St James' Church

Remembering the Future

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.1 Corinthians 3:5-9

It was Canon Guok Goh Moh who dreamt of an Anglican parish in Holland Village. He served as a deacon throughout the years of Japanese occupation and made an honorary canon of SAC in 1954. He passed away in 1963 before his dream was realised but his family continue to work at it. A piece of land was eventually bought and construction began with the laying down of the foundation stone by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsay. In 1977, the building was completed. On 12 March 1980 (12 March being the birthday of Canon Guok), SJC was consecrated by Bishop Chiu Ban It.

The first Mandarin Service was held in SJC on 22 February 1977, led by Revd Ong Ming King. The English congregation has their roots in a house church started by the late Canon Yip Tung Shan in 1976. In Feb 1977, the first English service started at the new building in SJC with 80 members. For this reason, 1977 is used as our starting year, making this year the 30th.

After Canon Yip’s retirement in 1981, various priests-in-charge were appointed for short stints, including Rev Ron Hu, Rev Dr Moses Tay & Revd Ong Ming King. 1983 was significant as Revd Cecil and Mary McSparron came in as priest-in-charge of the English congregation. The church continues to grow and SJC officially became a parish in 1983.

The ministry of the church grew and underwent various changes, and in keeping with the ministry convictions of Rev Mcsparron, a lot of emphasis was put on the ministry of the Word, discipleship and Missions. A task force was set up in 1986 to encourage lay leaders to work at the vision and goals for the church.  During this time, interest in World Missions also started with the formation of World Missions Committee. When Rev Cecil returned to UK in 1986, Rev Ong Ming King served as Acting Vicar, assisted by Revd Tan Piah. Rev Cecil retired in 1990.

Rev Ng Koon Sheng (1990-2000) took over the helm, continuing McSparron’s legacy of gifted teaching. Under his watch, SJC adoped “Cell church’ principles and started the Super Powerkids. The Kindergarten began a fresh direction under a new Principal, Jacquelien Chung. Rev Ng and Rev David Wong (Chinese congregation) also actively encouraged community outreach initiatives. The church also became more open to fresh expressions of the work of the Holy Spirit. I became Vicar here in 2001 as Rev Ng move on to serve in St Andrew’s Cathedral.

What is clear is that SJC, as she is today, has been very blessed by many clergy, leaders and members who have served faithfully in the past. And as we reflect on our past 30 years, the words of St Paul in 1 Cor 3 provides terrific guidance on how should view those who have laboored in our vineyard. Indeed, each will have their rewards but the goal is the glory of God, for ‘none of us is anything, but only God…”

This thought, in fact, both encourages and enbolden me (and it should, for my ‘fellow laborers’ too) to labour faithfully and ‘incognito’ in God’s “field and building.” And may every remembrance of our work in the future, bring only praise to God.