By PHILIP ABRAHAM
SEMBAWANG Tamil Methodist
Church (STMC) had a double celebration in August. It celebrated
its 70th Anniversary and held the Dedication of its new church
building at 3 Yishun Street 11on Aug 29.
Bishop Dr Robert Solomon delivered the message and officiated
at the dedication, which was attended by about 250 church members
and guests. He challenged the congregation to reach out to the
residents in Yishun, which has a fairly large Indian community.
Among the guests were the Rev Dr Vinson Samuel, President of Emmanuel
Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC), the Rev R. Prabhu, the Rev Ebinezar
Mohan, the Rev James Nagulan (all ETAC pastors), and Pastor Tay
Kay Leong of Paya Lebar Methodist Church.
The church choir, Youth Choir, WSCS Choir and the Sunday School
Choir presented special song items at the service.
The dedication was followed by the unveiling of the plaque and
a ribbon dance performance by the youth.
The celebrations ended with a time of fellowship over a buffet
dinner.
Looking back at the history of STMC, one stands in awe and marvel
at the wondrous works of our Lord. The pioneering works of this
church started as early as 1928 in a house of a worker at Seletar
Naval Base. Migrants came from India and were employed at the
base. The ministry started to grow rapidly. Finally the church
was instituted in 1934.
In 1940, through the efforts of the pastors, a school building
was erected at 150, Jalan Sembawang Kechil. The naval base workers
and others started to worship there from 1948 to 1970. After some
time, there was a significant change of name - from "Seletar
Naval Base" to "Sembawang Naval Base".
Later the church moved from place to place for worship - St Andrew's
Church at Admiralty Road in Sembawang, then back to the old school
building. It was at this time that the Housing and Development
Board acquired the old church and substituted it with a new plot
of land at Yishun Street 11 in a joint allocation basis in 1992.
The church moved out from the old place to the new site and started
to worship temporarily in a nine-metre container from Jan 1, 1996.
The construction of the new church began to take shape. The ground-breaking
ceremony took place on May 17, 1997. Later the container was not
able to hold the crowd and was converted into a structure at the
same place.
Because of construction work, the church moved out from the structure
to the Boys' Brigade site at Sembawang Road and worshipped there
for some time before the new church could be used. Finally, STMC
moved to its "New Promised Land" at Yishun Street 11
on Aug 1, 1999.
The church is located in a prime area where opportunities are
plentiful. Church members are geared towards being a "Torch"
for Christ and to be equipped for the harvest, especially among
the Indians.
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,"
says the Lord Almighty. - Zech 4:6.
The Rev Philip Abraham is the Pastor-in-Charge of Sembawang
Tamil Methodist Church.