Making Christ Known and Loved / Gwneud i Crist Gael ei Adnabod a’i Garu
July/August 2026 Services and Events: Sunday and midweek services are as usual other than a joint service on the Fifth Sunday in August (details below). As mentioned last month, while we aim to ensure that there is a service in each church at the usual time on a Sunday, it may be the case that the Sunday morning Service is Morning Prayer rather than the Eucharist. Each week, what’s happening on the following Sunday will be announced in each church. A list of weekly activities will also be on the Ministry Area Facebook Page.
Pattern of July/August 2026 Sunday Services:
9:30am Sunday Service at Coelbren
9:30am Sunday Service at Clydach
9:30am Sunday Service at Ystradgynlais
11:00am Sunday Service at Pontardawe
11:00am Sunday Service at Trebanos
3:00pm Evening Prayer 1st & 3rd Sundays, Holy Eucharist 2nd & 4th Sundays at Callwen
Sunday Services are normally Holy Eucharist services, but occasionally Morning Prayer may be held.
Pattern of Mid-Week Services:
Wednesdays:
10:30am Mid-Week Service at Ystradgynlais
10:30am Mid-Week Service at Clydach
8:00pm Compline Online from Coelbren via the Ministry Area Facebook page
Thursdays:
10:15am Morning Prayer at Abercrave Welfare Hall
Mid-Week Services are normally Holy Eucharist services, but occasionally Morning Prayer may be held.
Church Services
Fifth Sunday in August: The last Sunday in August is a Fifth Sunday of the Month, and on this Sunday there will be a Ministry Area Eucharist at 10:00am in Callwen as the only service in the Ministry Area on this day.
Healing Service: The July Healing Service will be at St Michael’s Trebanos at 6:00pm on Sunday 5th July. As we have people attending from across the Ministry Area, this is the reason for the change of location.
Church Events
St Peter’s Pontardawe Flower Festival: St Peter’s will be hosting their annual Flower Festival from the 14th to the 16th of August. The theme this year is Nursery Rhymes. If anyone would like to sponsor a church window or an arrangement, please contact the sub-wardens Rhian (07828697428) or Chris (07592029629). The Festival’s opening times are as follows:
Friday 14th August: 10:00am to 5:00pm.
Saturday 15th August: 10:00am to 5:00pm, with Neath Choir performing at around 12:30pm and around 1:30pm.
Sunday 16th August: 12:00pm to 2:00pm.
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 1st July 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 July and August, from 10:00am to 12:30pm. Tea, coffee, cake, and a chat will all feature!
Pontardawe Repair Café: The next Repair Café will be held on Saturday 18th July in Tŷ’r Gwrhyd, Pontardawe Library Building, from 10:30am to 12:30pm. Come along for free repairs of home and garden tools, electricals, textiles, etc.
Strawberry Coffee Morning: Pontardawe Heritage Centre will be hosting a coffee morning on Thursday 23rd July, from 10:00am to 12:30pm.
Church Notices
Ministry Area Leader’s Opening Remarks at the Annual Vestry Meeting: Copies of the Annual Report are still available from the churches if you haven’t seen it yet. In addition to the foreword to the report and the individual contributions, here are some reflections from the Ministry Area Leader:
“As I gathered my thoughts ready for this evening, a question came into my mind: Do words matter? Yes, of course they do. Yet perhaps what matters even more is how we interpret particular words. Let me give you an example: As this is traditionally known as a vestry meeting, does that mean that all of us need to squeeze into the five foot by ten foot vestry here beyond the chancel in Capel Coelbren Perhaps not. Over the past year, one thing that we have done is to think about our purpose and what we hope to do as a Ministry Area and we’ve summarised it into ‘Making Christ known and loved.’
“It is about more than Jesus. It is about Christ. I’m not just playing with words here. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s chosen servant. Also, as we say every time we share in the Eucharist, ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come in glory.’ Past, present, and future are one for us. We seek to make Christ known and loved because he will be glorified. Christ is the Jesus who shared our human life, including sharing our pains and sufferings. Christ is the Jesus who did not avoid these things, but who knew new life and new power beyond these things.
“So often we see being a Christian as being a follower of Jesus. Yet to be a Christian is to follow Christ, to seek to live a new life and to know the power of God being at work in us. So hopefully, we can learn not to avoid the problems and pains we suffer as churches, living and working and praying together. We can do so trusting that new life will spring out of seeking to make Christ better known and loved, so that the people around us can also come to believe that there can be a future for everyone because of how Christ can be at work in their lives also. The vision statement ‘Making Christ known and loved’ answers the key questions of what, when, who, where, and why for us all, and can be something that enables us to be and work together here in the Swansea Valley.”
Hospital Visits: Recently, we’ve had a few people who’ve been patients in local hospitals. Thank you to those who’ve let the clergy know that they have relatives and friends in the local General Hospitals. These hospitals are not far from us according to the grand scheme of things, so going to see people in hospital is quite an easy task for the clergy, and is much appreciated by those who are patients. The Hospital Chaplaincy Services are also informed, and patients appreciate a visit from the Hospital Chaplains also. So do let us know…
Thank You: A very big thank you from Judith Ann to those of you who enjoyed St Peter’s Pontardawe’s day trip to Bath on Saturday 6th June. The trip raised money for local charities, so your support is very much appreciated.
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.
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 September edition. If you would like anything to be included, please contact Bethan Hewitt with the relevant details by 12:00pm on Tuesday 25th August.
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
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Cwmtawe Churches 