News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

aberdare confirm 2 (2) banner.jpg
aberdare confirm 2 (2).jpg
World News

Welsh church confirms 59 people in a day

by Premier Journalist

A bumper confirmation saw 59 joyous people welcomed into a church family in one day.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt Rev Rowan Williams, attended the busy event in South Wales along with Rt Rev June Osborne, Bishop of Llandaff.

Parish priest Fr Richard Green said his favourite part was seeing the faces of the confirmation candidates at St Fagans Church, Aberdare, gathered in person after attending confirmation glasses online during the pandemic.

“I think it was probably a mixture of relief and excitement and all the pent-up sort of feelings of the last 18 months,” Fr Richard told Premier.

The 52 children and seven adults, who affirmed their Christian faith in two separate services at St Fagan’s Church, Aberdare, due to the sheer numbers attending, included a father and daughter duo, and a mother and daughter pair.

Spencer Jones, 60, who was confirmed during last Sunday’s service along with his eleven-year-old daughter Sophie, said his family started attending after choosing a church school for their children. He said: “Before the ceremony my daughter and I chatted and chatted about faith. It felt lovely having that bond that will live with me forever. This type of conversation doesn’t happen with an 11-year-old that often these days.”

Nia Williams, 43, began attending confirmation classes with her daughter Alba, 11, as a way of doing something together. She said: “I am thrilled that we can finally have our confirmation made official and it was wonderful celebrating with my oldest daughter by my side.”

Fr Richard said that despite Rowan Williams having an “amazing intellect”, he knew how to pitch the sermon at the right level and engage with people. 

“He’s really human and self-effacing and a humble person”, he said.

The two congregations of St Fagan’s and St Luke’s Church, Cwmdare, which both have a strong emphasis on youth and children’s work, had pre-pandemic congregations of about 90 people.
 

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate