Welsh Journals

A RECORD OF CHRISTIAN WORK AMONG THE lalvinlstlc Methodists or Presbyterians of Wales. Yol. III. No. 12.] DECEMBER, 1887. [Price One Penny. i^otes anb ©omments. With this month's issue we have come once again to the close of another year's Tidings. Our first impulse is to thank God that He has enabled us to continue to this day; and in looking forward to the untrodden future we feel that we have every reason to "take courage." We were much heartened from month to month, (though at times, we confess, through our space being limited, much embar¬ rassed) by the numerous articles which came to hand in the form of Sermons, Essays, Poetry, Reports of Christian Work at home and abroad, all of which were gratuitously contributed. All such friends deserve our warmest thanks, and this we readily give, while at the same time we plead for a continuance of their favours. Inasmuch, however, as our space is very limited we would im¬ press upon our friends the absolute necessity of boiling down their Reports, &c, to as small a compass as possible. We also feel grateful to our many dis¬ tributors for their valuable assistance, and though some of them, through their own excessive modesty, are sometimes out of pocket, we still hope that they will not throw over this labour of love, but that thev will the rather redouble their efforts during this month, so that we may commence the New Year with a largely increased circulation. Again, we must not forget our readers ; for without read¬ ers we should have no nse for contrib¬ utors or distributors ; and to our numer¬ ous readers we offer sincere thanks for their support, and promise to do our best to continue to make our Magazine, specially useful as a Connexional Perio¬ dical, and at the same time entertain¬ ing and profitable to young and old. We are glad to be able to report that during the course of this year we have started five new English Churches, viz., Pwllheliand Mold, in North Wales ; and Blaengarw, Cadoxton, and Tonypandy in South Wales. We understand that the cause at Pwllheli looks thoroughly healthy, and it will be seen, from a report in another part of our present issue, that the prospects at Mold are beyond the most sanguine expectations of its promo¬ ters. The Blaengarw and Cadoxton Churches bid fair to go on and prosper, while we are very confident that the movement at Tonypandy—which place is the centre of a populous district—will soon result in the establishment of a large and successful church. This movement at Tonypandy gives us special joy, for it resuscitates our hopes with regard to the Rhondda as a whole. As far as English Methodism was con¬ cerned, we had almost given up the Rhondda in despair. True, we had a very prosperous church at Pontypridd under the pastoral care of the energetic evangelist, the Rev. John Pugh, and one English church in the Rhondda itself— and that church was doing good work for the Master at Grelli, Ystrad; but all further progress seemed well nigh impossible. Now, however, that the friends at Tony¬ pandy have taken heart of grace and made the venture, we are sanguine enough to believe, that in a few months we shall have the pleasure of chronicling the start¬ ing of other English causes in this popu¬ lous valley. We congratulate our English churches in Liverpool and its suburbs upon the im¬ portant fact that they are all now, save the church at Birkenhead, under pastoral oversight. A short time ago the Revs. J. Thomas, B.A, Catharine Street, and H. Jones, M.A., Grarston, were our only English pastors in Liverpool, but by this time Walton, Breck Road, has secured the services of the Rev. T. 0. Owen, B.A.; Breeze Hill, Bootle, the Rev. J. R. Davies, late of Llanelly; and Everton Brow, the Rev. J. Owen Thomas, M.A. Each of these churches is advantageously situated for energetic and earnest workers, and we trust that all the members will rally round these young ministers, and under the blessing of Cod we may expect '.:. :;u Calvinistic Methodism ipid strides forward in the district. Those of us who 1 some of the founders of onr first English cause in Liverpool tell the tale of its formation and of the difficulties to see making; Liver po. have he; which they had to contend with, may well be surprised at the progress which has already been made, but now that we have several English chapels in different parts of the city and neighbourhood the pro¬ gress ought to be at a much more rapid rate than it has hitherto been. We deeply sympathise with the Rev. Evan Williams, Runcorn, who has been urged by a London physician to leave this country for New Zealand on account of the health of his family. It must be a terrible wrench for him to leave Runcorn so suddenly after a successful pastorate of nearly 21 years, during which he has made many friends and has been made a blessing to very many. This year he is tiie Moderator of the Lancashire, &c. Presbytery. Little did the brethren at Bowling Bank think that he was among them, probably, for the last time. We pray that his family may enjoy better health, and that he and his wife, who is greatly beloved by a large circle of friends, may have a new sphere of useful¬ ness. " The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." No country is a foreign or a distant country to Him. The friends at Dolgelley have lately dis¬ covered that a sura of money, amounting by this time to £700, has been left for their use by a person from Dolgelley, who died many years ago in Australia. It has been decided to divide the sum pro¬ portionately among the three churches, Salem, Bethel, and the English Church. At a meeting of ministers and delegates at Wrexham on Monday (Nov. 28th), dur¬ ing a discussion upon the question of how best to secure an efficient ministry,. Mr. Gr. W. Taylor, a native of Denbighshire, but now of Australia, offered £1,000 to¬ wards establishing a united Theological College for our Connexion in Wales. At a meeting of the Board of Nomina¬ tion held at the Presbyterian College, London, the Rev. Dr. Oswald Dykes was unanimously named as Moderator of the next Synod of the Presbyterian Church of England.