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Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church

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Telok Ayer
Chinese Methodist Church
Church view from Telok Ayer Street
Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church is located in Singapore
Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church
Telok Ayer
Chinese Methodist Church
1°16′42.49″N 103°50′49.20″E / 1.2784694°N 103.8470000°E / 1.2784694; 103.8470000
Location235 Telok Ayer Street
Singapore 068656
Country Singapore
DenominationMethodist
Membership1,000
Websitewww.tacmc.org.sg
History
Former name(s)
  • Hokkien Church
  • Telok Ayer Church
  • Chinese Methodist Church
Founded1889; 135 years ago (1889)
Founder(s)Dr. Benjamin F. West[1]
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationNational Monument
Designated1989; 35 years ago (1989)
Architect(s)Swan and Maclaren
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Rev. Chua Ooi Suah
Designated23 March 1989; 35 years ago (1989-03-23)
Reference no.21

Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (Abbreviation: TACMC), (Chinese: 卫理公会直落亚逸礼拜堂) is located on Telok Ayer Street within the Downtown Core of Singapore's central business district. The church is approximately 450 metres from Telok Ayer MRT station.[2]

Founded in 1889,[3] TACMC is the first Chinese Methodist Church to be established in Singapore.[4][1][5] It has stood on Telok Ayer Street for more than a hundred years.[3]

TACMC is presently affiliated to the Chinese Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Singapore.[6] The church was gazetted a national monument by Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority on 23 March 1989.[4][7]

History

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Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (TA2 Sanctuary) on Telok Blangah Road, Singapore.

Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church was founded by Dr. Benjamin F. West in 1889.[1]

The church later underwent restoration works which started in October 1993 and were completed in August 1995 at a cost of S$3 million.[3][1] Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church later built a branch church on Wishart Road, off Telok Blangah Road.[8] The new building, with an 800-seat auditorium, was completed in 2004[3] and it is presently known as Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (TA2 Sanctuary). The church's Chinese and Hokkien services have been conducted at this church since 2005, while English and afternoon Hokkien services are conducted at the main church building on Telok Ayer Street.[1]

The membership of the church now numbers over a thousand, comprising the congregations attending services in Hokkien, Mandarin and English.[9] The church's music programme, which started in 1935, boasts six all-volunteer choirs — three adult, one youth, and two children's choirs. TACMC's Honorary Music Director is Dr. Emilia Wong; the church's senior pastor is Rev. Chua Ooi Suah.

Architecture

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The pulpit used by Dr. John Sung, an evangelist from China, when he conducted revival meetings in the church in 1935.
The church has a five foot way on its west side, making the building a part of the surrounding streetscape.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church Our Heritage". TACMC.
  2. ^ "Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church, Google map". Google Inc. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Methodist church a refuge during WWII, The Straits Times, 8 December 2016".
  4. ^ a b "Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church". Urban Redevelopment Authority.
  5. ^ "Clans of Chinatown, The Business Times, 21 October 2017".
  6. ^ "Chinese Annual Conference". The Methodist Church in Singapore.
  7. ^ "List of Singapore's National Monuments" (PDF). Urban Redevelopment Authority.
  8. ^ "Wishart Road's sleepy neighbourhood wakes up to curious find, The Straits Times, 10 October 2014".
  9. ^ "Church which early Chinese migrants could call home, The Straits Times, 10 August 1989". p. 4.

News articles

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Further reading

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  • Edwards, Norman; Keys, Peter (1996) [1988], Singapore – A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places, Singapore; Kuala Lumpur: Times Books International, ISBN 978-981-204-781-6.
  • Lee, Geok Boi (2002), The Religious Monuments of Singapore, Singapore: Landmark Books, ISBN 978-981-3065-62-8.
  • Lau, Earnest (1994). Lest we forget 1894-1994. Singapore. ISBN 9810062672.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Lau, Earnest (2008). From mission to church : the evolution of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia, 1885-1976. Singapore: Genesis Books. ISBN 9789814222426.

Video

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