My second conversation with Lyn took place at the same friendly coffee house, where Welsh is spoken as the, you should pardon the expression, lingua franca.
As late as 1970 the Welsh language (Cymraeg) was still predominant in rural areas, but by then the accumulated changes in Welsh society since the turn of the twentieth century were culminating in a greatly changed landscape. During the late 19th century, Cymraeg and Non-Conformity had become deeply identified with each other, while the Anglican Church in Wales retained its deep roots in both Cymraeg and English. At the same time, there was increasing concern for the social conditions wrought by industrialization. Non-Conformity was strongest in the Welsh working class community, and their ministers encouraged their members to support the Liberal and Labor parties in seeking improved conditions.
The shock of World War I, with its massive scale of death and destruction, brought an end to the almost universal belief in European and American cultures that scientific and social progress were inevitable. The resulting pessimism affected religious communities as well. The Labor party increasingly included socialists and atheists, and many Welsh workers turned away from their Non-Conformist allegiances. And because Cymraeg and Non-Conformity had been so deeply linked, allegiance to the Welsh language also suffered. For further reading, Lyn suggested Robert Pope's book, Seeking God's Kingdom: The Nonconformist Social Gospel in Wales, 1906-1939.
After World War II, which brought with it increasing mobility, rural communities also became less Welsh-speaking. As an example, Lyn mentioned the custom associated with Nos Galan, when people went from house to house singing traditional songs in Welsh. As new people who didn't know the language or the songs moved in, such customs began to fade. The choirs who sang the great traditional Welsh hymns also suffered. Non-Conformist chapels lost traction as well because for most newcomers the Church's worship seemed more familiar with its regular celebrations of Holy Communion and its embrace of bilingualism.
Lyn and I parted ways until the evening's service, and I made my way to St. Michael's. As I approached the church, many of the parishioners were leaving the service. Still steeped in my conversation about Cymraeg, I greeted one family with a hearty "Bore da!" When I saw the puzzled look on their faces I remembered that this was the English-speaking congregation, and laughed at my unthinking salutation.
Here are some of the pictures I took. You will notice the striking blend of traditional and modern appointments, and the imaginative use of beautiful hangings to soften the strength of the stone.
On this particular Sunday St. Michael's offered a traditional Holy Communion service at 8 o'clock, and at 11 o'clock a service of worship organized around the theme "Where is God in the Credit Crunch?" with a special speaker from Credit Action Cymru. Later at 6 pm there would be an Evening Praise service.
At the back of the church was a good sized store for purchasing books, from Bibles and Prayer Books to biographies of church leaders and missionaries, works of theology, and commentaries. There were also gift items, from cards to crosses. And several tract racks, with information about St. Michael's various ministries. For example, one brochure was titled "Fast Forward," and carried information about the Aberystwyth Academy of Christian Discipleship; you can find out more about that here.
After this, I joined Stuart and Prudence back at the Rectory for lunch, and took their picture:
After dinner I had some time to pause in the day's activities, and so I will pause now and rejoin you later!
Hwyl am a tro: Goodbye for now.
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