Wednesday, January 20 2016 – it was time for TTC to host its annual Open House. This annual event was born out of the intention of allowing potential seminarians to “check out” the school and “confirm their call” to ministry. The 84 individuals who made their way up our hill were welcomed by the Principal’s opening address and the Academic Dean’s introduction of the school. The Open House programme included having our participants sit in an everyday class to get a glimpse of what theological students discuss, be led on a campus tour so they would get a feel of the physical environment, and attend chapel service with the rest of the TTC community. The weekly community lunch that followed was the peak of the hustle and bustle of the day – lecturers and student ambassadors were spread out at respective tables to chat with participants over lunch. The air was filled with eager questions about all aspects of TTC from visitors and met with thoughtful responses by both the faculty and students. The general response from the participants was one of appreciation for the warm welcome, informative introduction, and generous interaction with current students and lecturers.

Gladys Chen, a participant remarked, “From sitting in the lecture on pastoral care and from the various sharing sessions, I gained a better understanding of what theology is about. The depth and vigor of studying theology at TTC was definitely something that stood out to me, in a good way. Community lunch with the lecturers and students was most helpful in giving me a deeper understanding of what it’s really like to be a part of TTC.” Through the course of the day, I saw new friendships being established between visitors themselves, as well as between them and the TTC community, with hopes that some of these newly made friends would become classmates and college mates in the near future. We sure hope that some of these faces will return as matriculated students in July, if not this year, in the following years to come.

Reported by Mak Sue Ann