Barker Road Methodist Church

Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) is a Methodist church [1] in Singapore located at 48 Barker Road along Dunearn Road,[2] and is colocated with Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary).

Barker Road Methodist Church
1.3191843°N 103.8348309°E / 1.3191843; 103.8348309
CountrySingapore
DenominationMethodist
Websitehttp://brmc.org.sg
History
Former name(s)Barker Road Chapel
Founded26 May 1957 (1957-05-26)
Administration
DivisionTrinity Annual Conference (TRAC)
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Rev. Dr Chiu Ming Li (Pastor-in-Charge)
Pastor(s)
  • Rev Dr Daniel Koh
  • Rev Lawrence Chua
  • Rev Wendy Watson
  • Rev Jeremy Ong
  • Rev Benjamin Fong
  • Pastor Gilbert Lok
  • Rev Egmedio B Equila Jr

History

BRMC was originally known as the Barker Road Chapel, and had its beginnings in 1956.[3] It was later recognised as a Methodist church on 26 May 1957 with 12 registered members who were mainly Anglo-Chinese School boys.

In 2016, membership of the Church stood at 2,742.[4]

BRMC is associated with the revival of Christian emphasis in the Anglo-Chinese School in the 1950s,[5] and again in ACS Clock Tower Charismatic revival in 1972,[6] when it hosted Anglo-Chinese School boys in the Church Sanctuary.[7][8] Several participants in the revival later served as pastors in the Church.[4]

The Church was one of the founding members of the National Council of Churches of Singapore.[9]

Church Buildings

The first purpose-built building was completed in 1963, and was dedicated by Bishop F. Lundy n 31 October 1965. It was extensively renovated and enlarged in 1989 before finally being demolished in 1999, when the entire Barker Road campus comprising the school and Oldham hall were redeveloped. The new church buildings were completed in 2002, and form an integral part of the campus. The new building, although not architecturally significant, is large and seats a congregation of several hundred. It is a simple rectangular building surmounted a large tiled hipped roof. The interior is plain and utilitarian space, without any features of note, lit by plain fluorescent tubes. There is a small, simple stained glass window at the liturgical east end, re-used from the earlier building. The church has a large 4-manual digital organ by Allen Organs. There is a diminutive bell turret on the exterior, containing 5 bells, presented to the church by the 12th Singapore Company of the Boys' Brigade.

Church Planting

In October 1993, the Church, together with Wesley Methodist Church launched a church-planting project at the Methodist Girls' School with the opening of a preaching point. It was later constituted as Covenant Community Methodist Church in September 1994.[4]

A similar preaching point was established at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in 1998 in partnership with Wesley Methodist Church and Aldersgate Methodist Church, and was later constituted as Living Waters Methodist Church in April 2003.[10]

In July 2007, BRMC opened a preaching point at Anglo-Chinese School (International). This preaching point was later constituted as Holland Village Methodist Church in 2012.[11]

BRMC currently maintains a preaching point at Bukit Batok, located at Block 151, Bukit Batok Street 11.[12]

Affiliated Organizations

BRMC also looks after the spiritual well-being of the following schools under the Anglo-Chinese School umbrella[13]

It also hosts a popular kindergarten, Barker Road Methodist Church Kindergarten, where its 420 places are snapped up by "parents still in the maternity ward".[18]

In 2001, the Church launched what was to become MCYC Community Services Society in a joint project with the welfare arm of Methodist Church in Singapore, the Methodist Welfare Services. MCYC Community Services Society is one of two Voluntary Welfare Organisations in Singapore that have been selected as Fostering Agencies by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.[19]

The Church hosts a sizeable Indonesian and Filipino congregation. The Filipino congregation celebrated its 32nd Anniversary in 2015, with Ambassador of the Philippines in Singapore attending.[20]

Notable Events

The Church organised and hosted several events that were relevant to the members of the public at large, and received coverage from the press. These include a forum on "Educational problems facing families in Singapore",[21][22][23] a forum on "Family Life Problems" [24][25] and a forum on "Approaches to Drug Problems".[26][27][28]

The Church also played host to the Boys' Brigade in Singapore during the Brigade's Thanksgiving Services.[29][30][31]

Notable Members and Pastors

References
  1. Lee, S.H.; Long, S. (17 July 2010). "Are mega sheep stolen or saved?". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  2. "Dunearn Road Singapore Infopedia". National Library Board of Singapore.
  3. "Tay Eng Soon | Infopedia".
  4. "» HISTORY".
  5. Goh, Daniel P. S. (2 January 2015). "Elite schools, postcolonial Chineseness and hegemonic masculinities in Singapore". British Journal of Sociology of Education. 36 (1): 137–155. doi:10.1080/01425692.2014.971944.
  6. Lim, Jason; Lee, Terence (2016). Singapore Negotiating State and Society, 1965 to 2015. p. 131. ISBN 9781138998650.
  7. "Trinitarian Magazine Issue 1/2013".
  8. Tan, Malcolm; Poon, Michael (2012). The Clock Tower Story: The Beginnings of Charismatic Renewals in Singapore. p. 10. ISBN 9789810710774. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  9. "Nga is first president of NCC of Singapore". The Straits Times.
  10. "About Us - Living Waters Methodist Church".
  11. "Holland Village Methodist Church – Our History". Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  12. Admin, MCS. "The Methodist Church in Singapore - Bukit Batok Preaching Point".
  13. "Partners". ACS (Barker Road).
  14. "Partners". ACS (Primary).
  15. "BB Learning Centre Cambodia". Boys' Brigade Singapore. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  16. "SPEECH BY MR CHAN SOO SEN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SPORTS, AT THE BOYS' BRIGADE 12TH SINGAPORE COMPANY GROUP 50TH ANNIVERSARY THANKSGIVING CEREMONY CUM ANNUAL ENROLMENT PARADE AND SERVICE". Ministry of Education Singapore. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  18. "Fostering Agencies". Ministry of Society and the Family. Archived from the original on 2016-07-03. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  19. "Barker Road Methodist Church celebrates 32nd Anniversary of Filipino Ministry". Embassy of the Philippines in Singapore.
  20. "Church to hold forum". The Straits Times.
  21. "WARNING TO PARENTS BY TTC LECTURER Never talk down to your children". The Straits Times.
  22. "Page 2 Miscellaneous Column 2". New Nation.
  23. "Why kids are a problem". New Nation.
  24. "Basic needs mould child attitude". New Nation.
  25. "Forum on drugs". New Nation.
  26. "Drugs: Call to set up youth service". The Straits Times.
  27. "Needs of the unattached youths not met". New Nation.
  28. "Thanksgiving services by Brigade". The Straits Times.
  29. "New canned food fight for place". The Singapore Free Press.
  30. "Tan to start off the BB big walk". The Straits Times.
  31. "The lesser known side of Dr Goh Keng Swee". Methodist Message. Archived from the original on 2012-05-17.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  32. "Tay Eng Soon Revealed Background". The Straits Times.
  33. "Tay Eng Soon Singapore Infopedia". National Library Board of Singapore.
  34. "BR60 testimonies-Lim Siong Guan from C y Tan on Vimeo".
  35. "Former civil service head Sim Kee Boon dies at age 78". The Straits Times.
  36. "Two pastors for Zurich talks". The Straits Times.
  37. "The preacher who reached out to Muslims, Sikhs and Taoists". The Straits Times.
  38. "4 Dec 2016 Church Bulletin - Sanctuary Service" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-23.
  39. "27 Mar 2016 Easter Service Church Bulletin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-23.

Further reading
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