South East Wales Unitarian News
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South East Wales Unitarian News www.unitarian.org.uk www.ukunitarians.org.uk/sewus/ June 2017 FOR YOUR DIARY Sunday 2 July – District Rally: First to Bethel Baptist chapel in Llangyndeyrn where Rev Cen Llwyd will give a short history of the chapel whose first Minister was a Unitarian. Then to National Botanic Gardens at Llanarthne – lunch in café (or picnic if preferred). As well as being able to stroll in the beautiful gardens, there will also be an antiques fair to add extra interest. Entrance to the NBG site is £6: Bus - £10. Saturday 5 August – Copy deadline for the next issue of the District News. Sunday 20 August – Folk Service at Gellionnen conducted by Rev Alun Wyn Dafis. DISTRICT AGM The Annual General Meeting of the South East Wales Unitarian Society was held at Hen Dŷ Cwrdd, Cefncoed at 11am on Sunday, 21 May. The meeting, marking the end of Tony Foster’s 2-year tenure as District President, commenced with Tony leading the Opening Devotions: it continued with him guiding us through the review of the year’s work as contained in the Annual Report. Certificates were presented to Sarah Boyce. Hilda Dumpleton, Diana Bianchi, Julie Nedin, and Stephen Wilson (in absentia) in recognition of successfully completing a Rites of Passage course under the tutorship of Rev Eric Jones. Diana Bianchi was installed as District President for 2017-19, with Alun Watts elected as Vice President. All other Officers were re-elected and, in addition. Rory and Rhys Castle-Jones were elected as IT Facebook co-ordinators. As a token of appreciation for his work over the past two years, Tony Foster was presented with a small gift by District Secretary Lis Dyson-Jones. Diana Bianchi was given a memento of the occasion by Gwynfa Bowen on behalf of the Cefncoed congregation. Proceedings were then halted and all decamped to the chapel vestry for a most enjoyable lunch provided, to their usual high standard, by the Hen Dŷ Cwrdd ladies. Following the meal, the gathering returned to the chapel for a short service conducted by the new president. Our thanks go to the Cefncoed congregation for hosting a most successful event. Rites of Passage students proudly display their certificates Tony welcomes Diana as new District President Photo: Rory Castle-Jones Photo: Joy Foster FROM THE DISTRICT PRESIDENT The reason I chose Cefncoed as the place to be installed as President is that I have a family connection through the Rev John Hathren Davies, minister of Hen Dŷ Cwrdd, 1877–1910, who was my grandfather’s uncle on my mother’s side. Hathren, as he was called, was born on 15th October 1855 in the Vale of Aeron Cardiganshire. And he was one of eight children born to Deio and Mary Davies who were staunch Unitarians. (incidentally one of his brothers was the father of Ivor Novello). When Hathren was ten years old he was playing with friends on a neighbouring farm when he decided to explore the workings of a chaffing machine which worked with hydraulic power, so he switched the machine on and his hand got trapped and dragged into the machine. As a result he had to have his arm amputated and that operation took place on the kitchen table without any form of anaesthetic. The operation was done by the local GP at Lampeter. Deprived of his left hand to earn a living on the land or as a craftsman, Hathren was sent to school to prepare him for a ministerial career. He was sent to The Vale of Aeron Academy which was at that time a seminary of much repute. From there he went to the grammar school at Lampeter run by the Rev Rees Cribyn Jones. In 1873 he passed into the Presbyterian College at Carmarthen. During the vacation in 1876 he preached at Hen Dŷ Cwrdd on several occasions and in 1877 he received an invitation from the church to become its minister. Initially he was torn between accepting the post and the opportunity of emigrating to America to study Theology at Harvard. In the end he decided that he would accept the ministry at Cefn and took up his duties in August 1877 at the age of twenty one. A minister’s salary was not much at the time (Hathren was paid only £60 per annum) so ministers had to find other forms of employment to supplement their salary. Hathren opened a grammar school in the Vestry at Cefn originally known as ‘Ysgol Davies’, but a local person referred to it as ‘Pen Steps Academy’ and that name remained until 1901 when it was closed due to Hathren's ill health. At Pensteps Academy Hathren taught English, Welsh, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and French, and he also taught the principles of agriculture to the sons of local farmers who had asked him to do so. He also held the postmastership at Cefn Post Office for 10 years. As soon as he had established himself at Cefncoed he threw himself with vigour into the vortex of local political life, He was a student at college when squirearchy in Cardiganshire drove Rev Gwilym Marles, and his congregation, out of Llwyn Rhyd Owen chapel in 1876, and the memory of this embittered him against Toryism for the rest of his life. The Merthyr Express in an obituary to him said, “Mr Davies was an ardent Radical both in local and Imperial Politics. Any and every local movement which had for its object the uplifting of humanity and the alleviating of distress and misery, his name was indissolubly connected to it.” Hathren was a member of the Vaynor & Penderyn District Council for 10 years. In addition to his political activities he had many other attributes – here are some of them:- • He was Secretary of the Aberdare and Merthyr Unitarian Musical Society. • In 1893 he was President of the South Wales Unitarian Association. • For twelve years he was Editor of the Ymofynnydd (the Welsh language Unitarian periodical). • He was well known in Welsh literary circles being an ardent competitor and adjudicator at various Eisteddfods. • He was twice a winner at the National Eisteddfod for his literary works. • He was a member of the Vaynor School Board. Diana holding a framed copy of Rev Hathren • The door of his house was always open to those who Davies’s 1904 election leaflet needed any help—from writing letters, to giving legal Photo: Rory Castle-Jones advice and sometimes settling domestic disputes. The year before he died the members of Cefn congregation presented him with an illustrated certificate and purse of gold in recognition for his services to the church and community over a period of thirty two years. Hathren died on 12th March, 1910 aged only fifty-four, and lies buried in Hen Dŷ Cwrdd graveyard. Twelve months later, at the unveiling of his memorial, James Keir Hardie, MP expressed his admiration for “a man whose character was as strong as the granite monument which had just been unveiled ….” Diana Bianchi GA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE KEY MESSAGES 19-20 MAY 2017 1. Executive Committee Convenor Marion Baker was appointed as Convenor of the Executive Committee replacing Robert Ince whose term of office on the EC had come to an end. 2. Co-option of Three Executive Committee Members Following the open application process, we are pleased to announce that Sheena McKinnon, Christina Smith and Rev Dr Rob Whiteman have been co-opted onto the Executive Committee and will formally take up their positions at the next EC meeting on 14 July 2017. They will serve until the close of the Annual Meetings in April 2019. An induction process is currently being arranged for the new members. Sheena is active in Bradford Unitarians and the Yorkshire Unitarian Union and is also secretary of the Unitarian Association for Lay Ministry. Christina Smith is currently Chief Community Cultivator for Derby Unity (2020 project) and worship Leader for Derby Unitarians. Rob has recently taken up the position of Minister with Dundee Unitarians and had a long career in church administration. 3. Resignation of Gwynn Pritchard The EC received the resignation of Gwynn Pritchard due to health issues. Gwynn was thanked for his contribution over the last two years, particularly on communications, as link to the two Welsh Districts and serving on the Annual Meetings Panel. The Executive Committee will pro-actively seek a replacement to address any identified geographic and/or skill gaps given its new composition. 4. Next Steps The Next Steps priorities were reviewed at some length to bring everyone up to speed since the last meeting. An update report was received from Rachel Skelton, Project Manager, on progress with the Training and Education Development (TED) Project and the related Web project, both of which had been showcased at the Annual Meetings in workshops. 5. Identity Project Good progress was reported on the Identity Project with a detailed presentation from Kate Eden, the consultant who is assisting the General Assembly. The identity project forms part of "Next Steps" and is intended to assist Unitarians create a clear message about who we are and what we stand for. A lively and stimulating workshop had been held at the Annual Meetings. Guidelines on the identity, along with suggestions on how implementation might be delivered, were considered but more work is required for the July EC meeting. 6. Local Leadership Strategy Group (LLSG) – Safeguarding Training The EC was pleased to learn that safeguarding training arranged by the LLSG will take place on 4 November 2017 at Unitarian New Meeting in Birmingham. Look out for further detailed information.