Lutheran Church in Singapore

Mainline Protestant Christian denomination in Singapore

Lutheran Church in Singapore

Logo of the LCS

Classification| Protestant
Orientation| Lutheran
Polity| Interdependent local, and national expressions with modified episcopal polity
Leader| Rev. Lu Guan Hoe
Associations| LWF, ALC, FELCMS, NCCS, CCA, WCC
Region| Singapore
Origin| 1997
Branched from| Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore
Congregations| 7
Members| 2834
Nursing homes| 1
Official website| http://www.lutheran.org.sg/

The Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS) is a Lutheran denomination in Singapore. Constituted in 1997, it currently has approximately 2,834 members in 7 congregations nationwide.[1]

The current bishop of the LCS is the Rt. Rev. Lu Guan Hoe.[2]

## History

[edit]

See also: Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore § History

### Early history

[edit]

The Lutheran Church in Singapore shares its early history with the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (LCMS). In 1960, the American Lutheran mission in Malaya built a church at Duke's Road in Bukit Timah together with two other small Lutheran congregations from the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Huria Kristen Batak Protestant in Singapore. Worship services in English, Chinese, Tamil and Batak were held in the church. With the onset of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, many of the Batak members returned to Indonesia in 1963 and the remaining Batak parishioners decided to worship at the Methodist Church in Short Street.[3]

In 1963, a second congregation was established in Queenstown and the mission was able to obtain one of the six religious sites allocated in Queenstown through the help of a member of the Batak congregation.[3] The congregations in Singapore were grouped as the Singapore District, one of the three constituent districts of the LCMS.

### Towards autonomy

[edit]

By 1973, the then President of the LCMS, Dr. Carl Fisher raised the question of whether the Lutheran churches in Singapore would operate as a national church separate from the LCMS. The matter was not pursued further until 1984, when the matter was brought up again during a meeting with the Singapore District Council of the LCMS. Even then, this matter was again not pursued further.

In February 1990, the issue of an independent Lutheran Church in Singapore was again brought into discussion by the Executive Council of the LCMS. This time the issue was given more serious thought, particularly since it was noted that the clergy representing the Singapore District in the LCMS' Executive Council were both not Singaporean citizens. One of the results of this discussion was the establishment of a Restructuring Committee to study the restructuring of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore. Each district of the LCMS was also to form its own ad hoc committee to study the matter.[3]

A meeting was convened on the 1st and 2 April 1991 as the LCMS Restructuring Consultation in Port Dickson, Malaysia to present the combined studies and recommendations. It was agreed in principle that the Singapore District would function as a fully autonomous Singaporean Lutheran Church, working side by side with her Malaysian counterpart. A ten-year time frame was adopted in which the Lutheran Church in Singapore and the Lutheran Church in Malaysia would initially be re-organised as two synods within one Church organisation and move towards independence as two national churches by 2001.[3]

### Establishment of a national church

[edit]

Despite the ten year time frame, the process was accelerated and in 1997, the Lutheran Church in Singapore was constituted as a separate national body for Lutheran churches in Singapore with the Rt. Rev. John Tan Yok Han elected as the first Bishop of the church.[4]

## Structure and organisation

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The Lutheran Church in Singapore' structure evolved from being the Southern District of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore to a national body. The highest decision-making body is the Annual Meeting consisting of elected lay and ordained voting members from each congregation that meets annually and headed by a bishop. When the Annual Meeting is in recess, authority is delegated to the executive council.

The Ministerium, consisting of the ordained pastors of the church, attends to matters of doctrine, nurture and spiritual care. On the local congregation level, local church councils run the various LCS congregations. All properties of the local congregations are owned by the LCS.

### Bishops of the LCS

[edit]

* 1997-2009

Rev. John Tan Yok Han

* 2009–2021

Rev. Terry Kee Buck Hwa

* 2021-Present

Rev. Lu Guan Hoe

### Congregations

[edit]

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Bukit Timah

At present, there are 6 congregations in Singapore:[5]

* Bedok Lutheran Church, Bedok
* Jurong Christian Church, Jurong
* Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Bukit Timah
* Queenstown Lutheran Church, Queenstown
* Yishun Christian Church, Yishun
* Thai Good News Centre, Beach Road

## Affiliations

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The LCS participates actively in ecumenical relationships through:

* National Council of Churches of Singapore
* Christian Conference of Asia
* World Council of Churches
* Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Malaysia & Singapore
* Basel Christian Church of Malaysia
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia
* Lutheran Church in Malaysia
* Protestant Church in Sabah
* Lutheran World Federation
* Asia Lutheran Communion

The LCS also works in partnership with:[6][7]

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Southeastern Synod
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
* Lutheran Church of Australia
* Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission

## See also

[edit]

* Christianity in Singapore
* Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lutheran World Federation - LWF Statistics 2010 Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ saltandlight.sg - Lu Guan Hoe succeeds Terry Kee as 3rd Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Singapore
3. ^ a b c d Warren, Lau: "A Heavenly Vision - The Story of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, 1952 - 1991". 1993, ISBN 983-99862-1-X
4. ^ Lutheran Church in Singapore - About Us
5. ^ Lutheran Church in Singapore - LCS Congregations
6. ^ Lutheran Church in Singapore - Companion Synod
7. ^ Lutheran Church in Singapore - Partner Churches

## External links

[edit]

* Lutheran Church in Singapore

* v
* t
* e

Christianity in Singapore

Protestantism|

| Megachurches|

* City Harvest Church
* New Creation Church
* Faith Community Baptist Church
* Lighthouse Evangelism

|

Anglican|

* Anglican Diocese of Singapore
* St Andrew's Cathedral
* St Matthew's Church
* Saint George's Church
* Holy Trinity Anglican Church
* Church of Our Saviour

Assemblies of God|

* Elim Church
* Grace Assembly of God

Baptist|

* Singapore Baptist Convention

Bible-Presbyterian|

* Bible-Presbyterian Church
* Life Bible-Presbyterian Church

Evangelical Free|

* Covenant Evangelical Free Church

Independent|

* Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church
* Cornerstone Community Church
* Heart of God Church

Lutheran|

* Lutheran Church in Singapore

Methodist|

* Methodist Church in Singapore
* Wesley Methodist Church
* Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church
* Faith Methodist Church
* Kampong Kapor Methodist Church
* Barker Road Methodist Church

Pentecostal|

* The Alliance of Pentecostals and Charismatics
* The Assemblies of God in Singapore

Presbyterian|

* Presbyterian Church in Singapore
* Singapore Life Church
* Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church
* Bethel Presbyterian Church
* Orchard Road Presbyterian Church

Catholic Church|

* Catholic Church in Singapore
* Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
* Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea
* Church of St Francis Xavier
* Saint Joseph's Church, Bukit Timah
* Saint Joseph's Church, Victoria Street (Parochial House)
* Church of Saint Alphonsus (Novena Church)
* Church of the Holy Trinity
* Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
* Church of St Mary of the Angels
* Church of the Risen Christ
* Church of the Sacred Heart

Oriental Orthodox|

* Singapore Armenian Church

Eastern Orthodox|

| (Ecumenical Patriarchate-affiliated)|

* Ecumenical Patriarchate Diocese of Singapore

|

(Moscow Patriarchate-affiliated)|

* Moscow Patriarchate Diocese of Singapore

Interdenominational
organisations|

* Evangelical Alliance of Singapore

* v
* t
* e

Lutheran World Federation

Africa

Central and Eastern Africa

| Democratic Republic of the Congo|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo

|

Eritrea|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea

Ethiopia|

* Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus

Kenya|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya
* Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church

Madagascar|

* Malagasy Lutheran Church

Rwanda|

* Lutheran Church of Rwanda

Tanzania|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

Southern Africa

| Angola|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola

|

Botswana|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana

Malawi|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi

Mozambique|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique

Namibia|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK)

South Africa|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (N-T)
* Moravian Church in South Africa

Zambia|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia

Zimbabwe|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe

Western Africa

| Cameroon|

* Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon

|

Central African Republic|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic

Republic of Congo|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Congo

Ghana|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana

Liberia|

* Lutheran Church in Liberia

Nigeria|

* The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria
* The Lutheran Church of Nigeria

Senegal|

* The Lutheran Church of Senegal

Sierra Leone|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone

Asia and Pacific

North East Asia

| China – Hong Kong|

* Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church
* Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong
* Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong

|

Taiwan|

* Taiwan Lutheran Church
* Lutheran Church of the Republic of China

Japan|

* Japan Lutheran Church
* Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church

South Korea|

* Lutheran Church in Korea

West and South Asia

| Bangladesh|

* Bangladesh Lutheran Church
* Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church

|

Georgia|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

India|

* Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Arcot Lutheran Church
* Bodo Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States
* Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam
* India Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church
* South Andhra Lutheran Church
* Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church

Israel|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Jordan|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Kazakhstan|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

Kyrgyzstan|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

Myanmar|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Myanmar
* Lutheran Church of Myanmar
* Myanmar Lutheran Church
* Mara Evangelical Church

Nepal|

* Nepal Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church

Palestinian territories|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Sri Lanka|

* Lanka Lutheran Church

Uzbekistan|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

South East Asia

| Australia|

* Lutheran Church of Australia

|

Indonesia|

* Batak Christian Community Church
* Christian Communion of Indonesia Church in Nias
* Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia
* Angkola Protestant Christian Church
* Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church
* Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church
* Protestant Christian Batak Church
* Protestant Christian Church
* Protestant Christian Church in Mentawai
* Simalungun Protestant Christian Church
* United Protestant Church

Malaysia|

* Basel Christian Church of Malaysia
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia
* Lutheran Church in Malaysia
* Protestant Church in Sabah

Papua New Guinea|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
* Gutnius Lutheran Church

Philippines|

* Lutheran Church in the Philippines

Singapore|

* Lutheran Church in Singapore

Thailand|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand

Europe

| Austria|

* Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria

|

Belarus|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

Belgium|

* Lutheran Church of Belgium: Arlon and Christian Mission

Croatia|

* Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia

Czech Republic|

* Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren
* Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession

Denmark|

* Church of Denmark

Estonia|

* Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church

Finland|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

France|

* Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine
* United Protestant Church of France
* Malagasy Protestant Church in France

Germany|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick
* Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover
* Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad
* Church of Lippe (Lutheran classis)
* Evangelical Church in Middle Germany
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg
* Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe
* Lutheran Church in Württemberg

Hungary|

* Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary

Iceland|

* Church of Iceland

Ireland|

* Lutheran Church in Ireland

Italy|

* Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy

Latvia|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia

Lithuania|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania

Netherlands|

* Protestant Church in the Netherlands

Norway|

* Church of Norway
* Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway

Poland|

* Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland

Romania|

* Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Romania

Russia|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia

Serbia|

* Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia

Slovakia|

* Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia

Slovenia|

* Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia

Sweden|

* Church of Sweden

Switzerland|

* Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein

Ukraine|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

United Kingdom|

* Lutheran Church in Great Britain
* The Lutheran Council of Great Britain

Latin America and the Caribbean

Central America and the Caribbean

| Costa Rica|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Costa Rica
* Costa Rican Lutheran Church

|

El Salvador|

* Salvadoran Lutheran Church

Guatemala|

* Evangelical Lutheran Congregation "La Epifania"

Honduras|

* Christian Lutheran Church of Honduras

Mexico|

* German-Speaking Evangelical Congregation in Mexico
* Mexican Lutheran Church

Nicaragua|

* Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope

South America

| Argentina|

* Evangelical Church of the River Plate
* United Evangelical Lutheran Church

|

Bolivia|

* Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church
* German Speaking Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Bolivia

Brazil|

* Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil

Chile|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile
* Lutheran Church in Chile

Colombia|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia
* St. Martin's Lutheran Congregation
* St. Matthew's Lutheran Church

Ecuador|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ecuador

Guyana|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana

Peru|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peru
* Peruvian Lutheran Evangelical Church

Suriname|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname

Venezuela|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela

North America

| Canada|

* Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

|

United States|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

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