THE Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) celebrates its 120th Anniversary this year (2005), and as part of its anniversary programme, it plans to initiate four major projects. They are:
1. The publication of a “Faith-Sharing New Testament with Psalms”;
2. The launch of a “Methodist Heritage Tour”;
3. The launch of an MCS DVD; and
4. The staging of Aldersgate Convention 2005.
The “Faith-Sharing New Testament”, which incorporates the Psalms and two documents on faith-sharing, was originally published by the World Methodist Evangelism Institute (WMEI) of the World Methodist Council. The MCS has been granted permission by the WMEI to print this New Testament as a special anniversary publication with our MCS logo. It will be published in English, Chinese and Tamil.
The MCS is enlisting the services of a travel agency, Amity International Travel Pte Ltd, owned by a Methodist, to conduct the “Methodist Heritage Tours” throughout the year. Mr Tan Khey Cheow, Managing Director of Amity Travel, is the Lay Leader and a Local Preacher of Changi Methodist Church. He has been a Singapore Tourism Board licensed tour guide since 1980.
For a start, the programme will be a half-day coach tour with a drive through the old Colonial district near the Singapore River, Victoria Theatre, Coleman Street, Stamford Road and Fort Canning that will highlight where the earliest Methodist Church services were held and most of the earliest churches and schools. There will be opportunities to visit or stop by some of the institutions associated with Methodist history. The tours will be very affordable (See Page 12).
The MCS is also working on a DVD that will highlight its work and mission.
The Aldersgate Convention 2005, which is scheduled from May 24 to May 28, will gather three well-known speakers from the United States – the Rev Dr William Abraham, the Rev Dr Geoffrey Wainwright and the Rev Dr Karen Westerfield Tucker. The theme is “Faith and Reason: Wesleyan Perspectives”.
It will begin with the Aldersgate Service at the joint premises of Faith Methodist Church/ Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church on May 24 at 7.45 pm.
The Rev Dr Abraham, a leading theology professor, a dynamic preacher and an authority on Methodism, will give three evening talks at Barker Road Methodist Church on May 25, 26 and 27 at 7.45 pm.
A two-day seminar on worship will be conducted at Sophia Blackmore Hall, Methodist Centre on May 27 and 28 from 9 am to 5 pm for pastors and laity who lead worship.
A hymn festival at the new TA2 Sanctuary in Wishart Road, off Telok Blangah Road, will round off the convention on May 28. Starting at 7.45 pm and to be co-ordinated by the Methodist School of Music, it promises to close the convention on a rapturous note.