HOLY TRINITY CHURCH – 118TH
YEAR OF FAITHFULNESS AND GRACE
By. Rev. Issac
Pandianadan, BD
Around 120 years ago, Batu Gajah was enjoying the
Kinta Valley Tin Rush and was the second most important town in Perak after
Taiping. In 1884 it was chosen as the capital of the Kinta district and
government offices were located here. The British colonial administrators, tin miners and rubber planters
created a very prosperous community and the good times continued until the
1920's by which time the rapid growth of nearby Ipoh was drawing investment
away from Batu Gajah and eventually the capital had been moved to Ipoh. But the District Officer and
his office still remain in Batu Gajah.
Holy Trinity Church is the principal Anglican Church
in Batu Gajah and the English Chaplaincy of South Perak was originally created
in Batu Gajah. It is located at Jalan Hospital, across from the Batu Gajah
Prison, and a short walk from the Batu Gajah Hospital. The Anglican Church in Batu Gajah
was established around the same time that the Catholics established the Church
of St Joseph not far away
(200 meters away). The First Chaplain Rev. A. Markham (1884 – 1897) who hails
from All Saints Church, Taiping was the Chaplain who oversees the ministry in
this region of Kinta and funded by then SPG (Society of Propagation of Gospel)
in early 1884 but it can be longer than this as the Europeans seafarers are
abundant during that time which includes the naval base in Lumut. The person credited with its founding was Reverend
F.S.P. Pyemont (1891 – 1904), who hailed from Taiping's All
Saint's Church. He
spearheaded a historical building project in Perak with the erection of Holy
Trinity Church which adjacent the Anglican Cemetery. Land for the proposed
Anglican Church was granted by the 28th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Idris Murshidul
Azam Shah. When a church building was proposed, Sultan Idris
granted to the Bishop of Singapore, Rt.Rev George Frederick Hose (a land
rent-free for worship and for burial). In
his honour, the structure was built according to Malay customary and masonry.
When the first
idea to build the church was mooted by Reverend F.S.P. Pyemont, the British
officers especially the Resident of Perak, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham were supportive
and helped in enquiring the land which the church stands today. It was said
that the Burma teak wood were donated by the Resident and still grace the altar
railing until today. The first
structure may have been erected around 1887, while a more permanent one in
1895. It was built with Malay architecture resembling Rumah
Melayu with numerous pillars beneath the floor. It was the second Anglican
Church building in the Federated Malay States after the All Saint's Church in
Taiping, and it heralded the penetration of the Anglican faith in the country.
The wooden Church was formally consecrated by the Bishop of Singapore, Rt.Rev
George Frederick Hose in 1912; 17 years after its establishment.
Rev. J.P. Parry (1907 – 1910) was posted to Holy Trinity in 1907 and he was mainly taking care the well being of the European community in Batu Gajah. But the Tamil work was much earlier and Rev. A. Ghanamani was the first Tamil Priest conducting Tamil services in the whole Perak including Holy Trinity from 1894 – 1907. In 1909, the Chaplaincy of Perak been divided into two. The North Perak Chaplaincy based in All Saint’s Church, Taiping and South Perak Chaplaincy based in Batu Gajah. The honour for being the First Chaplain of South Perak Chaplaincy belongs to Rev. H.C.Henham (1910 – 1920) who came with his two sisters and resides in Batu Gajah. He continued the Tamil work in Batu Gajah and actively evangelizing in Gopeng, Tapah, Kampar, Sungkai and Teluk Intan. In the early days, most of the worshippers at the Holy Trinity Church were Europeans. But as the locals were converted, the number of Chinese and Tamil worshippers increased substantially, outnumbering the Europeans by 1918. He was keen on the Tamil ministry and eventually started the Tamil Service with the assistance of Rev. R.K.Abraham who was stationed in Ipoh. He was taking the services in Batu Gajah and also in Riverview Estate. The church land including the cemetery was officially transferred to the Diocese of Singapore under the Bishop’s jurisdiction on 13th February 1917 and sign by then the Acting Resident of Perak, Sir William George Maxwell who represented the British Administration.
In 1920, Charles Alma Baker the Philanthropist,
Planter and Imperial Patriot, the richest man of Batu Gajah contributed much to
the development of the Church and his contribution is rightly attributed with a
plague at the church (He died on 8 April 1941 and was buried at the Anglican
Church cemetery in Batu Gajah). Before he left home, he had made a very
generous contribution donation for the building of the new structure over the
original church from 1897. He instructed a wooden carved reredos to be
build and it grace the altar till 1990. Today the remaining reredos is
incorporated into the new sanctuary plus the original gothic altar table.
In 1918, Rev. D.J.Devapiriam (1917 – 1921) continued
the work and eventually the congregation begins to grow tremendously. Tamils
are mainly from the adjacent place called Changkat which had the highest
consolidation of Indian from Tamil Nadu. The Indian Settlement of Changkat
produces many outstanding leaders of the church in the future. Batu Gajah did
not flourish after 1920’s as compare in Ipoh and it soon overtook Batu Gajah as
the administrative center. In 1920, the gem of Batu Gajah, Rev. H.C.Henham
moved to Seremban and the Chaplaincy of South Perak is consolidated into the
new and young Church of St. John, Ipoh. After the consecration of St. John in
1912, Rev. E. A. Hone (1912 – 1916) becomes the Chaplain who oversees the work
in Batu Gajah from Ipoh. Thus the long days of “dependency” arose as the clergy
begin to divide the Pastoral responsibilities with each other in order to look
after the vast area in Perak. The growth of Tamil ministry eventually divided
the church into English congregation and Tamil speaking congregation by 1930’s.
In 1927, Rev. T. Yesudian (1927 – 1937) father–in-law
of Bishop G Savarimuthu succeeded Rev. S M Visvalingam (1921 -1926) who served
in South Perak especially taking care the Tamil congregation in Batu Gajah.
Rev. T. Yesudian pioneered the congregation of Church of the Holy Spirit in
Buntong. By 1931, the Tamil congregation of Holy Trinity is amalgamated with
the clergy of Church of the Holy Spirit, Buntong but the English service
remained with St. John’s Ipoh. In 1937, Rev. D.P.Samuel (1937 – 1946) continued
the legacy of the church in the most turbulent time in the history. He was a
mission Priest who looked after the whole Perak during the war. He suffered
much under Japanese and commonly called as “Walking priest” who fond of walking
to the churches for services. It was not clear when the English service ended
but the World War 2 saw the mass exodus of Europeans from Batu Gajah. But the
Japanese spare the church building and allow the services continued in Tamil. After
the war, the ministry continued with the appointment of Rev. A P Daniel (1948 –
1959).
In November 1959, the South Perak Chaplaincy is
officially abolished and the churches begin to move independently and the
remaining British expatriate and officers flocked St.John Church for services.
But the Tamil congregation remains in Batu Gajah and the priest from Buntong
assisted in the services. There are consisting of Rev. Jambunathan (1957 –
1964), Rev. David Samuel (1964 – 1965), Canon Butwan Manickam (1965 – 1973),
Rev. S. Batumalai (1973 - 1981) and the last Priest who came from Buntong, Rev.
Charles K Samuel (1981 – 1985). During the tenure of Rev. Jambunathan, the
Sunday School had started and the classes being held twice a month in seven
places – Holy Trinity Church compound, MTD, Pusing, Anti-Malaria Quarters, 7th Mile Kinta Valley Estate and
Riverview Estate. As there were very few English speaking Anglicans in Batu
Gajah, the remaining expatriates being very supportive towards the expansion of
the ministry. They were Mr. & Mrs. John Black (Kinta Kellas), Mr. &
Mrs. Whitaker (Kinta Valley) and Mr. & Mrs. Warren Betty (Batu Gajah).
It was during the tenure of Canon Butwan Manickam that
the church saw the influx of Tamil into the church including from Tanjong
Tualang and Kinta Valley. He raised up many caliber leaders of the church and
there was tremendous consciousness among the congregation to rise up in the
social strata of the community in Batu Gajah. He was a keen advocate of
spiritual holiness and strongly oppose to any social division of the
congregation. He had great concern for the issue of drunkenness and poverty
among the congregation in Batu Gajah; and his stand had made him many enemies
but his perseverance and zeal earned him the title “Man with a Pastoral Heart”.
He foreseen the development of the young
people in the church and started the Youth Fellowship in 1972 with 7 youths. The
first President of the Fellowship being our current People’s Warden, Mr. S.
Maseelamani Selliah. Their first responsibility was to coordinate and organize
the Caroling for Christmas on the same year which was earlier being organized
by the senior members of the church. They also took over the responsibility to
teach Sunday school, which was previously conducted by teachers from Holy
Spirit, Ipoh. The First Superintendent being Mr. Verdamanickam Selliah teachers,
Mr. Maseelamani Ms. Devakumari James, Mrs. Ruth Packiavathy Rajandurai, Mrs. Vedamany
Selvaraju and Mrs. Kasturibai James.
Rev. S.
Batumalai succeeds Canon Butwan and continued the legacy by spearheading for
the construction of St. Andrews Education Center, Kinta Valley. It was a center
which caters for the education of the children and spiritual aspect of the
people in Kinta Valley estate. The center was built through the kind donation from
the congregation of Church of the Holy Spirit and from the South Perak
Endowment Fund. It was transferred to Holy Trinity Church on 1989. It was also made possible by the kind gesture
of Mr. & Mrs. John Karuppusamy of Gopeng Estate, Mdm Sarah Mutharam from
Kinta Valley, Mr. & Mrs. Sawarimuthu of Kinta Kellas Estate who willingly sold
the land at a nominal cost to the Church
although the land was initially kept for their own family in the future.
The small
gesture of opening a Malayan Bank current account on 19th January 1979 constituted the
coming of age of the Tamil congregation of Holy Trinity after years under the
jurisdiction of St. John Church, Ipoh and British expatriates. Rev. S.
Batumalai with Mr. P Navamoney, Head Master of Tamil School in Gopeng Estate
conducted programs in the estate and eventually lead to the conversion of Mr.
& Mrs. Karuppusamy and few others. Rev. Charles K Samuel (1981 – 1985) posted
to Buntong on constituted the Women’s Fellowship in the church with 15 women in
1982. He prepared the congregation to become Missionary District.
In 1984, the
First Resident Parish Assistant was appointed to the church. Mr. Alagumalai later Reverend (1984 – 1985) was
instrumental in reorganizing the auxiliary fellowships in the church and
encouraging the auxiliary bodies to conduct their own meetings and programs.
The women’s prayers and prayer meetings were organized during his time and
continued till today. 100th years were
celebrated in smaller scale but it was such a blessing for the whole
congregation. He was preceded by the Rev. Edward John (1985 – 1988) who was our
first Resident Priest of Holy Trinity Church.
Inauguration of Missionary District of Holy Trinity was done during the
tenure of Rev. Edward John on 27th January 1985. He started the Young Adults
Fellowship on 25th May 1986 with
11 members which were held at the Vicarage. The first President being Mr. Balan
Navamoney and assisted by numerous people. Through the continual fellowship and
effort, new church organ been brought by the fellowship. He also initiated the
third building project of the church due to the increase of the congregation. The
plan included a Parsonage in Batu Gajah. But unfortunately, the Standing Committee
had rejected the plan due to the financial constraint of the Diocese. It
brought such a disappointment among the members but they persevered. He paved the
way for the development of the work in Sitiawan and eventually started the Holy
Cross Church, Sitiawan. Initially the services were held at Tamil Methodist
Church, Sitiawan with minimal fee of RM10.00 per-month. Mr. P Navamoney becomes
the first Lay Reader of the church during this period and followed by Mr. David
Daniel in 1987.
The ministry in
Batu Gajah and Sitiawan was strengthened with the arrival of Rev. Charles
Fraser Isaac (1988 – 1995). He was instrumental in getting a place for worship
in Sitiawan and eventually made the Holy Cross Church a MD on 16th September 1990. He was the acting
Priest-In-Charge till 1995 and the ministry flourished with the help of the
congregation of Holy Trinity. On 27th January 1989,
Bishop Savarimuthu inaugurated the church as Parish and called the church as Parish
of Church of Holy Trinity, Batu Gajah. This
is the milestone that church had achieved after years under the radar of
churches in Ipoh. He continued the vision of previous Priest in building a
brick church which can accommodate more people to worship in the church
efficiently. The Standing Committee approved the request for the new church and
the church began to raise the fund needed to build the church. Many church
members contributed generously a month’s pay towards the fund. Mr. John Black
was instrumental in raising the fund needed for the building. He was the
Trustee for the South Perak Church of England Endowment Fund and F J
Byrant Trust Fund. Through his assistance the church was finally built with
a proper belfry. The wooden paneling was removed and replaced with stain glass which
was added to represent the symbols of the Holy Trinity. It was graciously
donated by the family of Mr. J.J. Black. The Petition for consecration were sent
to the Bishop Savarimuthu for the consecration of the recently completed 3rd church building by then Vicar, Rev. Charles Fraser, Priest
Warden, Mr. S. Maseelamani and People’s Warden Mr. Thangaraj Iyadurai. On 18th March 1990, the newly built church
was consecrated on the old site by the Lord Bishop of Diocese of West Malaysia.
Parochial Church council also continued their mission in obtaining a Vicarage
at Taman Yuk Kwan and through the kind donation from the F J Byrant Trust
Fund. The Vicarage was named after F.J.Byrant and known as Byrant House.
Rev. David
Rajiah (1995 – 2000) arrived immediately after the departure of Rev. Charles
Fraser. His arrival saw the much development of the Evangelistic work and
leadership of the Parish. Many non-believers being added into the church and
more leaders emerged during the period. He divided the Parish into ministerial
zone (Pusing, Kinta Valley, Kinta Kellas, Bemban and Tanjong Tualang). He initiated
and saw the need for a multi-purpose hall for the Parish and actively proposed
and organized programs for building the said project. But due to unforeseen
circumstances, the project never took up till the arrival of Rev. Johnson David
(2000-2003). He revised the plan for a multi-purpose hall, with adjacent wings
and classrooms behind the sanctuary. But his abrupt departure halted the
project again. During his tenure, Servers & Acolytes guild was formed in
2003. There was vast transformation of the worship during his time and many
orders of the service were introduced and followed.
Rev. Jesvinder
Singh (2004 – 2008) was posted to the church as Deacon-In-Training under the
supervision of Archdeacon Steven Abbarow who oversees the ministry in Batu
Gajah for nearly 14 years. Archdeacon Steven Abbarow with his able leadership
skill had guided the priest and the congregation to work along to run the race
in the mission of Christ. He completed the extension project of the church in
2007. The building was officially blessed by Rt. Rev. Tan Sri Lim Cheng Ean,
Diocesan Bishop on 4th February 2007. The
church had suffered for a long time without the facilities for the various
programs or function. Finally by God’s grace the building is completed with her
final stage of bout of refurbishment and renovation. Sunday school classes are
now held in the classroom environment rather than slogged under a tree or the
car shed. The teachers donated 10 tables for the ministry. Men’s Fellowship was formed in 2006 under his
guidance. He revamped the services and added modern touch to the church by introducing
the LCD projector to be used during the weekly services. His singing talents rose
up the next generation of worship leaders in the church. Rev. Jesvinder also
started the Cell Ministry and divided the church into area fellowship and
through this initiative the fellowship of congregation was strengthen. He was
transferred in March 2008 and the church went through a bout of visiting clergy
till a permanent Priest was sent in 2010. The following clergy had taken
services in Batu Gajah throughout the time including Rev. John Kennedy Samuel,
Rev. John Ganapathy and Archdeacon Steven Abbarow. Rev. Issac Pandianadan was
posted to Holy Trinity on 1st February 2010.
The church went through many ups and down throughout
the period of her establishment. In order to see more changes to take place among the
congregation as whole and to build up the church to a higher ground we need to
establish the real sense of unity, love and understanding among the
congregation. The church has a special responsibility to
provide an atmosphere where people can hear and respond to the call of God. God
is interested in our hearts and our love for Him. The highest calling is to the
vocation of being submissive to Christ. Jesus will take care of the location.
The location and history may change many times, but the vocation never changes.
His call is real and life changing. Discover His calling for your life and you
will find a life of fruitfulness and meaning. Someone once said, “We always
have time for the things we want to do.” A realignment of our time and
priorities will open the way for God to extend His call even in the
twenty-first century. Jesus further declared, “The harvest truly is plentiful,
but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38,). If Jesus exhorted His people to
pray for laborers and observed that many are called but few chosen, then where
are the laborers? Where are the called? The answer lies in our inability to
recognize and identify the call of God.
BLESSED ANNIVERSARY
ASH WEDNESDAY 2013
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