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The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) is the church that Methodists in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 belong to. The Church has 44 churches island-wide with more than 38,000 members, making it one of the largest Protestant denominations in Singapore. Its current bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 and head of the Church is Bishop Dr Robert M. Solomon.

History

The Methodist Church in Singapore started out as a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 initiative by Rev James Thoburn
James Mills Thoburn
James Mills Thoburn was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church best known for his missionary work in India.Thoburn was born on March 7, 1836 in St. Clairsville, Ohio and graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1857, beginning his Methodist preaching ministry...

 of the South India Conference in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in 1885 . Rev William Fitzjames Oldham
William Fitzjames Oldham
thumb|William Fitzjames Oldham and his wife Marie Augusta MulliganWilliam Fitzjames Oldham was an Indian-born British-American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Missionary Bishop for Southern Asia. He also distinguished himself as a Missionary, an Author, and a Church Official...

 travelled to Singapore to plant the foundations of the mission. Notably, Oldham started the church's first English-language boy
Boy
A boy is a young male human , as contrasted to its female counterpart, girl, or an adult male, a man.The term "boy" is primarily used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions or both...

s' school in 1886 (the Anglo-Chinese School
Anglo-Chinese School
The Anglo-Chinese School ; is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore, and Indonesia.The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" , or "ACS boys" .ACS was the first school...

, which is generally regarded today as one of the premier schools in Singapore). Two girls' schools (Methodist Girls' School
Methodist Girls' School
Methodist Girls' School is a girls' independent school, consisting of two sections - the Primary School and Secondary School, located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It is affiliated to the Anglo-Chinese School family and the Methodist Church in Singapore...

 and Fairfield Methodist Girls' School
Fairfield Methodist Secondary School
Fairfield Methodist School is an autonomous co-educational Methodist secondary school in Dover, Singapore. It covers Secondary 1 to Secondary 5 inclusive .-History:...

) were subsequently established in 1887 and 1888, respectively. The mission also developed a clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...

 and hostels for homeless children.

From this Singapore base, the mission then spread to the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

 and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

 in the 1890s. The Methodist Mission in Singapore and Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...

 expanded over time, eventually growing to the administrative status of a conference in the Methodist Church. Eventually, the church spread throughout Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

, leading to the establishment of the Southeast Asian Central Conference in 1950.

The Malaysian and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 components of the mission officially became autonomous of their Western parent bodies in 1968; thus, becoming an Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n church with a bishop elected from the local minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...

s. In 1976, the church was restructured into The Methodist Church in Singapore and The Methodist Church in Malaysia
Methodist Church in Malaysia
The Methodist Church in Malaysia is a body within the Methodist tradition in Malaysia. With approximately 180,000 members in more than 560 congregations, it is the largest Protestant denomination in the country...

 to reflect the secession of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia.

Organisation

The Methodist Church in Singapore, which consists of 44 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 Christ.

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 Singaporeans facing life's crises and long-term hardship regardless of their race, religion or language. Under the current umbrella of MWS or associated with it, there are 13 service hubs including five Family Service Centres, three Children & Youth Centres, the Christalite Methodist Home for the destitute and the Bethany Methodist Nursing Home.

The Methodist Church in Singapore is a member of the National Council of Churches of Singapore.

Annual conferences

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
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

-speaking congregations, Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference for churches with largely Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

-speaking congregations and Trinity Annual Conference for churches with largely English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

-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.

List of Methodist churches in Singapore


Schools

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
Anglo-Chinese School
The Anglo-Chinese School ; is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore, and Indonesia.The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" , or "ACS boys" .ACS was the first school...

 family which includes a junior college
Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Anglo-Chinese Junior College in Singapore opened in 1977 and is the junior college arm of the Anglo-Chinese School family of Methodist schools. ACJC offers the standard two-year pre-university programme, with students taking the GCE 'A' Levels in their second year...

.

The other schools are:
  • Methodist Girls' School
    Methodist Girls' School
    Methodist Girls' School is a girls' independent school, consisting of two sections - the Primary School and Secondary School, located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It is affiliated to the Anglo-Chinese School family and the Methodist Church in Singapore...

  • Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary)
    Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary)
    Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) (Abbreviation: PLMGS (Primary); is a Methodist girls' primary school in Hougang, Singapore. It offers the four main languages of Singapore, namely English, Mandarin, Malay...

  • Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary)
    Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary)
    Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School is an all-girls school located in Hougang, Singapore, running on a single session catering to pupils in the Special, Express, Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams. Since 1995, PLMGSS has been offering Higher Chinese to her pupils. There are 61 teachers,...

  • Fairfield Methodist Primary School
    Fairfield Methodist Primary School
    Fairfield Methodist School is a government-aided primary school in Dover Road, western Singapore.It is affiliated with Fairfield Methodist School .- Early years :...

  • Fairfield Methodist Secondary School
    Fairfield Methodist Secondary School
    Fairfield Methodist School is an autonomous co-educational Methodist secondary school in Dover, Singapore. It covers Secondary 1 to Secondary 5 inclusive .-History:...

  • Geylang Methodist Primary School
  • Geylang Methodist Secondary School
    Geylang Methodist Secondary School
    Geylang Methodist School is a co-ed school located in Aljunied, Singapore. It was formerly known as Geylang Methodist Girls' School until 1984 when it started to take in boys. The school offers the express, normal academic and technical streams...



----
Schools under the ACS
Anglo-Chinese School
The Anglo-Chinese School ; is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore, and Indonesia.The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" , or "ACS boys" .ACS was the first school...

 family:
  • Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
    Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
    Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore, is the original primary school of the [ACS] family, located at the Barker Road campus adjacent to the ACS block. It opened in 1887 with the secondary school at Coleman Street, moving to a newly upgraded Coleman Street campus in 1961, leaving the Barker Road...

  • Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
    Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
    Anglo-Chinese School is one of the two ACS primary schools in Singapore. Established in 1951 at the old Coleman Street campus, it moved to its previous premises at 25 Peck Hay Road in 1985. In December 2008, it moved to its current premises at 16 Winstedt Road where Monk's Hill Secondary School...

  • Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
    Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
    Anglo-Chinese School is a secondary school of the Anglo-Chinese School family located at the Barker Road campus, Singapore. It offers the GCE 'O' Level Course for its students from Sec 1 to Sec 4/5. Students may then move on to Anglo-Chinese Junior College with affiliation favours...

  • Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
    Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
    The Anglo-Chinese School is a Methodist secondary school in Singapore. It is a descendant of a school established in 1886 by Rev William Fitzjames Oldham at 70 Amoy Street, Singapore, and one of a group of educational institutions collectively known as the Anglo-Chinese School...

  • Anglo-Chinese School (International)
    Anglo-Chinese School (International)
    Anglo-Chinese School , Singapore is a Methodist private school, owned by the Methodist Church in Singapore. Students take a 6-year course, with the IGCSE in the fourth year and the International Baccalaureate in the sixth year. Before 2007, students took the International A-Levels...

  • Anglo-Chinese Junior College
    Anglo-Chinese Junior College
    Anglo-Chinese Junior College in Singapore opened in 1977 and is the junior college arm of the Anglo-Chinese School family of Methodist schools. ACJC offers the standard two-year pre-university programme, with students taking the GCE 'A' Levels in their second year...



----
Other Methodist Schools:

External links

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