Tamil Methodist Church, Singapore (30 July 2017)
Tamil Methodist Church (GPS: 1.30204, 103.85067) is a church in the
Bencoolen neighbourhood of
Rochor, Singapore. Located on
Short Street, it dates its history back to 1887. It began in 1884 when William F. Oldham was appointed to become a missionary in Singapore. He arrived in Singapore on 7 February 1885 accompanied by Rev. and Mrs James Thoburn. William Oldham was able to speak Tamil. Hence he was rightly placed to reach out to the Indians. He began to hold Sunday services to the Tamil-speaking prisoners, which lead to regular Sunday and weekday services in that language.
The church on Short Street dates back to 1889, when it began with a chapel. A church building was erected here as early as 1925, and in the subsequent decades, church planting saw the founding of Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church in 1927 and more churches constituted in
Seletar (1935) and
Sembawang (1937). More churches were constituted in the 70s and 80s, including one in
Jurong (1977),
Ang Mo Kio (1980) and
Toa Payoh (1982).
Taking the MRT to Tamil Methodist Church
The nearest MRT station is the
Rochor MRT Station (DT13), which is 350 meters away on foot.
Tamil Methodist Church, Singapore (12 July 2011)
(Mar 2022)