Plans are underway to provide theological training and support in the Welsh language. The Daniel Rowland Network is a new partnership between Union School of Theology (UST) and Welsh-speaking pastors and churches, to help provide training and resources in the Welsh language.
A new Daniel Rowland Centre, to be housed within the UST Library, will include an extensive collection of theological works in Welsh.
The network is being coordinated by Dr Rhodri Glyn, pastor of Capel y Ffynnon, Bangor, who said it was prompted after several conversations between UST staff, partners from SaRang Church in Seoul, Korea, and several Welsh-language churches pastors.
He explained: ‘Representatives from SaRang Church emphasised the historic link between Wales and Korea due to a Welsh missionary, Robert Jermain Thomas (1840–1866), being celebrated as one of the first Protestant missionaries to their country.
‘SaRang have already supported and encouraged the training work at Union, in addition to church plants in south Wales, but they realised that this was all done through the English language, while the Welsh missionaries of the 19th century would probably have been from Welsh-language churches.
‘We explained that Welsh-language theological training was at a low ebb and that many English-speaking Welsh Christians were unaware of the wonderful stories of Welsh church history, as many of these works were originally published in the Welsh language.’ They decided to set up the centre and work as a network.
Gwilym Tudur, pastor at Welsh-speaking Eglwys Seion in Aberystwyth, described the new network and centre as ‘a unique opportunity’ and ‘encouraging news for Christians serving the Lord in Wales’.
The BiographyWales website describes Daniel Rowland (1713–1790) as a preacher who attracted thousands – and made Llangeitho, in a theologically-muddled phrase, ‘the Mecca of Welsh Methodists’.
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