Wonderful Welsh flavours

PREACHERS, POETS, SAINTS AND SINGERS:
31 days with Christians from Wales
By Paul Young
Author House. 99 pages. £9.95
ISBN 978 1 728 352 343

As with the other two Celtic nations of the United Kingdom, there has always been some mystique about the evangelical heritage of Wales.

It has seen significant works of God throughout its history and has a rich heritage of Christian leaders raised up within the Welsh church over the centuries and has often raised a certain curiosity around the world as to what this was like for those who experienced it.

Paul Young has compiled this little volume with the subtitle, 31 days with Christians from Wales. Made up of cameo portraits of 31 individuals from a range of church backgrounds and areas of service, it sets out to give a flavour of what Welsh Christianity has been like over the years. As the author explains in the introduction, it is deliberately eclectic in the range of people he includes – men and women, some well-educated, others not, those in formal church ministry and some from other walks of life – but each making a spiritual impact.

With the exception of the opening biopic on Saint David, widely acknowledged as the person who brought the gospel to Wales, the other figures are covered in alphabetical order. The fact that 31 individuals are included, as well as Bible verses to top and tail the story of their life, is intended to encourage the use of this material as part of a daily devotional. And, as it says in the title, each character falls into one of the four categories it lists.

For anyone looking for a taste of Wales, its Christian heritage and wider influence throughout the world, this little volume provides a warm-hearted introduction that may well encourage wider reading – at least on some of the people covered in its pages.