KAMPONG KAPOR METHODIST CHURCH CELEBRATES 110TH ANNIVERSARY
KKMC to share joy with less well-visited welfare homes
KAMPONG KAPOR Methodist Church (KKMC) celebrated its 110th Anniversary on Jan 25 this year with worship in song and dance in Malay (Peranakan), Mandarin, Tamil and English – the four official languages of Singapore.
Bishop Dr Robert Solomon, the guest preacher for the celebration service, noted with interest that KKMC is the only Methodist church that conducts weekly Sunday services in the four official languages of Singapore.
The service was 110 years to the very day when 22 Malay language worshippers met at 155 Middle Road to form the “Malay Church” in 1894. The church moved to its present location at 3 Kampong Kapor Road in 1930.
The anniversary theme, “Forward in Christ”, was inspired by Hebrews 13:5 (“I Will Never Leave You Or Forsake You”), and KKMC intends to bear witness to God’s presence with the church over the years and to encourage a fresh vision of God’s work through the church.
Therefore, instead of a traditional celebration dinner, KKMC has decided to host dinners and have fellowship with residents of four less well-visited welfare homes:
· Thuja Home at Pelangi Village – Home for 245 destitute females on March 13;
· Jenaris Home at Pelangi Village – Home for 187 destitute males on May 8;
· Sunlove Abode for the Intellectually Infirmed, Lorong Buangkok – Home for 206 mentally ill male and female patients on August 4; and
· SILRA (Singapore Leprosy Relief Association), Lorong Buangkok – Home for former leprosy patients, on Nov 13.
KKMC’s 24 LifeGroups located in the four Zones in Singapore will host the “Visit to Homes” events, which, it is hoped, will become a regular feature of the church’s social concerns activities.
Over the years, God has blessed KKMC with 20 full-time missionaries serving across three continents. Four more candidates are currently undergoing missionary training. To celebrate God’s Great Commission given to KKMC, a “Festival of Missions” fortnight will see all its missionaries returning back for a series of four events from Aug 29 to Sept 5:
· “Worship With The Nations”, a multicultural Hymn Festival featuring the worship forms from KKMC’s mission fields on Aug 29;
· “Prayer With The Nations” on Sept 1;
· “Feast With The Nations”, featuring the cuisines from our mission fields on Sept 4; and
· “Communion With The Nations”, a communion service binding us to believers in the fields KKMC’s missionaries labour in on Sept 5.
Other events include a Church Family Day at Sentosa Island on June 26 for some 1,000 members, their families and friends, and a closing musical concert on Dec3.
Wong Quek Hin is Chairman of KKMC’s 110th Anniversary Celebrations Committee, and Lyndon Gan is a Lay Ministry Staff at KKMC.
Rev Michael Wong; Mr Leong Kwok Thye, LCEC Chairman of KKMC; Bishop Dr Solomon; the
Rev T. C. Nga; and the Rev Ho Chee Sin. – KKMC picture by LYNDON GAN.