Welsh Journals

July 15, 1892. THE WELSH WEEKLY. OUR CELEBRITIES. No. XXIV. REV. JOHN PUGH. We insert here a portion of a sketch of Mr. fugh, which appeared in the Pontypridd Chronicle lri 1882, written by "Awstin," an able journalist, atld unpartial critic. After dwelling on the rapid growth of ^e church at St. David's, Pontypridd, the Writer continues thus :—" Suffice it to say here *|at the church prospered so well that just prior to Pat time the friends gave a call to the Rev. J. *ugh, of Tredegar, to become its pastor, and he having accepted the invitation, commenced his ^ties here on the first Sunday in April, 1881. The Rev. J. Pugh was born in the year 1846, at New Mills, Montgomeryshire, and, like the generality M the children of the Methodists, was brought up 111 the church. From what he has stated several hittes recently at public meetings, he appears to ^ve sown some wild oats when a youth in Pem¬ brokeshire, whither his father removed about the ^ear I860, to erect bridges on the Pembroke and ^nby Railway for Messrs. Davies and Roberts, W< he was received into church fellowship when ^tween 20 and 21 years of age. As soon as he ^1(i that he appears to have commenced holding ^Pen-air meeting, then with no intention of enter- lIlg the ministry. He was afterwards induced by Wends to prepare for the ministry : he entered ^evecca College when 23 years of age, and having spent his time there took charge of the young fcWch at Tredegar in July, 1872, passing his ^ynodical Examination, as is the custom with the Wvinistic Methodists, twelve months later. ] When he commenced his duties at Tredegar, his llttle English Church was composed of sixteen ^embers, but, during his stay of nearly nine years ltl that ironworks district, Mr. Pugh, by his energy ai*d devotion, was the means of adding to the c«urch membership 400, of getting up a Sunday ^chool of 450 children, and the growing church ^hich before his advent had no temple or taber- ^ele of her own erected a large and handsome chapel. He was " called " by the Brecon Church ^ver which the Rev. J. Idrisyn Jones is pastor, but J*e declined the call on account of the depression at Tredegar, and when poverty is rife and active, a ^apathetic preacher has plenty to do. Times got lighter, the "call" from St. David's Church e&ched Tredegar, and, seeing a vast field for his ^ergies among the English-speaking masses of "ontypridd, Mr. Pugh accepted it. He has a habit ■* making himself "at home," and no sooner was ^e " at home " in Pontypridd than he directed his 'eps to the highways and bye-ways in order to carry out as far as he could the commission to Pleach the gospel to every creature. The open-air ^ssions during the summer were attended with ei*eficial results, his congregationincreasingrapidly ^d ultimately his church. The members now num- 'er 90; there is a Sunday School connected with ^e church having a roll of 270 scholars, and an verage attendance of 190 ; while the band of hope * 230 children is an honour to the church and ^vti. The congregation on Sunday evenings is towded, so that the projected chapel will have to e Wit soon, and when it is said that the chapel . to be in keeping with the present hall, and that . is estimated to cost about £2,000, it will be J^agined that the English Methodist Church of j*® future will be worthy of the minister, the wor- ftlPpers, and their cause. Mr. Pugh is immensely popular with his own °ck, and, considering the short time he has been Pontypridd, he had made an extraordinary ^ber of friends amongst people of all denomina- °ns and of no denomination. Being not only an etive minister, a home-missionary, and an evange- SW but also an enthusiastic temperance advocate, he is a host in himself ; and being blessed with a constitution equal to that of the " friar of orders grey," and possessing all the friar's frankness and geniality without his vices, the more work he per¬ forms the more he wants to do. His name is familiar from one end of Monmouthshire to the other, since the revival meetings of '79. He took up the Good Templar Movement in 1872, was the first Deputy of Monmouthshire, and had the satis¬ faction of seeing as many as 1,500 Templars at Tredegar. The Temperance Movement was prac¬ tically dead here at Pontypridd, but about the close of last year a committee was called, when the Blue Ribbon Movement was originated in this district, and, the subject (Mr. W. J. Morris) of my last sketch having been elected President, the sanguine minister of St. David's Church was elected corres¬ ponding secretary. There is, doubtless, much of the success of the movements at Pontypridd due to the honest enthusiasm, and the go-ahead nature of Mr. Pugh, and, like his friend, Mr. Morris, he is sought after by friends from far and near to address audiences on temperance. At times he spends several nights in conducting evangelistic services at various places throughout this county and South Wales AS A PREACHER, though speaking English in the pulpit, he is en¬ dowed with all the " fire" of his race, combined with the polished diction imparted by careful pre¬ paration for the pulpit; his fluency is increased by earnestness ; and his appeals cannot help being effective for they evidently come from a heart burning with a desire to save souls, and a soul im¬ bued with the faith that moves mountains. Like Bunyan's Evangelist, he, on Sunday evening fear¬ lessly warned his hearers to flee from the wrath to come; without soaring into the realms of imagina¬ tion, he described the journey through the valley of the shadow of death, dwelt upon the essential difference between the journey of the believer and and non-believer, argued with force, and illustrated freely with anecdotes of a touching nature. It is said by one that the difference between a Welsh and an English preacher's style generally is that the Cymro commences deliberately and slowly, and finishes in warmth, if not enthusiasm; while the Englishman commences in a loud, distinct key and ends in solemn, deliberate tones in which he lowers the voice. Mr. Pugh's style is not like either of those; but more like some of Shakespeare's con¬ ceptions, which form an " arch," with the " plot " in the middle, the sermon was argumentative at the beginning, it reached its grandest concert pitch about the middle, and then followed something of the English minister's lowering of the voice in the hearf elt appeal to the congregation to place them¬ selves under the protection of ' The Mighty to save.'" Mr. Pugh's pastorate at Pontypridd, which ex¬ tended nearly eight years, was greatly blessed. St. David's had become one of the most flourishiing English churches in the town, and in the denomi¬ nation. The fine building was well-filled on Sun¬ days, when the majority of the congregation was made up of young men. The church which began with thirteen members, had 200 at the close of Mr. Pugh's pastorate. His constant and consistent opposition to the liquor traffic—for he is the friend of the people and not of the publican—brought him into antagonism with the liquor traflicers, and even with the MAGISTERIAL BENCH, which has the power to suppress or advance the greatest enemy of the law. This on one occasion almost landed him in Cardiff Prison. He was not prepared to apologise to the Bench for the strong things he had uttered about their conduct, but he was quite prepared to go to prison, if that would save the people and open the eyes of the Bench as to the evil of strong drink. But when the people saw that he was in danger, they rallied around him and his friend. Rev. W. J. Morris, so that the Bench wisely allowed the matter to drop, and Mr. Pugh lost a holiday in the " Queen's Temperance Hotel" at Cardiff. During the year 1888 he received two invitations to pastorates, one in GLASGOW, and one in Cardiff. Though Glasgow has a charm for him since his devoted friend, Rev. W. Ross, of Cowcaddens Free Church settled there, yet he was led in the Providence of God to become the pastor of Clifton Street Church, Cardiff, in the year 1889. Though the friends at Pontypridd urged him to stay with them, still he felt that the call from Cardiff was a call from God, for in every respect St. David's Pontypridd, at that time was far ahead of the church which had given him a call. But as evidence of the attachment of the Pontypridd Church to him, he continued supplying the pulpit there almost every other Sunday until they settled upon a successor in the person of Rev. W. Henry, Mr. Pugh has ever expressed himself as proud of his successor. As soon as he took the pastorate of Clifton St. Church, he arranged for a series of evangelistic services; but when he discovered that there was a desire for united mission services, he gladly gave up his own services, and threw himself heart and soul into the ROATH UNITED MISSION, which lasted three months, and which resulted in hundreds joining the various churches. His own church and congregation nearly doubled the mem¬ bership during the first year, and matters temporal as well as spiritual increased in equal ratio. (To be continued). MEMORIAL COLLEGE, BRECON. The students of this College passed a very creditable ex¬ amination at the end of the session, and are now enjoying their well-earned rest. The examiners in the theological department this midsummer were the following :—In syste¬ matic theology apologetics—The Rev. J. Kennedy, M. A., D.D.; in Hebrew, the Rev. Prof. Bennett, M.A., Hackney College ; in Greek Testament, R. F. Weymouth, Esq., M.A., D. Lit, editor of "The Resultant Greek Testament;" in Theism, the Rev. Prof. Mitchell, B.A., Nottingham j in Church History, the Rev. Prof. Adeney, M.A., New Col¬ lege, London. These eminent scholars spoke in the highest terms of the work done by the students, and congratulated the supporters of the College on the result. There was an unusually large number of candidates for ad¬ mission this year, which is a clear indication of the growing popularity of the College. Fifteen young men were received on probation—a larger number than usual—and the commit¬ tee trust that the churches will approve of this by increasing their contributions. The committee were grieved that they were compelled to reject a large number of other eligible candidates for want of means. All the outgoing students have found settlements, and several churches more applied for students, but could not be supplied. On the Thursday following the annual meeting Mr. T. Gwydrim Davies was ordained Pastor of the United Churches of Brechfa and Tredwstan, Breconshire. There were present among others, the Revs. Principal Morris, D.D., Brecon ; T. Kennedy, M.A., D.D. ; S. Newth, M.A., D.D. ; P. J. Turquard, all of London; W. Thomas, Gwynfe ; D. Maldwyn Jones, Crickcadarn, who took part in the proceedings. Mr. Davies, who is a prizeman of the College, commences his ministry under the most auspicious circumstances, and his numerous friends predict for him a useful and successful TWO CHEAP MEDICINES. One of the cheapest medicines that mortal can use is sleep. It is a sovereign remedy for weakness ; it cures restlessness, uneasiness, and irritability; it will remedy headache ! it also cures nervousness. When weary we should rest; when ex¬ hausted we should sleep. To resort to stimulants is suicidal; what weary men need is sleep. The lack of sleep causes neuralgia, paralysis, and insanity. Many a person dies for want of sleep, and the point where many a sufferer turns his feet from the very gates of death to the open path of life is where he sinks to sleep. Of almost every sick man it may be said, as of Lazarus, "If he sleep, he shall do well." Another excellent medicine is sunshine. The world requires more of it, morally and physically. It is more soothing than morphine, more potent than poppies. It is good for liver complaint, for neuralgia, for rheumatism, for melancholy— for everything. Make your rooms sunny and cheerful; build your house so as to command the sunlight all day long,— Selected.