Living Waters @ ACSI


Being a member of Living Waters Methodist Church (LWMC) and worshipping in the church since I was 13, I felt that LWMC would be the place and space I wanted to write about.

LWMC is situated at 121 Dover Road, and it was the space where I would go to every Sunday to worship. Together with a congregation of about 200 people, we form a close knit community with each other, having activities such as family camps, community services and celebrations. It was not only a place where I worship, but also a place where I grew and mature in my teenage years.

But it’s not only about the community, friends and family and activities that happened that give a sense of nostalgia. As an architecture and design student, I also believe that the architecture and design of the space plays an important role in giving the sense of atmosphere, feelings and sense of attachment to the place. For LWMC, it is no different.

LWMC started out in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in the Centre for Performing Arts in 1999. In 2005 its interiors and outer walls was refurnished and transformed into a church and sanctuary. I guess because of this, the congregation had a space to call their own, and people could see the difference from then and now, and appreciate its beauty.

When you walk along the outer walls of the church to walk into the main entrance, you first notice the facade of polished wood. Clean and smooth, it gives this sense of earthly feel to the viewer. There are three thin columns of window, side by side, for the viewer to look inside its interiors and the activities happening inside. And then you open the doors and you see the sea of red. The cushioned seats are of a bright crimson red, which stands out from the light brown of the wooden facade.

And then you walk along the centre aisle and right in front of you is the cross, high and large, almost as if touching and ceiling. Lights shine out from behind the cross and you see the lines and edges, light and shadow at play to create the shape of the cross.

As you walk more into the front, you realise there is a balcony overlooking the front. As mentioned earlier, the church was a former performing arts centre, and interestingly, you can see the shape of a theatre, but the front is not the stage but an elevated platform and the cross. It is a hybrid mix and these layers can be seen.

Sometimes I feel the whole architecture was made this way to show that ‘blood’ was spilling out from the cross, filling it with a sea of red. And the shape of the theatre was still there to show that we, like an audience watching a show, are witnesses to the message of Jesus Christ.

I believe that its people will remember this space even if they leave this place.

Leong Hui Han Dominic