Wesley Methodist Church, Singapore
| Wesley Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Wesley Methodist Church | |
| Coordinates: 1°17′53″N 103°50′51″E / 1.297949°N 103.847623°E | |
| Country |
 Singapore |
| Denomination | Methodist |
| Website | www.wesleymc.org |
| History | |
| Founder(s) | Rev. Dr. and Mrs. James Mills Thoburn; Rev. William Fitzjames Oldham; Mrs. Marie Oldham; Miss Julia Battie |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Rev. Dr Kow Shih Ming (Pastor in Charge) |
| Pastor(s) | Rev. Philip Lim, Rev. Michael Tan, Rev. Joel Yong, Rev. Wendy Watson, Rev. Ivan Tan, Rev. Fred Tan, Rev. Raymond Fong, Ps. Jeremy Ong |
Wesley Methodist Church is the oldest Methodist church with an English-speaking congregation in Singapore. It is the second Methodist Church to be built in Singapore. It is located at 5 Fort Canning Road, Singapore 179493.
History
Early in 1885, Rev William F. Oldham was appointed to head the work of the Methodist Church in Singapore. He arrived with Dr James Thoburn and together they conducted a series of evangelistic rallies. These rallies were held in the Town Hall (later the Victoria Memorial Hall). It was here that the first Methodist Church in Singapore was established. The Church met weekly in the Town Hall until December 1886 when it moved to a building in Coleman Street (later to become the Anglo-Chinese Primary School's hall). The Church was then known as The English Church.
In early 1907, Sir John Anderson, the governor of Singapore, granted a piece of land at Fort Canning (today's site) for a Church to be erected. This was in recognition of the Church's contributions in the fields of missions and education. Under the leadership of Rev A.J. Amery, the new building at Fort Canning was completed and named The Wesley Methodist Church.
Wesley's growth was interrupted during the war years. Her building was stripped and used as an ammunition depot. The only items belonging to the Church which survived the war was a badly damaged Hammond organ, the lectern, the marble baptismal font and the stained glass windows. The Church was rededicated on Easter Day 1948. God has continued to bless Wesley in special ways, particularly with an increase in membership and ministry.
In 1977, major renovations were carried out to meet Wesley's expanding ministry and growth. This has not proven to be adequate and another extension project was embarked on in 1988 to keep pace with the rapid increase in membership and ministry.[1] The church completed another extension and renovation project in 2013, and recently embarked on another project to refurbish the sanctuary.[2]
Architecture
The building is in a toned-down Gothic-Revival style, built of red brick with tracery and mullion details in white stone or stucco. It was designed by David McLeod Craik of Swan and Maclaren.[3] The interior originally consisted of a nave and two transepts, roofed by a wooden hammerbeam roof. The church was extensively remodelled and extended in 1977 and 1988, doubling the length of the nave. aisles were also provided by turning the original windows into arched openings and extending the roof. Additional rooms were also provided in extensions to the transepts, and an additional building containing a multi-purpose hall and more rooms constructed beside it. While the capacity of the church was greatly increased, the building lost most of its original façades in the process. Seemingly oddly-placed gothic finials emerging from the tiled roof indicate where the original façades once were. Although the new construction uses the same combination of brick and plaster as the original structure, it is quite utilitarian and lacks the detail grace of the original, both on the exterior and interior. For instance, the new portion of the nave is plain pitched roof, without the carved wooden hammer beams in the older portion.
Further Reading
Books
- Doraisamy, Theodore R. (Royapan) (comp. & ed.) (1985). Forever Beginning : One Hundred Years of Methodism in Singapore. Singapore: Methodist Church in Singapore; distributed by Methodist Book Room.
- Doraisamy, Theodore R. (Royapan) (comp. & ed.) (1986). Forever Beginning II : One Hundred Years of Methodism in Singapore. Singapore: Methodist Church in Singapore.
- Stanley, Christina [et al.] (eds.) (1988). Wesley 103 : A Testimony to the Glory of God. Singapore: Wesley Methodist Church.
- Wesley Archives & Heritage Ministry; Wesley Communications Ministry (2005). Our Stories, His Glory : A Wesley 120th Anniversary Publication. Singapore: Wesley Methodist Church.
- Wong, Lana (1985). By My Spirit : A History of Wesley Church. Singapore: Wesley Methodist Church.
Serials
- The Wesley Tidings : The Official Organ of Wesley Methodist Church. Singapore: Wesley Methodist Church. 1983–. Check date values in:
|date=(help)
References
- ↑ http://www.wesleymc.org/!main/content/view/22/31/
- ↑ http://www.wesleymc.org/!main/content/view/951/38/
- ↑ Ferguson, Jane Beamish & Jane (1985). A history of Singapore architecture : the making of a city (Rev. ed. ed.). Singapore: G. Brash. ISBN 9971947978.