Welsh dragon: roaring but wounded

In this issue we carry a variety of items about Welsh evangelicals.

Two are wonderfully encouraging, one much less so. The first piece of good news is the remarkable ministry of the church at Noddfa, which has grown from single figures to more than 150 in recent years. We also report on the renewed ministry of the Evangelical Movement of Wales centre Bryn-y-groes, Bala, which has welcomed its first in-person post-lockdown contingent of people.

At the same time, things are very serious for evangelicals in the Church in Wales, the local variant of Anglicanism in the country. It has approved the blessing of same-sex relationships, and a so-called conscience clause provides little if any actual freedom of conscience in practice for evangelical ministers. They now face some very tough decisions. The silence from many English evangelical leaders and bishops (at least at the time of writing) when their Welsh brethren might quite reasonably have hoped for public support has been embarrassing and discouraging.

Of course, church and chapel have their own distinct histories and culture in Wales, for all sorts of understandable reasons. But given the overall decline in the number of professing Christians in the principality – from 71.9% in 2001 to 57.6% in 2011 (now presumably even less) – the more evangelicals of different groups and denominations can encourage and support one another, the better.

And so we pray: ‘Ein Tad yn y nefoedd, sancteiddier dy enw; deled dy deyrnas; gwneler dy ewyllys, ar y ddaear fel yn y nef. Dyro inni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol, a maddau inni ein troseddau, fel yr ym ni wedi maddau i’r rhai a droseddodd yn ein herbyn; a phaid â’n dwyn i brawf, ond gwared ni rhag yr Un drwg. Oherwydd eiddot ti yw’r deyrnas a’r gallu a’r gogoniant am byth.’ (The Lord’s Prayer).