Tamil Methodist Church
This methodist church in Melaka was built in 1908 and was initially known as the Kabu Methodist Church. It was built using a gift of USD$5.000 and was shared by four culturally diverse methodist groups.
This small church on the corner of Jalan Kabu and Jalan Tokong is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The records are sketchy but they reveal that the Methodist congregation began in Melaka in 1897 when Chinese missionaries arrived. A mandarin speaking methodist community was set up in 1898 and the Pernakan Methodist community was set up a year later.
P.W. Thambiar formed the Tamil congregation in 1904.
As there was no permanent place of worship the Methodists met in private homes until a local resident donated a house on Jalan Tun Chan Lock for use as a school and prayer house. This continued until the church was constructed in 1908 and the four culturally diverse groups met here.
As the congregation grew space became an issue and in 1954 the Pernakans and English-speaking expatriates built a new church in Jalan Tengkera. A year later the Mandarin speaking methodists moved to their own church in Jalan Tan Chay Yam, leaving this church to become the spiritual home of the Tamil congregation who attend weekly services in Tamil and English.