Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, Little India, Singapore

Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, Little India, Singapore

The Kampong Kapor Methodist Church was founded on 25th January 1894. The Kampong Kapor Methodist Church is located at the corner of Cuff Road and Kampong Kapor Road in Little India. It was the first Peranakan Church and the fourth Methodist Church in Singapore. In the beginning, the congregation comprised 25 girls from the mission hostel, boys from Epworth Home and Malay-speaking Christian workers from Mission Press as well as 2 missionaries. On 25 January 1894, this little group moved to “The Christian Institute” at 155 Middle Road to function as a church, sharing the premises with the Methodist Girls' School.
By the late 1920s, the church had outgrown, imposing a need to shift to a fresh location. Land was bought at Kampong Kapor Road and the new church building was built there. The building was completed in 1930 in the Art Deco Style and was named the Straits Chinese Methodist Church (Bickley Memorial), reflect to be a sign of the mostly Chinese membership of the church as well as its Peranakan characteristic, and also to recognize the fact that funds for its construction amounting to $50,000 came from the family and friends of Bishop Bickley. In 1957, the church was renamed Kampong Kapor Methodist Church.
Today Kampong Kapor Methodist Church has a membership of a thousand in its congregation, divided into six services, three in English, one in Peranakan, one in Mandarin and one in Tamil.

Interior - The Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, Singapore

Timeline

1. 1890 : Sophia Blackmore begins Malay-language Sunday worship services.
2. 1894 : The Malay Church was inaugurated at Middle Road.
3. 1930 : New church building at Kampong Kapor is officially dedicated.
4. 1937 : Traditional pipe organ is installed in the church.
5. 1957 : Name of church changed to Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (Bishop Bickley Memorial).
6. 1989 : The Urban Redevelopment Authority awards the church conservation status.
7. 2000 : Former church building at Middle Road, now Sculpture Square, is declared a historic site by the National Heritage Board.

English Service

• 8.00   am         Traditional worship service with hymns sung accompanied by the pipe organ.
• 9.30   am         This traditional worship service is enhanced by a choir
• 11.30 am         Contemporary worship songs led by a music band.

Peranakan Service

• 11.00 am         Held in the Chapel on Level 3 for Peranakan and Bahasa Indonesia speakers.

Mandarin Service

• 2.00 pm          The Mandarin congregation is multi-generational and its members often continue to fellowship over refreshments together after service.

Tamil  Service

• 5.30 pm          Our Tamil congregation serves both residents and the migrant workers.

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