The Presbyterian chapels of Aberystwyth have always
responded as circumstances changed; they have altered their ritual,
their buildings, their links with each other, as situations changed and
circumstances demanded a different response. It is a sign of life to
venture to construct new buildings, and changing homes is only a sign of
acknowledgment that all buildings are temporary in a living church; we
show that we see an opportunity to bear witness in a new situation when
we found a branch chapel, build a Sunday School, or open a centre.
Morlan is part of an old, old pattern that goes far back in
Aberystwyth.
Members of Gosen (Rhydyfelin) ventured to build
a new chapel in the town of Aberystwyth in 1785, the chapel which we
know as Tabernacl; and our forefathers later set about changing and
adapting that building four times as their circumstances and those of
the town changed. And they didn't just make do with the building and
re-vamp it, but went forth to build Sunday Schools and branch chapels
throughout Aberystwyth and its surroundings, as and when they saw an
opportunity to bear witness, and the need to serve:
Skinner Street in 1839, and again in 1847, and
later on. Ebeneser, Penparcau in 1848, rebuilding it in 1938. Tan-y-cae in 1877. Trefechan at the end of the 18th century, and the building
which we remember in 1897. Y Waun (Waunfawr).
And then another venture: because of the growth in the population of
Aberystwyth, and the ongoing developments, it was decided to set about a
new chapel - Seilo - at the other end of the town in 1860, and
this chapel was transformed three times. It also nurtured lively activity
in Skinner Street and up in Waunfawr by taking these Sunday Schools
under its wing, and it constructed a large Sunday School for its own
needs in 1899, the building which is now Morlan.
The liveliness of the congregation of Seilo, the
over-enthusiasm of some members, led to the building of Salem in
1894, the chapel which is now Capel y Morfa, and it was faithful to the mission
set by the Lord to bear firm witness.
Circumstances change, demands change, needs change,
and now these consideration have come together again, and we respect the
memory of the witness and responses of those forefathers in their
chapels, branch chapels and Sunday Schools; we take pride in the work
done in the branch chapel of Ebeneser. But now we in Capel y Morfa are
following the old pattern, and venturing to open a new building to meet
new needs. Not a Sunday School, not a branch chapel, but the ideal is
the same, namely to set forth our beliefs wherever people are , to meet
people wherever they are, in their ideas and their searchings as in
their dwellings.
A Sunday School, a branch chapel, a centre: different
channels of contact in different periods, but with one single aim - to
bear witness and to offer service. Let us pray for the same success on
this new generation as was in the buildings of our forefathers across
the centuries, from 1785 to 1899, to 2005, and onwards to the future.
Keeping to
the Pattern (Historical background)