Dewi Sant Welsh United Church Gair Gan Y Gweinidog a Word from the Minister
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Volume 39; Number 7 Mai / May 2005 Dewi Sant Welsh United Church 33 Melrose Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. M5M 1Y6 Phone 416-485-7583 Fax 416-485-2978 Web www.dewisant.com Email [email protected] Gair gan y Gweinidog A word from the Minister Toronto seems to have burst into bloom recently. Wherever I look there is a sea of colour, even in the heart of the ‘concrete jungle’ as I call the Downtown region. At this time of year the conversation often turns to botanical matters, with people talking about their favourite flowers, or flowers they associate with things of importance in their lives. Ever since they first came into bloom I have noticed more daffodils around me, in Church and elsewhere, than I can ever recall, maybe because there is more association through the Welsh community here or maybe because I now feel a personal association to my ‘homeland far away’ through my noticing the daffodil everywhere. I recently found out that the flower of the province of Ontario is the White Trillium, a flower of the Lily family, sometimes called the wake-robin as it blooms around the same time as the appearance of the first robins in the Spring. These flowers used to grow all over the Maritime Provinces but are hardly seen there at all by today. Here in Canada they now only grow strongly in southern Ontario and parts of Quebec. As the name suggests the flower is white in colour and the petals occur in threes, very much like the clover. As it matures, the flower turns a shade of pink. It is truly a beautiful plant, another miracle within God’s creation. There are two important festivals in the Christian calendar celebrated in this month of May – Whitsun or Pentecost, the celebration of the birth of the Christian religion, held seven weeks after Easter, and, a week later, Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the presence of our God as three entities, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teaching about these festivals at school always found me answering deep questions asked by pupils who found concepts such as Speaking in Tongues, winds rushing through solid objects, tongues of flame, and, most of all, the idea of God as being Three in One – the Trinity. And this remains a difficult area even for adults, let alone youngsters. But let me try to explain the concept of the Trinity in botanical terms. I spoke of the White Trillium. It is one flower. But the flower is composed of three petals. Some see it as one, others view it in terms of three. Yet it is the same flower. So we view God as one entity. No question. Yet this one entity comprises three beautiful ‘petals’, namely the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Together they make the ‘whole’, God. Wishing you fun and enjoyment in your gardens and flower beds over the coming weeks. Bob bendith. Deian. UCW. ---------- Merched Capel Dewi Sant . The ladies of the UCW met in April meeting for a Penny Auction. Annette Evans opened the meeting with devotions and then….it was time for the games to begin. What fun it turned out to be. Auctioneer Jean Iona Thompson led us a merry dance, although still recuperating from a nasty “bug.” Thanks go to Jean for her skills. She got us bidding with such fervor that yours truly bid against herself a couple of times! We were still trying to out bid each other when the last item was sold at 9:45pm. We all rushed to the tea table to sample the delicious repast prepared for us by Risti Jensen. After so much bidding and laughing our tongues were are dry as cardboard. We were delighted to find that we had raised nearly $300. Thank you ladies for bringing goods and bidding on them. I’m sure that next year there will be many “familiar” items back on the table ! It is all good fun and contributes to the UCW effort. Also belatedly, my thanks go to all the ladies for the work on Good Friday. The ladies of the executive committee prepared the dinner. After the Gymanfa a delicious tea was prepared by Betty Jones. Thank you all. There is a great deal of work involved during these functions and everyone works very hard. Myfanwy. ***************************** Please note the following events that have been arranged by the UCW and mark the dates on your calendars. ---- The next general meeting will take place on May 31st. It will be a games night. Bargain Hunter Alert and Tea Room. Saturday July 9, 2005. We are looking for gently used clothing, books, plants, house wares, bric-a-brac, china etc. Tables can be rented to sell your own wares. Please contact Myfanwy. 905 737 4399 [email protected] or the church office. Strawberry Supper and Song Friday June 24th---Salad, ham, potato salad, coleslaw, strawberries and cream. Tickets PRE SOLD $10 per person - Elizabeth Stroud. ************************************************ Financial Status from The Board Of Stewards: Dewi Sant continues to run in a deficit position. At the end of this quarter, we are reporting a loss of $16,515.00. Even though our budget for this year anticipates a loss, we are well below expected income. Givings for this quarter have been lighter that expected. Dewi Sant is a strong spiritual and cultural centre for the Welsh in Toronto and Canada. In order for our community to continue to thrive, we will all need to look for ways of increasing income. Income can come from a number of sources: increased donations, increased membership, creative ways of raising funds, ( church rental etc.) Your Board of Stewards welcome any ideas you may have and I would be happy to discuss them with you. Feel free to call me at 416-652-7537 or send me an e-mail at [email protected]. Dewi Sant relies heavily on the generosity of its members and friends and appreciates the generosity you have all shown over the years. Sheryl Clay. ******************************************************** The Welsh Festival of Ontario. If you didn't get to attend the Ontario Gymanfa Ganu in Stratford April 29 - May 2, then I'm sorry. I'm even sorrier that you missed hearing the wonderful Cor Maelgwn Gwynedd, who enthralled us at Saturday night's concert and during Sunday's two Gymanfa sessions. The general consensus was that this was one of the best weekends ever. What made it so? Much of the success of the weekend is owed to the presence and involvement of the choristers and their wives. Not only was this one of the best choirs that I have heard, but every member participated fully in all aspects of the weekend. We found out early just how much fun they were when they took part in Friday night's Noson Lawen. We listened in awe to the soloists and duets and laughed hysterically at their skits. The choir's delightful director, 26 year old Trystan Lewis, in addition to being a musical genius, has a wicked sense of humor - as I discovered! St. John's Church was packed on Saturday evening. The concert was magnificent. Such was the quality of the singing that we, the listeners, wondered if the entire choir consisted of soloists. Trystan was dynamic! For such a young man to command such respect and discipline was remarkable. Their repertoire was varied and different. After three rousing national anthems, the program began with the emotional Anthem Geltaidd by Dafydd Iwan. (This happens to be the title of their latest C.D.) Another of Dafydd Iwan's newer songs, "Hawl i Fyw", “The Right To Live,” had been translated into English and the solo part superbly sung by bass baritone Edgar Jones. Amongst other soloists were Bryn o'r Bryn, Blue Ribbon winner Tom Davies and tenor Sam Roberts, who is the brother in law of the Reverend Lord Roger Roberts of Llandudno. By the end of the evening we (and especially the women) had completely fallen in love with Trystan and were plotting how to prevent him from leaving Ontario!! No Male Voice Choir concert is complete without its "afterglow" and we were treated to a second "feast of fun and music" until the wee hours. An extra bonus was that every member spoke Welsh. When did we last have a visiting choir where the only language of communication was Welsh? Trystan conducted in Welsh, directed in Welsh, joked in Welsh and thought in Welsh. What a treat! Then came Sunday. Trystan, our twenty six year old musical dynamo, was to conduct his 80th Gymanfa Ganu! He was a fount of knowledge and was full of interesting tidbits about the various composers. Did you know that "Tydi a Roddaist" was written while waiting for a train at Crewe Station? President of the Welsh Festival of Ontario, David Pugh, chaired the morning session and Vice-President, Hefina Phillips the afternoon session. During the morning session Trystan became a bit confused about the order of service and commented that he wasn't sure if he needed a secretary or a wife! At the afternoon session Hefina, to get her own back after a trick Trystan had played on her on Friday night, presented him with a large box of applications for both positions! Of course, the altos got first refusal! We had jelled into one large family by the end of the weekend, and we were so sad to say "Ffarwel" to these new found friends. Thank you, David, for steering your committee through the preparations for this wonderful weekend, and thank you everyone for all your commitment and hard work.