The Retired Missionaries' Reunion at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reunion for retired Methodist missionaries
By WILLIAM DING

NASHVILLE (Tennessee) -- Retired Methodist missionaries from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore held a reunion in Nashville, Tennessee recently.


Among them were the Rev and Mrs Allen Rice. He is a retired Methodist minister and his wife, Shan, was a Methodist missionary in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1960s.


Stories of their missionary experiences and their personal sharing over the three-day event were very inspiring.
These early missionaries had gone through a lot and had made a significant impact on the growth of Methodism in Singapore and the region. Many of them are in their late 70s.


They had planted churches, built schools and served the social needs of the local people. Parts of this Methodist history must have been recorded in past publications and published in Methodist Message.


Many Singapore Methodists can benefit from hearing and reading about the work and contributions of these early missionaries. Potential missionaries can be further challenged by hearing about the impact of past missionary work in our country.

William Ding is a teacher at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) currently on study leave to pursue graduate studies at Michigan State University. He is a member of Barker Road Methodist Church.