Making Christ Known and Loved / Gwneud i Crist Gael ei Adnabod a’i Garu
June 2026 Services and Events: Sunday and midweek services are as usual this month.
Pattern of June 2026 Sunday Services:
9:30am Holy Eucharist at Coelbren
9:30am Holy Eucharist at Clydach
9:30am Holy Eucharist at Ystradgynlais
11:00am Holy Eucharist at Pontardawe
11:00am Holy Eucharist at Trebanos
3:00pm Evening Prayer 1st & 3rd Sundays, Holy Eucharist 2nd & 4th Sundays at Callwen
Pattern of Mid-Week Services:
Wednesdays:
10:30am Holy Eucharist at Ystradgynlais
10:30am Holy Eucharist at Clydach
8:00pm Compline Online from Coelbren via the Ministry Area Facebook page
Thursdays:
10:15am Morning Prayer at Abercrave Welfare Hall
Church Services
Healing Services at St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais: A Healing Service will be held on Sunday 7th June at 6:00pm in St Cynog’s Ystradgynlais. As people from across the Ministry Area attend this service, it makes sense to move the service around. Therefore, the Healing Service on 5th July will be at St Michael’s Trebanos.
Christian Meditation Services: Our monthly Meditation Services will be on pause for a while. We aim to resume them in the Autumn, all being well.
Church Events
Day Out to Bath: St Peter’s Pontardawe will be holding a day trip to Bath on Saturday 6th June, leaving from the Ivy Bush in Pontardawe at 8:15am. There are still a small number of spaces left, with tickets costing £27. Please get in touch with Chris at 07592029629 if you are interested.
Ministry Area Annual Vestry Meeting: Our Annual Vestry Meeting will take place on Thursday 11th June at Capel Coelbren, where we will elect our Ministry Area Officers for the next year.
Friends of Capel Coelbren Coffee Morning with Bishop John: The Friends are holding another coffee morning on Saturday 13th June from 10:00am until 12:00pm, which will be attended by the Bishop. As well as refreshments, there will be plants for sale, and locally made jams, marmalades, pickles, and chutneys. All welcome – plenty of on-street parking.
Choir Concert: Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe Male Voice Choir has a concert in St Cynog’s on Saturday 20th June at 7:00pm, supported by Côr Cariad y Cwm, Côr Ysgol Gymraeg Pontardawe, and solo performances. Tickets are £10 each and can be obtained from choir members at 07971179066. Proceeds go to the Brecknock Feature County for the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show 2026.
Ministry Area Mothers’ Union: The Cwm Tawe Ministry Area Mothers’ Union branch meets on the second Monday of each month at 2:00pm, in St Cynog’s Church Hall.
St Cynog’s Men’s Fellowship Group: St Cynog’s has recently established a Men’s Fellowship group. The group is open to any man in the Ministry Area and meets every second Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm in Ystradgynlais Rugby Club for conversation on whatever takes their fancy. Alcohol consumption is optional!
Community Events
Singalong: Pontardawe Heritage Centre holds their next Singalong event on Wednesday 3rd June at 10:30am. Entry is £3 per head including refreshments, with music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. This event is held on the first Wednesday of each month.
Pop-Up Coffee Shop: Pontardawe Heritage Centre will be holding their weekly pop-up coffee shop every Thursday throughout June, from 10:00am to 12:30pm. Tea, coffee, cake, and a chat will all feature!
Church Notices
Patterns of Services in the Months Ahead: As most, if not all of you will be aware, the Ministry Area is short staffed in terms of Licenced Clergy at the moment. Firstly, thank you to all those who have come forward to train as Lay Worship Leaders in the various churches. Having a good number of people now means that we can hold an act of worship each Sunday in all our churches at the usual time, either a celebration of the Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer. This will be the general situation for the months ahead. Each Sunday, what the service will be on the following Sunday will be announced in each church. If it is the case that people feel that they wish to receive Communion each Sunday, they will have to be prepared to travel to another place of worship. Details of where the Eucharist is celebrated will be on the Ministry Area Facebook page and the Ministry Area Website. In circumstances such as these, the Church in Wales has the expectation that Communion will be administered somewhere in the Ministry Area each Sunday but not in as many churches as possible, because it is not possible for this to be the case. Don’t forget that the Eucharist is celebrated at 3:00pm on the Second and Fourth Sundays of the month at Callwen as part of regular worship there.
Annual Report: Our Annual Report for the Ministry Area was distributed at our joint MA service on Sunday 31st May. Copies should be available in all churches; otherwise, please email Bethan Hewitt (contact details below) for a copy.
Needlework Group: Following on from creating a set of clergy stoles from an old Altar frontal in recent years, the Ministry Area Leader has had the idea of having another needlework group to create some banners suitable for the various seasons of the Church Year. In particular, these could be placed behind the Altar in the Galilee Room in St Mary’s Clydach rather than everyone looking at a blank wall. If you enjoy needlework, please let Tim Hewitt know. This need not be an exclusively Clydach or church people group.
Faith in Families: St Mary’s and St Michael’s have raised £484.05 for Faith in Familes this year so far. Your generosity allows the charity to aid children and families against the challenges of poverty. Thank you! If you have a Faith in Families Box, now is the time of year to return it to Mrs Gill Evans.
Mothers’ Union Torch: The Mothers’ Union torch arrived in St Cynog’s this May, celebrating the 150 years of the founding of the MU. The torch travelled to our church and was walked down the pathway into the church with great celebration, by the large and lively group of ladies from St David’s church in Llansamlet. The atmosphere was wonderful, with much rejoicing and fun. Canon Tim Hewitt led the visitors in prayer before all tucked in to a tea that was much appreciated and friendships were renewed. Representatives from St Cynog’s escorted the torch to Brecon Cathedral on Saturday and took part in Songs of Praise and a huge shared picnic! We look forward to September when we shall all meet again for our second woodland retreat, God willing!
Afternoon Tea: The team at St Peter’s Pontardawe would like to thank everyone who attended our recent Afternoon Tea. We are grateful for your support.
Second World War Grave at St Cynog’s:
The War Graves Commission intend placing an official headstone on the grave of Sgt. Alfa Powell of the Raf who died while on active service in 1942 aged 20. By the time this happened the family had moved to the Home Counties, but in the years before the Second World War, his family had lived at Penrhos in Ystradgynlais. The War Graves Commission are keen to trace and contact any surviving relatives. It’s a long shot, but if there are any family still in the Swansea Valley, please do let Canon Tim Hewitt know.
Brecon Women’s Refuge: St Cynog’s is continuing to collect for this very important sanctuary and refuge, and if you feel you could invite your congregation to start a collection of toiletries and kitchen equipment, we would gladly collect offerings from you. The ladies who run the refuge have said that they would love to talk to us all about their work, and perhaps later on we could jointly host this.
What to do if you have a Safeguarding Concern: Anyone with safeguarding concerns can contact a member of the CinW Safeguarding Team via the Church in Wales website by web (https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/safeguarding/reporting-safeguarding-concern/) or by phone (02920 348200).
Alternatively, Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, safe space for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with either the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales, or the CinW. You can contact the Safe Spaces team by web (www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk), phone (0300 303 1056; answerphone available outside of opening times), or email (safespaces@firstlight.org.uk). If a child or adult is in immediate danger or requires urgent medical attention, please call the emergency services now on 999 – DO NOT DELAY.
Safeguarding: Safeguarding Training courses are available to book onto, both in-person and online courses are available. Details can be found on the Ministry Area website (Church Policies > Safeguarding). If you are unsure which Safeguarding Training you are required to undertake as part of your role, please contact Bethan Hewitt.
The Church in Wales is committed to safeguarding as an integral part of its life, mission, and ministry, and will promote the wellbeing of children and adults at risk. Therefore, if you are a volunteer for any church within our Ministry Area, or the Ministry Area itself, the CinW requires you to undertake Safeguarding Training.
What’s Ahead
Looking Ahead: Our next newsletter will be our July and August edition. If you would like anything to be included, please contact Bethan Hewitt with the relevant details by 12:00pm on Tuesday 23rd June. Please note that this deadline will be earlier in the month than it has been previously, to allow more time for printing and distribution.
Ministry Area Contact Details
Ministry Area Leader & Priest in the Ministry Area:
The Rev’d Canon Tim Hewitt
01792 946948
TimothyHewitt@cinw.org.uk
Priest in the Ministry Area:
The Rev’d Gary Green
01792 862003
GaryGreen@cinw.org.uk
Assistant Clergy:
The Rev’d Jon Howard
07810 820593
JonHoward@cinw.org.uk
The Rev’d Sue Northcott
01792 863814
SueNorthcott@cinw.org.uk
Ministry Area Administrator:
Bethan Hewitt
07398 647399
BethanHewitt@cinw.org.uk
General queries:
CwmtaweMAA@cinw.org.uk
Ministry Area website:
http://www.cwmtawechurches.org
Ministry Area Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/CwmTaweMinistryArea
Just finished reading ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’, nothing to write home about.
Cwmtawe Churches 