Inn, not far from the site of Westfield House today.

The program of theological studies in Cambridge, sponsored by the ELCE, has its roots in the work of the late Dr. William Arndt in the 1950s. The formal beginning was brought a step closer by the appointment of Normal Nagel as the first Preceptor in 1958. In 1969 the academic staff at Westfield increased by the addition of a Tutor to allow more teaching within the House itself. In 1998 a second Tutor was added.

Purpose

The primary purpose of Westfield House is to equip students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and its proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a center of theological studies, it also seeks to serve the Lutheran Church, both in this country and overseas, by the promotion of Christian learning at all levels. It provides theological education within the framework of a confessional Lutheran perspective, and offers resources that further an understanding of that perspective. Besides the academic staff, these resources are principally contained in the small, but carefully assembled library. It is the only significant Lutheran library in the country.