Welsh Journals

flriopstli Deancrp magazine. Vol. XIII. MAY, 1905. No. 149. CHORAL FESTIVAL. Rehearsals will be held during the next month as follows :— May 17th ...... May 19th ...... May 21st ...... May 24th ...... May 25th ...... May 30th ...... May 31st ...... It is hoped that the Choirs will have all the music except the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis well prepared. The latter are at present out of print, but copies will be ready for those choirs who have not yet had them by the above dates. Carno. Llandinam. Llanwnog. Llangurig. Llanidloes". Trefeglwys. Caersws. LLANIDLOES. The Vicar desires once more to express his sincere thanks to all those who contributed to the Easter offering. Easter Dav passed off very successfully, there being remarkably good congregations at all the services. Although a great many regular communicants were kept away by illness or other unavoidable causes, and there were many absentees who ought to have been present, the attendance at the great service of the Church was better than for many years past—227 communicating at one or other of the four celebrations. The choir was at its full strength and the mornings ser¬ vice especially of the morning service and the choral celebration was worthy of its palmiest days, but the anthem in the evening " Now is Christ Risen" (West), 'was not up to usual form. The Church was bright with greenery and flowers, the following being the decorators:-—Altar, Mrs. Edmund O. Jones and Miss Kerr; Choir and Clergy Stalls, &c. Misses Griffiths, Commerce House ; Pulpit, Miss Webb ; Lectern, Miss Davies, Llwyn; South Windows, Misses Jones, The Close: North Windows, Mrs. H. Roberts, Miss Phillips, and Miss Annie Davies; Font, Mrs, Vaughan Owen. As already noted the Easter offering was much smaller than usual, amounting to £14 18s. 9d. The highest offering was £22, and the lowest hitherto £17. During the last three weeks of Lent we had special preachers as announced in our last two numbers, and it is safe to say that we have never had abler men ministering to us. Mr. Owen's three sermons all dealt with the subject of sin, and his after-meetings were most devotional and most helpful ; the Vicar of Llangurig threw entirely new light on old and familiar texts, and those who at¬ tended that week were loud in his praise ; the Vicar of Rhayader was as always thought¬ ful, devotional and instructive, and his address at the Three Hours were especially good. Unfortunately the attendance fell off lamentably these three weeks and increasingly so as time went on, until in Holy Week—of all weeks—it dwindled to a handful, and this in spite of an urgent appeal from the Pulpit on Palm Sunday. Some falling off was no doubt inevitable : Easter was very late, the days were lengthening, gardens had to be attended to, but making all allowance we expected better things this year whereas we have often and often seen Holy Week better observed. We are alluding only to the evening service. The celebrations were well attended, and there were about a dozen more than last year at the Three Hours. A special address was given for members of. the Mother's Union on Friday evening, March 24th, there was a fair muster of mothers, as also at the celebration next morning. The name of Jersey Jenkins was inadver¬ tently omitted from the list of those con¬ firmed on April 2nd. We regret to record the death of Mr. David Jones, father of Mrs. Sutcliffe, and elder brother of Mr. Richard Jones, West- gate House. He had reached a ripe old age and was full of interesting reminiscences of the past. Many will miss him, and all will sympathise with his relatives, and especially with his daughter. He was laid to rest in Dol-llys Cemetery on Easter Sunday after¬ noon.