Step into a living chronicle of early Christianity in Singapore at the newly opened immersive Heritage Gallery

Hear the peals of a 100-year-old bell that once alerted locals to air strikes during World War II. Join in the first hymn sung by the choir on Easter Sunday nearly a century ago. Meet Chinese evangelist Dr John Sung’s grandson Pastor Wang Tiansheng.

Scan a QR code to join in the hymn “Man of Sorrows, What a Name!”, the first chorus sung by TACMC’s newly-minted choir on the Easter Sunday of April 1926.

Augmented reality lets guests put on a choir gown for a fully immersive experience.

You can do all these and more at the newly opened Heritage Gallery at Singapore’s oldest Chinese Methodist Church, Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (TACMC). Partially funded by the National Heritage Board, the 200 artefacts and 30 interactive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences showcase the church’s 136-year history, and its contributions to the community around.

“From its earliest days, the church cared for the community. A first-floor social hall served the neighbourhood, and in 1925 a children’s clinic supported needy families,” said Senior Minister of State Ms Low Yen Ling who officiated the opening of Heritage Gallery.

The Heritage Gallery begins on Level 1 of Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church.

It is especially fitting that the gallery’s opening on September 13 coincides with Singapore’s 60th year and 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This is because TACMC played a pivotal role during the Japanese Occupation.

“During the Second World War, church leaders like Mr Lim Yeow Tong and Rev Hong Han Keng kept the doors open, and the church served as a refuge. The church even thickened its five-foot-way walls, and the rooftop bell warned of air-raids. We have records that indicate some 300 people took shelter in the church at that time. In that dark period, the church continued to hold its Sunday services, serving as a beacon of hope and comfort,” said Minister Low.

“The Gallery is a testament to how the church is not only showcasing its heritage but living out its legacy at the same time. Through Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0, MCCY (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth) and our heritage agencies will continue to celebrate Singapore’s history and culture. We will care for our national monuments, support research and create galleries like this.  We will invite more Singaporeans to take part in this shared journey.”

Also at the opening were some 150 guests including the Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore, Rev Philip Lim. 

The Heritage Gallery is open to the public and guided tours can be booked at ArchiveTA@tacmc.org.sg.

Faith and foresight of pioneers

Long before the idea of the Heritage Gallery was conceived, members of TACMC had seen fit to preserve pieces of the church’s history. 

“We are standing on the shoulders of generations of church volunteers and previous archives committees who had the foresight to lovingly preserve these pieces of our history long before we began this project.

“Their meticulous documentation laid the essential foundation for my current committee,” Sebastian Lee, steward and Chairman of the Archives Committee, told Salt&Light.

In fact, early members were so keen to safeguard the legacy of the church that they buried a time capsule within the walls of TACMC more than 100 years ago on January 9, 1924.

At the Heritage Gallery, you can put on a VR headset and witness a virtual extraction of that time capsule, as well as experience a 3D walk through the building’s 100-year history.

Scan a QR code and witness the unearthing of the time capsule buried over a century ago.

The contents of the time capsule – including a pocket-sized hymnal of 409 hymns in Chinese, a Chinese Bible printed in Foochow, a Chinese translation of the 1784 version of the Methodist Book of Discipline, and copies of local newspapers circa 1924 – are among the hundreds of items on display.

Asked how TACMC managed to secure the items for the exhibit that span well over a century, Sebastian said: “We made a concerted effort to reach out to our church family and those who are attending other sister churches now.

“We put out a call, and the response was movingly generous. Members from across Singapore and as far as the US where the late Rev Fang Chao Hsi’s families live and extended family networks entrusted us with incredibly sentimental items photographs, letters and personal collections of their loved ones.”

Work on the Heritage Gallery began in 2023 and involved research, authentication, searches through oral archives and interviews with 35 individuals in order to curate the artefacts.

Sanctuary during the war

As one of the tallest buildings in the Telok Ayer area since it was built in 1925 up until 1976 when OCBC Centre was constructed, TACMC was used both as an air raid shelter, as well as an anti-aircraft gun emplacement for the Japanese during World War II.

St John first aid medical auxiliary services and the First Aid Party (FAP) of foreign forces were deployed to TACMC, a designated point. On display is the FAP helmet worn by foreign medical auxilary services during WWII.

The Pastor-in-Charge at the time was Rev Hong Han Keng. He would, at great risk to his own life and that of his family living in the church, hide women and British soldiers in a secret space under a staircase of the church during Japanese spot checks. Now through the use of AR, visitors to the Heritage Gallery can scan a QR code and experience what it was like to seek refuge behind that trapdoor.

A recreation of the trap door behind which Rev Hong provided refuge to women and British soldiers when the Japanese conducted spot checks during the Japanese Occupation.

Through AR, guests at the Heritage Gallery can see what it was like to be hidden in the secret area under the church staircase that lay behind the trapdoor.

Take a trip to the bell tower on the fourth floor and you can scan another QR code that will let you hear the chimes of the 70kg bell that once hung there. Now decommissioned because the rafters are too worn to support the weight of the bell, it used to chime to signal the start of the 11am Hokkien worship service.

During the war, it sounded the alarm to warn people of impending air raids. Its ringing could be heard as far as at Bukit Merah about four kilometres away.

Centre of community life

Step into Level 1 of the Heritage Gallery and you will see evidence of how the church was the centre of the community right from its inception. Designed with a social hall rather than a sanctuary on the ground floor, it was the community centre of its day, hosting recreational activities, childcare classes for new mums and a medical post that drew people.

The birthday celebration of a matriarch. The church was the centre of social life from its early days.

The church also offered baby-sitting services after World War II. Dubbed the Cradle Ministry, community children could be dropped off at the church and be cared for by church volunteers.

“These were not your aunties and uncles. The volunteers were the first matrons of the Singapore General Hospital who happened to be believers. So it was very, very professional,” Chan Pui Shan who is part of the archive committee of TACMC and a volunteer docent at the Heritage Gallery, told Salt&Light.

Scan the QR code by the pink metal crib at the far end of the hall and you will be taken back to the early days of the Cradle Ministry.

A pink crib for baby girls preserved from the early days of the Cradle Ministry. There were also blue cribs for baby boys.

Scan a QR code in the pink crib to view photos and facts about the Cradle Ministry.

Black and white photographs of weddings and birthdays held in church tell of how much the church was involved in the milestones of the people’s lives. On display are also invoices issued by undertakers to Rev Hong.

“Rev Hong would pick up the tab for the funerals. That’s why it’s billed to him. Last time, when you are sick, you don’t call the doctor first, you call Rev Hong for prayers,” said Pui Shan.

Casket orders for adults and children billed to Rev Hong because he was the one who would foot the bill.

Amongst the exhibits is a list requesting for budget for stationery. In the early days of Singapore, many people were illiterate. Church members would ask the pastor and leaders to help them write to their loved ones back in China.  

Society application forms from the war under the letterhead “Syonan Relief Society” have also been preserved. These had been used by Rev Hong and the church lay leader Lim Yeow Tong to apply for rice and relief supplies so they could distribute them to the community.

“Because of the favour the church had, the Japanese even gave us membership cards to identify our members. Those who held a membership card got more protection,” said Pui Shan.

Aiding the spread of the Gospel

Historical records of TACMC’s role in spreading the Gospel and sparking revival in Singapore can also be viewed.

When Chinese evangelist Dr John Sung came to Singapore in 1935, it was TACMC that housed him. It was also at TACMC that he conducted two weeks of revival services that lead to over 1,300 conversions and ignited the Asian Awakening across Southeast Asia and even Taiwan. CK Tang, who establised Tangs department store, was among Dr Sung’s converts.

Dr John Sung (right) preaching at a revival service at Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church in 1935.

At the Heritage Gallery, you can see the pulpit from which Dr Sung preached and photos of his ministry in Singapore.

Also preserved is a little briefcase, and the microphone and amplifier which it carried. Rev Fang Chao Hsi used them at Gospel rallies he would conduct after the war. With buses he acquired in which he transported foldable chairs for the crowd, he would travel to different parts of Singapore to preach in open areas.

The audio equipment used by Rev Fang Chao Hsi to share the Gospel during outdoor rallies.

Said Pui Shan: “All the people in the vicinity would come and listen to him preach because that time no entertainment and he was a very compelling speaker.”

Also preserved is Singapore’s first Amoy hymnal. This year is the 70^th anniversary of its publication.

“When the supply of hymnals from China was cut off after the war, church leaders painstakingly compiled and published Singapore’s first Amoy hymnal.

“It was a laborious process involving 14 volunteers who hand-pasted music notes onto large sheets of paper,” said Pui Shan.

Perhaps one of the most moving accounts you can hear at the Heritage Gallery is a story told by Rev Hong’s youngest daughter. In a recorded account, she shares how her father would visit prisoners of war during the Japanese Occupation.

On one visit, he met a POW name Hobart Amstutz. Rev Hobart was the pastor of Wesley Methodist Church. The two men struck up a friendship that greatly encouraged Rev Hobart through the three and a half years he was imprisoned. There is a letter on display to attest to their friendship.

After the war, Rev Hobart would become one of the founding members of Trinity Theological College and its first principal. He later became a Bishop of the American Methodist Church and the United Methodist church,

Said Pastor-in-Charge of TACMC, Rev Edmund Koh: “TACMC’s long history means we have a rich tradition and legacy to preserve and to be a good steward of.

“It is our responsibility to preserve and even enhance this collection for not just the church’s memory, but also the nation’s collective memory, for the church has been there throughout Singapore’s history.”

“This is our way of reminding ourselves and the generations that come after us so that we do not forget the goodness and faithfulness of our God.”

To book a guided tour, email: ArchiveTA@tacmc.org.sg

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