Meet 'John Wesley' at
Aldersgate Service

COME and meet "John Wesley" at the Aldersgate Convention 2003.


John Wesley will be dramatically presented at this year's Aldersgate Service, to be held in the auditorium of the newly rebuilt Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) on May 24 at 7.45 pm. Mr Brian Chirnside, a teacher at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), will play John Wesley.


In addition, the new Methodist Centre will be dedicated that evening and a new book, "The People Called Methodists", will be launched. The book is published by The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS).


This year marks the 300th anniversary of John Wesley's birth, and in concert with worldwide celebrations, the MCS will be remembering his heartwarming experience and zeal for holiness at the Aldersgate Convention 2003 to be held from May 21 to 24.


The service will be enriched by music groups from several Methodist schools, as well as the combined Methodist choir.
Discussions are being held with Methodist Girls' School, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' Primary School, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' Secondary School, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) to provide choral and instrumental music. Items are likely to include choral presentations, and hand bell and angklung renditions.


The Aldersgate Service is just one part of the Aldersgate Convention, an annual event to bring the Methodist family together and to remember our Wesleyan heritage. As part of the Convention there will also be a two-day worship seminar, on May 23 and 24, and the Pastors' Fellowship on May 22.


This year's Convention theme, "Faith and Reason: Wesleyan Insights", will be addressed in three evenings of talks by Dr William Abraham, a leading evangelical theologian in the US. The specific topics are: "Faith and the Promises of God", "Faith and Personal Experience of God", and "Faith and the Power of God". The talks will be held at Barker Road Methodist Church from May 21 to 23, from 7.45 pm to 9.15 pm.


The worship seminar, "Methodist Worship in Context: Principles, Forms and Freedom", will be addressed by Dr Geoffrey Wainwright, a world authority on worship and liturgy, and Dr James F. White, who is also an authority on liturgy. The seminar, beginning daily at 9.30 am in the sanctuary of Barker Road Methodist Church, will explore the historical, theological and cultural contexts of Methodist worship.


Pastors, lay leaders, worship leaders and church musicians are encouraged to attend. The registration fee for the seminar, which includes two lunches and three tea sessions, is $70.


Both Dr Abraham and Dr Wainwright will address the Pastors' Fellowship on May 22 at the Methodist Centre's Sophia Blackmore Hall, 6th floor, from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm.


For more information, contact Ms Goh Li-Ern at tel. 6478-4782. Registration forms for the worship seminar are available at the Methodist Centre, local churches and on-line at www.methodist.org.sg