2027 renaming (1827-Present)

Amherst Church becomes Judson Church

Kyaikkhami (Mon State) Myanmar

**Adoniram Judson Museum maintained by the Amherst Baptist Church, Kyaikkhami, Myanmar. Image Credit: Saya Moo Taw.**

In 2027 Myanmar Baptist Christian Church (also called Amherst Baptist Church in respect of those who speak English) in Kyaikkhami, Myanmar, will celebrate its 200^th birthday. The church was formed by American missionaries in 1827 after Adoniram was released from prison (February 21, 1826) and soon after Ann Judson died at this location (October 24, 1826). This seaport and resort town was developed by the British at the end of the First Anglo-Burmese war, 1824-1826, and named for the governor general of India, Lord William Amherst. After spending nearly two years in a Burmese prison, Judson was freed and moved his mission headquarters to Amherst to have the protection of the British crown.

Toward the end of the 20th century, the name of the city of Amherst was changed to Kyaikkhami and thus this congregation is also known as the Kyakkhami Church. Pastor Saya Moo Taw has announced that on the occasion of this 200th birthday, 2027, the congregation will change its name to Judson Baptist Church. But that is not the final decision of the Amherst/Myanmar/Kyaikkhami Baptist Christian Church.

**Memorial to Ann Judson who died in Amherst 1826. It is maintained by the Amherst Baptist Church. Image credit: Saya Moo Taw**

The congregation will have to work out the logistics and linguistics of the name in both Burmese and English. Judson Baptist Christian Church in Burmese would sound phonetically like: Yu-Dha-Than (Judson); Hnit-Chin (Baptist); Ka-rit-yan (Christian); Ah-thin-daw (church or association).[1]

The church honors the memory and ministry of Adoniram Judson by maintaining a museum displaying images and relics of his missionary life in Burma. They are also the caretaker of the memorial honoring Ann Judson and hosts pilgrims who come to learn and to meditate at the large white cross on the premises.[2] Ann’s memorial grew out of the letter sent to Judson from the assistant to Captain Fenwick at the British garrison at Amherst who wrote:

Yesterday morning, I assisted in the last melancholy office of putting her mortal remains in the coffin; and in the evening her funeral was attended by all the European officers now resident here. We have buried her near the spot where she first landed; and I have put up a small rude fence around her grave to protect it from incautious incursions. [3]

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[1] Email from Saya Moo Taw to Frederick Thethui, December 28, 2024.

[2] Amherst Baptist Church brochure in English obtained from Frederick Thetgui in New Ringgold, PA

[3] Quoted in Courtney Anderson, To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1956) pp. 370-371.