IPOH
WESLEY-THRU THE AGES
[ Beginnings | WW2 | After 1946 | 1980s | Tragedy | Centenary | After Centenary | Looking Back | Pastors ]
Rev.
T.W Stagg began work on Ipoh Wesley in the month of November 1894. He returned
to the United States the following year and was succeeded by Rev. William Edward
Horley who was already in Singapore in 1894. Rev. Horley was not very happy
to leave Singapore as he had spent a very happy year and half in the Anglo-Chinese
School, Singapore, of which he was influential to the boys there. But realising
the need for His work, he came to Ipoh. In a few days, Horley acquired a small
Malay house and opened the Ipoh Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) with only four students,
2 Chinese and 2 Malays. A few weeks later, he started the Girls School which
remained an integral part of ACS till 1914.
In September 1895, subscription lists were started in order to build a new Church and School buildings. In November 1895, sufficient money was subscribed to start the building work which cost $3,000 then. It was completed in May 1896. Rev. Dr. B.F. West (Presiding Elder) of Penang preached at the opening and dedication service on 3rd May 1896. Horley also built a wooden manse in the church compound at the cost of $1,250. The same year, the Perak (state) Government agreed to sell nearly 6 acres of land along Lahat Road to the Methodist Mission for work on the church-school. By then, there were the English, Chinese and Tamil services and as for the school, ACS had already about 70 students in attendance.
Rev.
Horley commenced work on the new school building in December 1897 and was completed
on 24th July 1898 at the cost of $2,500. A gymnasium costing $300 was also completed
in September 1898. Mr. Wood was in-charge of the Boys' and Miss Grace Towers
of the Girls' School. The attendance was good and by God's help, the pastor
commenced preaching in Chinese the same year.
Rev. Horley went on leave in March 1900 and was succeeded by Dr. H.L.E. Leuring. He was assisted by Mr. C. Paul and Mr. Liong Kin Kong. Dr. Leuring who learned Cantonese and Hokkien started new work in Kampar and Teluk Anson. He also completed building the Boarding School in ACS. Rev. Horley was sent to Kuala Lumpur after his leave in 1901 where he started the Methodist Boys' School. Horley only returned to Ipoh in 1910. He completed the main school building in 1914 with a government grant of $25,000 and public donation of $68,000, a task thought to be crazy by his fellow missionaries. By God's grace, he succeeded. Rev. Horley was instrumental in opening some 27 schools in this country and in 1927, was awarded the prestigious Member of the British Empire (MBE) by King George V in recognition of his work.
After this point, church records show very little but the following were noted. New hymnals were dedicated on 22nd March 1936. On 26th June 1938, the Dr. John Scott Lee Memorial Organ was dedicated.
Due to the 2nd World War, all missionaries in Ipoh were evacuated to Singapore in December 1941. The Japanese army took over our properties and for a year, services were held in the homes of church members. Later, they were held in the Chinese Church housed in the Chinese Young Men's Association building opposite the school on Lahat Road. Mr. J. Appaduray led assisted by Mr Yim Tuck Fatt. After the Japanese surrendered, the church re-occupied their original premises and services were back like before. A special Thanksgiving Service was held on the last Sunday of August 1945. Later, Rev. Burr J. Baughman was sent to "rehabilitate" the church. He and Mr Appaduray organised the Sunday School and the Epworth League, which was the precursor to the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). Towards the end of 1946, Rev. C.D. Ingerson was appointed the pastor of Ipoh Wesley, assisted by Rev. Appaduray who was later ordained. Both pastors were also taking services in Taiping.
From 1953 to 1955, Ipoh Wesley undertook major building programmes under Rev. Harry Haines. Two wings costing $30,000 were added to the church building, the North Wing in April 1953 and the South Wing in January 1955. Both were dedicated by Bishop Archer.
Rev. Waldo S. Reinoehl initiated the Church Hall building project costing another $30,000. It was completed during Rev. Guy Garrett's term, opened and dedicated on 27th August 1961.
The
church also "expanded" its wings to other areas. The Canning Garden
Methodist Church (CGMC) project began in 1963. In October 1964, the church bought
a piece of land in Canning Garden. The new ACS Primary Branch School (later
known as the Ho Seng Ong Methodist School) was built. Canning Garden services
were held in the school in November 1964. On 7th May 1966, Mrs. Ralph Kesselring
laid the foundation stone for a new Church Hall to be built in memory of her
late husband. On 26th February 1967, the church decided that it was time for
the Canning Garden congregation to be an independent local church and so, on
27th April 1967, the Canning Garden Methodist Church was born.
As
for the parent church, 11th July 1965 saw the dedication of a new Dr. John Scott
Lee Memorial Organ by Bishop Robert Lundy. Ipoh Wesley also celebrated its 70th
Anniversary on 7th November 1964 with Rev. Hugh N. Lormor preaching. December
1970 saw the Church Sanctuary and Hall undergoing repairs and repainting work
all in all costing $3,500.
The new Ipoh Wesley Church Manse (the pastor's official residence) at 16 Jalan Perak, Canning Garden was purchased in September 1973 at a cost of $39,500. Subsequently, the old wooden manse at 123 Lahat Road was demolished in April 1978.
In July 1981, Ipoh Wesley started a Christian Education Building Fund which was launched by the conference president, Rev. Dr. Denis C. Dutton. An organ was donated to the Church Hall in 1982 and the Wesley Kindergarten purchased a new piano in 1983. The church also underwent extensive repairs, rewiring, and repainting in 1984: a retaining wall was built behind the church, fencing around the compound, the resurfacing of roads and the landscaping the the compound.
Ipoh
Wesley celebrated its 90th Anniversary in 1984 with much to thank for. The Christian
Education Building beside the main Sanctuary was completed and dedicated on
3rd November 1984 by Bishop C.N. Fang at a cost of $210,000. The Sanctuary Choir
also put up a Musical Presentation entitle "To Life" on 27th &
28th October. The Anniversary Dinner was held on 3rd November and the Thanksgiving
& Rededication Service was held on 4th November. Ipoh Wesley also started
the Holiday Bible Camp, a camp held annually for school-going children. Many
children from various churches have attended this Camp and have reaped the many
benefits from it.
On
the afternoon of Sunday, 23rd February 1992, fire gutted our Church Sanctuary,
the first Protestant Church in the Malaysian Peninsular to be hit by such a
tragedy. During this time of adversity, members of Christ's body especially
church members experienced much grief and sadness. The Lord showed us that from
these very ashes must rise a trust in Him, a trust to lead us on as He has always
led us in the past. Realising the need to grow and move on, a restoration and
expansion project (Project Nehemiah) had to be undertaken. The expansion project
involved the building of the Centennial Word Centre, an addition adjoining the
Sanctuary dedicated to the ministry of Word.
Ipoh
Wesley celebrated her Centenary Celebration in 1994, appropriately themed "100
Years of God's Glory, Grace & Growing", with a fair bit of programmes
and activities. A Thanksgiving Dinner, a Chamber Music concert and the Ipoh
Wesley Run were among some of the activities and programmes organised. The youths
were also not to be left out; the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) presented
the Centenary Musical entitled "God Is Light" on 8th July 1994. 
It
was indeed encouraging to see
all members of Ipoh Wesley
united as one body in Christ, working at seeing this celebration become a reality.
The climax of the celebration came when the newly restored Sanctuary and the Centennial Word Centre was dedicated on 31st August 1994 by Malaysian Methodist Church Bishop Dr. Denis C. Dutton
in a momentous, heart-warming and joyous service witnessed by a huge crowd of
young and old.
Throughout
1994 to 1997, we've had the Church Family Camp every year in effort to be "rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith
as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Colossians 2:7,
NIV). Various Mission Trips were held in the same period: to Cambodia, Bangladesh
and Sarawak.
In 1995, Ipoh Wesley embarked upon setting up a new preaching point in Jelapang, a predominantly traditional Chinese community. With that vision of outreach, a new preaching point called the Jelapang Outreach Point (JOP) was started to minister to the needs of the people there. Todate, the JOP has managed to bring many people to God and His saving grace.
1997
saw the birth of the Wesley Senior Day Care Centre (WSDCC), a Caring Ministry
of the church to the senior citizens in Ipoh. The WSDCC was dedicated on 30th
March 1997 in conjunction with the Easter Celebration. The simultaneous Cantonese
Service at the Sunday morning service was also started the same year, together
with the relaunching of the Young Adults Fellowship (YAF).
Into the Past, Towards the Future
The good Lord has taught us much over the past 104 years of what it meant to trust in His sovereign plan for His people, particularly His Church. From the ranks of Ipoh Wesley came many people who responded to the call of His ministry, among which are Mr. Ng Tuck Wai (the first Malaysian lay missionary to Sarawak) and Rev. Dr. Yap Kim Hao (first Malaysian Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia & Singapore in 1968). These men of God remind us of the missionaries of old who left the comforts of their homes to labour amongst us in the development of His Kingdom. The fruits of their labour of love have always been a source of inspiration to us all. May Ipoh Wesley grow from strength to strength in the years to come under His leading.
To see the Roll of Pastors in Ipoh Wesley, click on this hyperlink.