The new Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS), Rev Philip Lim, was consecrated last night, December 6, 2024 at Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church (QCMC)/Faith Methodist Church.

Bishop Philip Lim, who attended QCMC as a child, will serve for the 13th quadrennium from 2025 to 2028.

Rev Philip Lim kneeling at the consecration.

Laying on of hands: Presiding Bishop, Bishop Emeritus Gordon Wong and Bishops from Malaysia, Australia and Taiwan praying over the new Bishop.

In his new role, he will be the spiritual leader for more than 46,000 Methodists in 46 churches across Singapore and serve as the head of regional churches established by MCS, namely, The Methodist Churches in Thailand, Cambodia and Nepal.

He will also provide counsel to 15 Methodist schools, and support MCS’ social concerns arm, Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), which runs 22 care centres and programmes.

In addition, he will represent MCS to the wider Christian community within and outside Singapore, as well as in inter-faith relations and interactions with the government and community partners.

Bishop Philip with his wife Lydia and daughter Olivia.

Bishop Philip, 58, told Salt&Light: “While it is a joy to be of service to the Lord, it is also a heavy responsibility to lead the whole Methodist Church in Singapore. But I am encouraged by the prayers of the people and am assured of God’s help.”

MCS’ three Annual Conferences are organised and governed based on the various churches English-, Chinese- and Tamil-speaking heritage. The newly-elected Presidents are Rev Lek Yong Tek (Chinese Annual Conference), Rev Saravana Kumar (Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference) and Rev Reuben Ng (Trinity Annual Conference). Together, they will support the Bishop in mutual consultation and collaboration on all matters related to MCS.

(Front row, from left) Bishop Emeritus Gordon Wong, Bishop Philip Lim, Bishop Emeritus Robert Solomon, ETAC President Rev Saravana Kumar and TRAC President Rev Reuben Ng.

Sharing his plans for MCS with Salt&Light, Bishop Philip said: “Next year, we are going to celebrate MCS 140, the 140th anniversary of Methodism in Singapore. It coincides with SG60. This is a significant year and we want to continue to do our part to serve our nation. We want to mobilise the Methodist community to give 1.4 million volunteer hours to serve the community. Hence, the immediate task is to challenge our members to do that. We want them to be faithful, fervent and full of zeal (Romans 12:11).”

Bishop Philip Lim (centre) with Bishop Emeritus Gordon Wong (second from left) and Bishops from Malaysia, Australia and Taiwan.

Bishop Philip succeeds Bishop Dr Gordon Wong, who is retiring after a four-year term. The title of Bishop Emeritus was conferred on Bishop Dr Wong by the General Conference of MCS during the 13th Session in September 2024. Bishop Dr Wong has spent nearly 40 years in service, and has been a pastor, lecturer and President prior to becoming a Bishop.

The consecration of the new Bishop was witnessed by over 500 last night.

About 500 people attended the Consecration Service. Guests included Bishop Lu Guan Hoe, who is President of the National Council of Churches Singapore (NCCS) and Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Singapore, representatives from the Archdiocesan Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism Centre of Singapore (AIRDECS) and government representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY). From the Methodist community overseas, Bishops from the Chinese Methodist Church in Australia, The Methodist Church in Malaysia and The Methodist Church in Taiwan, were also present.

This article is adapted from Methodist Message.

RELATED STORIES:

The Methodist Church in Singapore elects Rev Philip Lim as new Bishop

The Methodist Church in Singapore elects new President of the Trinity Annual Conference

Methodist Church in Singapore elects new Presidents for Tamil Annual Conference and Chinese Annual Conference