Methodist Church in Singapore | |
---|---|
Classification | Protestant |
Theology | Methodism |
Polity | Connectionalism (Modified episcopal polity) |
Bishop | Bishop Dr Gordon Wong |
Founder | John Wesley (spiritually) |
Origin | 1885 |
Members | 42,000 |
Places of worship | 46 |
Official website | methodist.org.sg |
Part of a series on |
Methodism |
---|
Christianityportal |
The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) is the church that Methodists in Singapore belong to. The Church has 46 churches island-wide with around 42,000 members, and is the largest mainline Protestant denomination in Singapore. [1] Its current bishop and head of the Church is Bishop Dr Gordon Wong, who was elected at the 12th Session of the General Conference on 7 September 2020. [2]
The Church also has 15 schools, 13 kindergartens and five childcare centres under its umbrella. [1]
The Methodist Church in Singapore started out as a missionary initiative by Rev James Thoburn of the South India Conference in British Raj India in 1885 . Rev William Fitzjames Oldham travelled to Singapore to plant the foundations of the mission. Oldham started the church's first English-language boys' school in 1886, the Anglo-Chinese School. Two girls' schools (Methodist Girls' School and Fairfield Methodist Girls' School) were subsequently established in 1887 and 1888, respectively. The mission also developed a clinic and hostels for homeless children.
From this Singapore base, the mission then spread to the Malay Peninsula and Sarawak in the 1890s. The Methodist Mission in Singapore and Malaya expanded over time, eventually growing to the administrative status of a conference in the Methodist Church. Eventually, the church spread throughout Southeast Asia, leading to the establishment of the Southeast Asian Central Conference in 1950.
The Malaysian and Singapore components of the mission officially became autonomous of their Western parent bodies in 1968; thus, becoming an Asian church with a bishop elected from the local ministers. In 1976, the church was restructured into The Methodist Church in Singapore and The Methodist Church in Malaysia to reflect the secession of Singapore from Malaysia.
The Methodist Church in Singapore, which consists of 46 local congregations, is organised in conferences: general conference, annual conferences, district and local conferences.
The General Conference, which meets every four years, is the highest decision-making body of the MCS, led by the elected Bishop and an equal number of elected representatives (both clergy and laity) from each of the three Annual Conferences. For day-to-day matters between sessions of the General Conference, the powers of the General Conference are to be found in the General Conference Executive Council (GCEC).
The General Conference is the only body that speaks officially for the church. No person, no paper, no organisation has the authority to speak officially for The Methodist Church, this right having been reserved exclusively to the General Conference under the Constitution.
The Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS) was set up to help Methodist women grow in the knowledge and experience of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, challenge them to respond to God's redemptive fellowship, to make Christ known throughout the world and to develop a personal responsibility for the whole task of the Church. Its ministries include Spiritual Life, Social Concerns, Christian Education and Missions.
The Methodist Missions Society (MMS) was established in 1991 as the missions agency of The Methodist Church in Singapore. MMS seeks to establish indigenous churches supported by mission endeavours in communities across the region where there is no Methodist presence. The current focus is on the Asian region, particularly Cambodia, China, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam, owing to their proximity to Singapore and the multiple opportunities to reach the large numbers of unreached people groups in these countries for religious conversion.
The Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) is the outreach and social-concerns arm of The Methodist Church in Singapore. It provides care, support and practical help to communities experiencing poverty in well-being – such as poor health, fractured relationships, broken dignity and financial distress – through an integrated range of 22 healthcare and social services. These include a home care & hospice service, nursing homes, a senior care centre, active ageing centres, the Christalite Methodist Home for the destitute, family service centres, parenting and marriage support, a debt clearance and asset building scheme, a girls’ residence and student care centre. MWS’ support extends to all, regardless of their ethnicities and religions.
The Methodist Church in Singapore is a member of the National Council of Churches of Singapore.
This is a list of Bishops of the Methodist Church in Singapore, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead. [5]
The Methodist Church in Singapore is organised into three branches called "Annual Conferences" as each of them meets once a year. These are the Chinese Annual Conference comprising churches with largely Chinese-speaking congregations, Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference for churches with largely Tamil-speaking congregations and Trinity Annual Conference for churches with largely English-speaking congregations. However, many churches now conduct services in languages other than the language appropriate to the annual conference that they belong to.
The three Annual Conferences are headed by the Bishop. Each of the three Annual Conferences is headed by a President.
There are 16 schools managed by the Methodist Church, which is represented by the Methodist Schools Foundation.
Six of the schools are part of the Anglo-Chinese School family which includes a junior college.
The other schools are:
Schools under the ACS family:
Other Methodist Schools:
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west.
Kallang is a planning area and residential zone located in the Central Region of Singapore.
Serangoon is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore.
Hougang or Aukang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to the north, Geylang and Serangoon to the south, Bedok to the southeast, Toa Payoh to the southwest, Paya Lebar to the east, Ang Mo Kio to the west and Bishan to the southwest.
Toa Payoh is a planning area and mature residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borders Bishan and Serangoon to the north, the Central Water Catchment to the northwest, Kallang to the south, Geylang to the southeast, Novena to the west and Hougang to the east. Toa Payoh New Town is situated in the western portion of the Toa Payoh planning area. The latter occupies a much larger area, encompassing estates such as Potong Pasir and Bidadari.
The Kallang River is the longest river in Singapore, flowing for 10 kilometers from the Lower Peirce Reservoir to the Kallang Basin. It originates in the planning area of Central Water Catchment, flows in a southeast direction through Bishan and Toa Payoh, before finally arriving in Kallang.
The Ang Mo Kio Police Division is one of the seven land divisions of the Singapore Police Force. It was first established in 1965. It was previously located in Paya Lebar. In 1987, the division HQ moved to its present location to better serve the public and meet its operational needs. Ang Mo Kio Division serves a residential population of over 1.1 million residents. Ang Mo Kio Division’s area of coverage includes mature housing estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Serangoon. It also oversees young but rapidly-developing residential estates like Sengkang and Punggol.
Christians in Singapore constitute 18.9% of the country's resident population, as of the most recent census conducted in 2020. Christianity is the second largest religion in the country, after Buddhism and before Islam. In 2020, about 37.1% of the country's Christians identified as Catholic with 62.9% labeled as 'Other Christians', most of which identify as Protestant, with some identifying as Orthodox or other minority Christian denominations.
The Methodist Church in Malaysia is a body within the Methodist tradition in Malaysia. With approximately 200,000 members in more than 1034 congregations, it is the second largest Protestant denomination in the country after Sidang Injil Borneo. The current bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia is the Rev. Dr. T. Jeyakumar.
The North-East Region of Singapore is one of the five regions in the country. The region is the most densely populated and has the highest population among the five, with Sengkang being its most populous town as of 2020 and Seletar as the regional centre. Comprising 13,810 hectares, it includes seven planning areas and is largely a residential region with 217,120 homes. Housing largely consists of high-density HDB public housing estates, however private housing is also present in the region. As its name implies, it is located in the north-eastern part of Singapore.
Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School(PLMGS) is a primary and secondary school for girls located in Hougang, Singapore. Running on a single-session, the school caters to students from Primary 1 to 6 and Secondary 1 to 4/5 in the Express, Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams in Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) and Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary).
William Fitzjames Oldham was a British-American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and missionary bishop for South Asia. He distinguished himself as a missionary, an author and a church official. He was the founder of Anglo Chinese School in Singapore in 1886.
Bartley Road is a major road in Singapore extending from Upper Serangoon Road to Tampines Avenue 10. The road has a distance span of 5.8km. En route, it passes through the areas of Serangoon, Bartley, Paya Lebar, Defu, Kaki Bukit, and Bedok Reservoir.
Methodist Church in India is a Protestant Christian denomination of India.
Joo Seng is a subzone located in Toa Payoh in the Central Region of Singapore. It gets its name from Bartley Road, which stretches from the end of Braddel Road to Upper Paya Lebar Road, as part of the Outer Ring Road System. There are some condominiums and houses in the area. It is also where the Gurkha Contingent is based. There are many Gurkhas and their families living there in private flats.
The Sabah Methodist Church is a body within the Methodist tradition in Malaysia. With approximately 200,000 members in more than 1034 congregations, it is the largest Protestant denomination in the country. The current bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia is the Rev Dr Ong Hwai Teik.
Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) is a Methodist church in Singapore located at 48 Barker Road along Dunearn Road, and is colocated with Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary).