The Reformation Day was celebrated with enthusiasm at PTS on 31 October 2009The meeting started with singing of the Psalms in Genevan tunes led by Mrs. Judy Chacko and special music team followed by the preaching of the word by principal Dr. Mohan Chacko. This year being the 500th birth anniversary of John Calvin, several academic papers were presented: \"Calvin\'s Concept of Law,\" and \"John Calvin - His Life and Ministry\" by Rev. Steve Poelman; \"John Calvin\'s Ruling Elder at the Crossroads of Church and Society\" prepared by Rev. Piet Houtman (read by Mr. Ramesh Chand); \"Calvin and the Credibility of Scripture\" by Dr. Mathew Ebenezer; \"Some Thoughts for a Reformed-Pentecostal Dialogue in Asia\" by Dr. Mohan Chacko; A documentary on Swiss Reformation was also shown. A community dinner was organized in celebration of the Reformation Day which also happened to be the birthday of Dr. Mohan Chacko.

Book Release: On Reformation Day, two books in Hindi, written by PTS teachers were released. One is a study guide to the Westminster Catechism written by Rev. Charles Angert, and the other is the Hindi translation of Asian Catechism written by Principal Dr. Mohan Chacko.

An inter-house debate was organized on 30 October with the topic, \" Should Christians give bribe to get legitimate work done\" was organized. The debate explored various aspects of this issue

The apartment for Married Students and Faculty / Staff housing was inaugurated to the glory of God on 30 October 2009 in the presence of the PTS local board members, PTS family and people from the Green Valley community. Rev. Samuel Macgregor, President of the PTS board gave the dedication prayer. Rev. Phil Fiol, board member gave short message. Dr. Mohan Chacko thanked DVN for funding the project. He also announced the name of the apartment given by the management, John Calvin Residence Building to mark the 500th year of the Reformer\'s birth. The building stone was unveiled by Mr. Pieter Messelink, Regional Coordinator of De Verre Naasten, the Netherlands. The apartment will accommodate 18 families, in all.

Testimony: B. Ravichandran was born and brought up in a Hindu family in Tamilnadu. At the age of 12 his father died that left the family in deep sorrow. As the gospel of eternal life was shared with the family, Ravi committed his life to the Lord. He was followed by his mother and his sister. Ravi committed his life for the ministry in 1994 and went to Gujarat as a missionary until last year 2008. His desire for more Biblical knowlege grew, and the Lord made the way for him to join PTS. Ravi came with his wife Jaya and daughter. He has the desire to go back and train church leaders for effective evangelism and to establish Bible based churches.

Reformed Youth Cricket Match: A cricket game was organized on November 7, 2009 at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) university campus, Dehradun. Three teams participated from Bible Presbyterian Church, New Delhi, Valley Bible Fellowship, Dehradun and Presbyterian Theological Seminary (PTS). PTS team won the match.

Friends who dropped by: Mr. Bram Klapwijk and Mr. Pieter Messelink from the Netherlands, PTS alumni: Dasen KK (00), John Joseph (00) from Kerala and Rohit P (03) from New Delhi.

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PROJECTS

Student Support:
There are several student candidates who are in need of support. Sponsor a student for 4 or 3 years by investing Rs. 55,000 or US $ 1,222 (M.Div), Rs. 45,000 or US $ 1000 (B.Th) per year as full support to cover tuition and boarding, or any amount as partial help.

Faculty Apartment Repair:
The floor of one apartment sank in the living room and bedroom when there was earthquake few years ago. The floors need to be re-made with marble chips. The cost of the project is Rs. 60,000/-

Computer needed: Three computers and one laptop are needed for Faculty members costing Rs. 23,000 ($510) per one desk top computer and Rs. 30,700/- for a laptop computer.

A mini bus (tempo traveler): A mini bus is needed to be used for outreach ministries, class related and for official purposes. The cost is about Rs. 865,000. This is the main fundraising project for the 40th Anniversary of PTS.

Gifts and donations indicating its purpose can be sent to any of the following:
* Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Saving Bank Acct No. 306802010008768,
Union Bank of India, Dehradun. Swift Code No. UBININBBDER, IFSC: UBIN0530689
* MTW, 1600 North Brown Road, Lawrenceville, GA 30043, USA.
* ARMA, 12964 N. Bellwood, Holland, MI 49424, USA.
 
PTS WEBSITE
Please make sure to visit us at www.ptsindia.com to learn more about us and send us the email address of those who may be interested to hear from us. We would love to add their names into our mailing list.

Roshyama, Editor
PTS E-Newsletter
revroshyama@ptsindia.com