St. Matthew's Church, Singapore

Saint Matthew's Church (simplified Chinese: 圣公会新加坡教区圣马太堂; traditional Chinese: 聖公會新加坡教區聖馬太堂) is a local Anglican church in Singapore, one of the 26 Anglican parishes in the nation. The St Matthew's Church Chinese congregation has the longest history among all the congregations within the Anglican Diocese of Singapore.

The church's vision is "To D.A.R.E. for the Lord Jesus Christ so as to grow a community that continues to glorify Him. (Disciple; Align; Reach out; Exalt [God])"

History

Founding

St Matthew's Church was founded on 29 September 1902, beginning as a Cantonese-speaking Chinese congregation under St. Peter's Church, Singapore.

During World War II

Historically, the Neil Road site and the present site were near two of the places used to gather and screen Chinese men aged 18 to 55 for the Sook Ching massacre in 1942: the present Police Cantonment Complex, and the area between Singapore General Hospital and Tiong Bahru Road.

Second Building

After World War II, a second building was constructed at Neil Road, which expanded to include a kindergarten.

Third Building

The present building at 1K Eng Hoon Street was dedicated to the glory of God on 7 May 2006 by the Most Reverend Dr John Chew Hiang Chea (周贤正大主教), who is the 3rd Archbishop of the Church of the Province of South East Asia as well as the 9th Bishop of Singapore.

Current Status Summary

As of 2007, St Matthew's Church, in her 105th year, has both English and Mandarin congregations, serving people from all parts of the island. After about 77 years at Neil Road, she re-located to Eng Hoon Street in Tiong Bahru in 2006. Begun as a Cantonese congregation, Chinese Singaporeans are still the majority, although the Cantonese congregation has moved to St. Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore.

The total church population is estimated to be about 400. There are about 200 English-speaking persons (including English-speaking Chinese) in the English congregation, and about 120 Mandarin-speaking Chinese in the Mandarin congregation. There are on average 40 youths in the English Youth Service and 20 children in the English Children's Ministry. The Mandarin Youth Fellowship has 6 youth and the Mandarin Children's Ministry an average attendance of 9 children.

Pastors & Staff

• Revd Koh Hock Soon (许福顺牧师) - Vicar
• Revd Chan Chee Keng- Priest-in-Charge (English)
• Mr Anthony Fong - Verger
• Ms Cindy Yam - Administrative Staff (English)
• Ms Sharon Ng - Administrative Staff (Mandarin)

Sources

• Wikipedia: Anglican Diocese of Singapore
• Directory of Churches in The Diocese of Singapore website
• Information Board on St Matthew's Church
• National Council of Churches of Singapore, "A Guide To Churches & Christian Organisations in Singapore 2005-2006", page 15
• "St Matthew's 100" (St Matthew's Church Annual, 2002)
• "St Matthew's Church 98th Anniversary" (St Matthew's Church Annual, Sep 2000)