Dear Sir,
It was heartwarming to read of Robert Stivey’s attempt to re-open some of the chapels in the valleys of South Wales (en January, front page).
In the Taff valley the twin villages of Aberfan and Merthyr Vale are in a similar spiritual plight. I was born and bred in Aberfan, brought to know Jesus as my Saviour while a student in Bristol, and cut my teeth in preaching the gospel in some of the chapels in Aberfan, Merthyr Vale and other villages. This was back in 1962, when there were six chapels in Aberfan and five in Merthyr Vale plus the Parish Church and a small RC Church. Even then there was a rapid decline in attendance at all of these churches. In 1963 I commenced studies at London Bible College which led in the next 40 years to pastorates in Grace Baptist and FIEC churches, all in England, and with eight years in a ministry with Africa Inland Mission.
