January 1-7, 2005 – Visit to Moriah Chapel in Loughor and Pantygwydr Church in
Swansea Wales
‘Cymru Am Byth’ – “Wales Forever” – this is the motto of the country of my mother. I have been going to Wales for 20 years now to visit with my mother’s sister – my 96-year young aunt Ivy and several cousins. This year’s visit was special in that I planned to attend services in Moriah Chapel in Loughor near Swansea during the centennial year of the Welsh Revivals that took place in that church and many others in Wales. Many stories of these revivals and others are available at several websites. (1) , (2) , (3) , (4) .
Ivy and I visited Moriah Chapel in 2002 during another of my visits after reading a wonderful locally purchased book from the Christian bookstall in the Swansea Market about the 1904-05 revivals. This time, we attended the Sunday morning service taken by Rev Robert. The church attendance was small but I enjoyed the “atmosphere” of the place where Evan Roberts and others preached so fervently and witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit so often, 100 years ago. One hundred years later, the ripple effects are still felt in Wales although many “Welsh Chapels” have closed down. The Spirit seems to be coming to other chapels though. We would call these Chapels churches as compared to the ‘church’ in Wales which is the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.
After the service, I purchased two DVDs from the centenary services that were held on the last weekend in October 2004 on both the Saturday night and Sunday. They are wonderful indeed.
Sunday night found me strolling a few blocks from my small hotel in the Uplands and into the evening service at Pantygwydr Baptist Church in the Uplands, Swansea. Here the Spirit was! Pastor Geoff Fewkes greeted me and welcomed me to the service. The time of Praise was wonderful with a great solo violin piece. The Associate Pastor Pete Orphan preached a power sermon on the meeting of Nicodemus with our Lord Jesus. We actually did a story-board of a play based on the text – a bit strange at first – but a powerful tool to bring the reality of being “born again” and what it means to Christians.
Wednesday found me back at Pantygwydr for a 7:00am breakfast and prayer meeting, back again at noon for a another prayer meeting and back yet again Wednesday night for a service and time of prayer. Prayer is the momentum of revival. I want to thank Geoff and the other leaders for their warm welcome. I can truly say that if you are ever in Swansea and want a great church to attend, please consider Pantygwydr Baptist Church.
Some time was spent with family and I was taken down the Gower Peninsula to places like St. David’s, Tenby and more. Wales is a wonderful county – praise the Lord for His creation!
Here are a few pictures of the visits.
Exterior of Moriah Chapel, Loughor, Wales Ian beside Commemorative to Evan Roberts
Interior of the Chapel – nearly empty today Pastor Robert preaching on Psalm 91:1-2
The resting place of Evan Roberts behind the Great Christian bookstore in the Market in Swansea
the Chapel
Pantygwydr Baptist Church – Uplands, Swansea Pastor Geoff Fewkes bringing the word
Pantygwydr Praise Team – the keyboard player The colourful seaside town of Tenby near Swansea
is also the violinist.