Glenys James speaking to the Reverend Elwyn Hughes and Dave Roberts.

Description

The Reverend Elwyn Hughes gives a detailed history of St David’s Church, established in 1907 in Toronto. He describes how after the first world war the Presbyterian, Methodist and Independent churches merged to form one body. Many who had originally emigrated to Canada were not confident conversing in English and so the church offered a haven for the community. He blamed factors such as the increase in house prices in the area for causing the congregation to disperse further away from the Church, as well as an aging population for decreasing attendance at service. He also discusses the increasing loss of Welsh language and Welsh culture within the Church, expressing his sadness at this. Glenys James follows with an interview with Dave Roberts, originally from Blaenau Ffestiniog. He lost his father when he was a baby and so was raised by his grandparents. He had initially trained to be a carpenter, but with no pay and poor job prospects, his options were to seek better fortunes in London or Canada. Upon arriving in North America, he eventually succeeded in finding employment after two months. His advice from his grandmother upon leaving was to join a Chapel at once, which he did, fondly remembering the worth that the Chapel brought to his hometown back in Wales. Through his involvement in organising Eisteddfods in Canada, he describes how the festival offered an opportunity for people at all levels across many different disciplines to take part and learn about Welsh culture. He credits the Welsh church for enabling him to keep his Welsh through the years. He feels that the Welsh services convey the word of God better than English, and he enjoys the services more. He also sings ‘Y Gycw Bach,’ as well as reciting some poems he remembers from his childhood.