May 28th
2005 saw the opening ceremony to celebrate the completion
of the latest extension to the Bethel building. Although not
always an easy journey, our faith that God would see the project
through to it's completion gave everyone the patience to push
though the difficult times.
Bethel
before extension
Shiny
new Bethel
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The
results stand as a testimony to His unbroken promises and
serves as a witness to our continued growth.
The summer of 2004 saw the work start in earnest, and by October
the extension had a roof. It was early in the new year when
the internal work was started.
Even
such a short time after completion it seems hard to imagine
how we managed without all the extra room. We've run out of
floor space if we need to expand any more, so the only way
is up. Stay tuned!
More
extension photos
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The forming
of this Church was mentioned at the Mother Church, Mount Carmel
as far back as 1902. There were a few members who lived at
Penyrheol and occasionally they met at one of their houses.
In 1911, Mrs. Saunders commenced a Band of Hope in her house
and the Sunday school was started at the Hendre Council School.
Mr. Phillip Davies, at present a deacon of the Mother Church
was the first Superintendent, he served for a period of 12
months. Mr H. Bradshaw succeeded Mr. Davies for the next 12
months. Such good progress had been made that Mount Carmel
decided to build a Mission Hall; this was opened in 1914 by
Mr. George Hill. The Service which followed being conducted
by Principal Mr. Edwards of the Cardiff Baptist College and
the Pastor Rev. B. W. Roberts, who also took an active interest
in the new sphere of his Pastorate.
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Mr.
R. H. Balsom was appointed Superintendent in 1914.
Sunday school was well attended. Evening Services
were also started and were well attended and I would
like to note at this time there were only eight members
actually residing at Penyrheol, but some of the young
people from the Mother Church came to help. By 1922,
after much hard work, the members succeeded in paying
off the cost of the Church and furnishings, which
amounted to about £300, in addition to meeting
all current expenses. Thus Mount Carmel has no cause
to regret starting a new branch at Penyrheol.
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The
spiritual side of the work showed equal success, as the average
attendance in the Sunday school was 100. In addition, a number
of young people were baptised. From 1922, the members were
concerned regarding the accommodation of proper Sunday school
work, and discussions were started with the Mother Church
accordingly. It was found that additions to the building,
would not be carried out unless we purchased the freehold
of the land. The negotiations took a long time, but were eventually
accomplished in 1928, at a cost of approximately £110.
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The
Ladies Sewing Class, who had been working hard, handed
a good sum towards this. A generous gift to Mr. Powell
left a balance of £20 to be found by the members.
An extension was added to the Church in 1932 at a cost
of £170; this was raised by the members of the
Mission was paid, and the vestry added to the Main Church.Regular
weeknight meetings of various organisations were held
and the Mission was self-supporting. There were times
when the funds were low but the faith was never lost. |
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our faith