The Welsh Church

The first meeting was held on May 10th, 1896 at the Albert Hall, which was renamed in 1901 as the Foresters’ Hall. This was on the corner of Main and Market Street. The preacher on that occasion was Rev D.H.Jacobs. Meetings thereafter were to be held monthly. By 1903 the church was known as  ‘St David’s Welsh Church’, and in 1904, was meeting at ‘the hall’ on Portage Avenue, presumably the Manitoba Hall at 291 Portage (demolished in 1991).

1905 meeting at First Baptist Church  (now site of Calvary Temple)

1906  Now known as ‘United Welsh Church’

          meeting in the Winnipeg Business College, south side Portage & Fort

                                   ( demolished in 1965, now site of Royal Bank Building )

The Welsh Church was nominally of the Presbyterian denomination, and was affiliated with the Presbyterian church in Minnesota. However, later on it seems to have become, in practice, largely non-denominational. There was apparently a short-lived attempt to establish a separate Welsh Methodist Church, which joined with the Presbyterians to form a ‘United Church’. In 1925 the English-speaking denominations formed the United Church of Canada.

                                                                                                                     

On February 17th, 1915, James Lloyd Evans wrote to his wife : “My darling wife....On Sunday night I went to a Welsh Service held at the Winnipeg Business College enjoyed it immensely, splendid singing, the last hymn being Duw mawr y rhyfeddodau maith & believe me it went off fine. There were quite a lot of fellows in Khaki I was the only officer though & certainly got a good welcome the Minister is a Rev Griffiths & he invited me to his house but of course I had no time.....Your loving hubby, Jim”

James Lloyd Evans was born in Mold, Flintshire,Wales in 1879, moved to Miniota, Manitoba in 1903. Enlisted in 1914; died in action in France on September 1st, 1918  (The Canadian Letters and Images Project)

1909  Plot of land on Arlington Street donated anonymously for building new Welsh Church

1910   Meeting for a while at the Railway Hall, 552 Main Street. Then back to Portage & Fort.

1912    Reported that a lot for a new building had been purchased on Winnipeg Avenue.

           Church had 116 members.

1914  Welsh Church Choir under direction of Jarrett Roberts placed first in the Chief Choral competion at the annual eisteddfod, beating out the choir of Robertson Memorial Church who had won the competition in the previous three years.

1918    Now known as ‘The Welsh Church’

           English Service 10.30am;  Cymraeg 7.00 y prynhawn

In March 1918 it was reported that the choir had been re-formed; the service on March 30th included an anthem by J.H.Roberts (Pencerdd Gwynedd). Soloists were Lynwern Thomas and R.H.Jones. The organist was Cpl. W.J.Hughes.

    (1921 : meeting at Winnipeg Business College)

1922 meeting in Wesley College (now the University of Winnipeg)

1925  Bu farw’r hen arweinydd y côr, Thomas Jarrett Roberts, yn 82 mlwydd oed. “ Er yn analluog i ddweyd gair..... Pan ar groesi i’r byd tragwyddol i ganu am byth, yr oedd ei law yn arwain canu,” . Ganwyd ef yn Llandderfel ger Y Bala, ac fe ddaeth i Ganada am y tro cyntaf o Lerpwl yn 1912. Bu yn llwyddianus iawn fel arweinydd corau yn yr Hen Wlad, a chipiodd nifer o gadair mewn eisteddfodau o fri. Ni bu yma yn hir nag oedd wedi côr o Gymry a dechrau cystadlu, ac yn fuddugolaethus bob tro. Aeth yn ôl i Gymru yn 1914, ond dychwelodd i Winnipeg yn 1919. Yn ystod Y Rhyfel Mawr, mae dau fab Thomas Roberts, sef Jack Jones Roberts a Robert Evan Roberts wedi eu listio yn Winnipeg. Symudodd Jack Roberts i Saskatchewan ar ôl y rhyfel, a bu’n fyw yn Vancouver yn y chwedegau. Mi gredaf bod Bob Roberts a’i wraig wedi dathlu eu phriodas ddeimwnt yn 1976 yng Nghalifornia. ‘Roedd dau blant arall sy wedi byw yn Winnipeg; sef Hugh S. Roberts, a briododd y chwaer yng nghyfraith i Owen Hughes, Ellen Williams, yn 1913, a Jane Catherine, a briododd David Price. Y gweddill y teulu wedi cynnwys Thomas (Y Bala) a William (Chicago).

Fe ddaeth Joseph Farr (un o Dowlais) yn lle Thomas Roberts fel arweinydd y côr. Y trysorydd yr Eglwys ar y pryd oedd Owen Hughes, Prifardd America.

1932  First Welsh Church opened on Sherbrook Street

1938  Church celebrates sixth anniversary

         Guest speaker : Dr A.B.Baird

         Chairman of Church Board : Edward Williams

         Treasurer : Idris Jenkins;  Secretary : H.G.Wyatt

1943  Mortgage liquidated

1951  120 persons attend Fathers’ Day Service in June, led by Ieuan Edwards.  Others taking part in the largely musical program were Oliver Evans, Charles Culforth and H.G.Wyatt.

1956  Re-named St David’s Church        

1970’s   Closed.

Ministers :

Rev D.J.R.Johns

Rev H.W.Griffith

Rev R.E.Williams

Rev J.D.Thomas

Rev W. Barker Jones

Rev T. Owen Hughes

Rev D. H. Jacobs

   

      Rev & Mrs D.H. Jacobs at St David’s Day Dinner in 1936

Rev Dr E.Llewelyn Lewis

Rev J.G.Stephens

Rev J.G.Stephens

Rev Tegwyn Evans

  Rev Tegwyn Evans, with Mr Oliver Evans, president of the

   St David’s Society and his wife and daughter, Dorothy at

St David’s Day banquet, Winnipeg Free Press, March 2nd 1957.

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No records of the Welsh Church have been found; its history compiled from notices in the Free Press is necessarily somewhat sketchy, and the chronology of its ministers is incomplete. The pastorate was held briefly during 1908 by the Rev. David Lewis, late of Swansea and formerly of Rhyl, and by the Rev. W.H.Davies, formerly of Cardigan and subsequently of Stonewall, Manitoba; but there seems to have been no regular minister until 1909 when Rev J.R. (Robert) Johns became pastor of the church. He was born in Landore, Swansea, Wales in 1886. In 1910 he completed a course of study at Wesley College, gaining his Doctorate of Divinity, and his salary at the Welsh Church was increased to $300 per year. He left Winnipeg some time after September 1911, and went back to Britain; he returned to Winnipeg in June the following year, and subsequently moved to Saskatchewan. In 1921 he was appointed as minister at Zion Methodist Church on Pacific Avenue in Winnipeg. In 1926 he moved to Lake Crystal, Minnesota, but returned to Zion Church in 1928 to conduct the funeral of Lady Adelaide Roblin, wife of the former Premier of Manitoba, Sir Rodmond Roblin.  The service included the singing of the Welsh hymn ‘Aberystwyth’.

In October 1923, Lloyd George and his family visited Winnipeg, and on October 14th they attended a service at Zion Church, which was ‘arranged by the Welsh United Church’. Hymns sung in English and Welsh included Llanfair, Moab and Aberystwyth. The church subsequently became Zion Apostolic Church. It was destroyed by fire in 1970.

                                                  Zion Methodist Church ca. 1908

By December 1911 the minister at the Welsh Church was the Rev Humphrey Griffith, previously pastor of the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Oshkosh, WI. Rev Griffith was born in Llandegai, Caernarvonshire, Wales in 1856. He died in Winnipeg in September 1924 at the age of 65. The church then seems once again to have been without a regular minister until Rev Williams came from Philadelphia in May 1927. Rev Thomas arrived in December 1928 from Mankato, Minnesota. By April 1930, the minister was the Rev Barker Jones. He came to Winnipeg from the USA (Shenandoah). He died in Saskatchewan in June 1930. The cornerstone of the building on Sherbrook Street was laid on December 5th 1931 by Mr E.K.Williams, building work was supervised by Mr Joseph Farr and carried out by ‘Welsh people who were unemployed’; and the First Welsh Church opened on 6th February 1932; the Guest Preacher on that occasion was the Rev. Monfa Parri from Milwaukee, and soloists were Miss Jennie Roberts, Mr R. Oliver Evans & Mr Herbert James. Music, as always, clearly played an important part in the life of the Welsh Church. Joint pastorate at that time was by the Rev T. Owen Hughes and Rev D.H. (David Herbert) Jacobs.

Oliver Evans was born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, he was choir director at First Welsh Church, and employed as an engineer with Manitoba Hydro. His son, Bill Evans, prior to his retirement, was Senior Director of Property Services at The Health Sciences Centre.

From 1933 to 1939 the minister was Rev J.G. (John Grongar) Stephens who was born in Port Talbot in 1869. He came to Winnipeg from The Pas, Manitoba, and before that had been in Saskatchewan, where he was involved in Indian land-claim issues. Between 1939 & 1941 the Rev Dr E. Llewelyn Lewis was incumbent. He came to Winnipeg from Chicago. Rev. Stephens returned to the church in 1941, remaining until shortly before his death in Brandon, Manitoba in December 1951 at the age of 83. He was buried in Kildonian Cemetery in Winnipeg. A memorial service was held for him at the Church in January 1952. The last minister, Rev Tegwyn Evans arrived from Bala in September 1951. It is not known exactly when he left. The last discovered reference to him is in November 1958. In 1956, the church was re-named St David’s Church  (two other churches of that name already existed in Winnipeg, one Anglican and one Presbyterian).  The congregation dwindled and sometime after December 1972, the Welsh Church was closed. The building was sold in 1975. It became for a while the Italian Club, then a photographic studio. In recent years it has been occupied by a martial arts club, and was also for some years home to the the Inner City Lutheran Mission. Currently (2013) the building appears to be unoccupied.

Fe ddaeth y Parch D.H.Jacobs i Ganada ym 1889 ar ôl iddo cael ei ordeinio ym 1880; bu’n wasanaethu fel gweinidog yn Winnipeg, Emerson, Beausejour, Burnside, Dugald, a Charlyle (SK). Ganed ef yn Llandygwydd, Sir Geredigion, ym 1851; a bu farw yn Winnipeg ym 1943. ‘Roedd y Parch T.Owen Hughes yn weinidog i’r Eglwys Bresbyteraidd St Ioan yn Winnipeg o 1928 i 1933. Yna fe symudodd ef i’r Ddwyrain, yn wasanaethu fel weinidog yn Knox Presbyterian Church, Halifax o 1933-1934, St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Cardigan, PEI; ac yn yr Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Mynydd Seion yn Ridgetown, Ontario o 1945 hyd at 1950. Ym 1954, ‘roedd ef yn weinidog i’r Eglwys Bresbyteraidd St Iago yn Fforest, Ontario.

Ganed J.G. Stephens ym 1868, mab i’r Parch. John Stephens, Port Talbot. Fe gafodd ei addysg yng Ngholeg Llanymddyfri a Choleg Brifysgol Cymru Aberystwyth. Ym 1890 fe ddaeth i Ganada, a dilynodd ef gyrsiau ym Mhrifysgol McGill a Choleg Bresbyteraidd Montreal; ac yng Ngholeg Manitoba a’r Prifysgol Manitoba.   Gwasanaethodd fel gweinidog yn Broadview, Saskatchewan; Reston, Manitoba a Souris, Manitoba; Gull Lake, Sakatchewan; ac yn Newdale a The Pas, Manitoba; cyn iddo symud i Winnipeg. Roedd ef yn awdur o erthyglau ar gyfer amryw bapurau newydd a chylchgronnau. Ymbriododd ef ym 1903 â Florence Winter, sy wedi marw nifer o flynyddoedd o flaen iddo. Yr oedd ganddynt merch a dau fab. Fe goroeswyd  ef gan un mab yn unig, sef William Elvet Stephens, sy wedi marw yn Winnipeg yn 80 oed ym 1989.  Fe ddaeth yr enw anghyffredin Grongar o lecyn hardd a mawr ei fri yng Nghwm Tywi, sef Grongar Hill (Gron Gaer), o fle y ddaeth yn wreiddiol y Teulu Stephens, sy’n deulu’n eithaf adnabyddus yn yr ardal yn ystod y deunawfed ganrif. Fe geir cerdd Grongar Hill gan John Dyer, brodor o Lanfynydd; arlunydd, bardd ac offeiriad (1699-1757), ac mae hon wedi cael ei osod ar gân i fariton, pedwarawd llinynnol a phiano gan y cyfansoddwr Alun Hoddinott (fe’i gomisiynwyd gan Jeremy Huw Williams a chanwyd am y tro cyntaf yn y Beaumaris Festival, 1998).

     (Bwygraffiadau’r Gymdeithas Hanesyddol Manitoba)

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Gwen Hodgson remembers attending the church as a child in the 1930’s, and she remembers the cornerstone of the new building being laid. This building in fact was never finished, as the Depression set in and money ran out during construction; the congregation of 20 or 30 regular attenders met in the basement.  She recalls the Rev Stephens being a short and rather round man. He was a member of the Charles Dickens Society, and always played Mr Pickwick in their presentations. Services were held once a month in Welsh, otherwise they were in English. Gwendda Owen Davies was the ‘official’ accompanist, but mostly it was Daisy Jenkyns who played the piano. There was no regular choir, but a children’s choir was formed for special occasions, such as Christmas. Prominent members of the church included E.K.Williams, KC, (subsequently appointed Chief Justice of the Manitoba Court of King's Bench) and Rupert Reece, an Executive of the Grain Exchange. There were also ‘Jones the Electric’ and Mr and Mrs ‘Maesteg’ Edwards. There were many concerts - “Will Jenkyns had a good baritone voice and loved to sing at all the concerts. Unfortunately, his favourite songs were ‘The Road to Mandalay’ and ‘Come to the Fair’ and we heard them over and over and over again!” She remembers the famous Welsh-American baritone, Thomas L Thomas, who had a more extensive repertoire, performing at the Church in 1941.  She also remembers the actor Richard Burton attending the church with an aunt who lived in Winnipeg when he was stationed here with the airforce during the Second World War.

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Kay MacGregor was born in Aberaeron, and is still fluent in Welsh after living in Canada for more than 60 years. She arrived in Winnipeg from Edmonton in 1956, and began attending the Welsh Church; at that time singing was accompanied by an old harmonium.  She and Rev Evans bought a small electronic organ, which she then played regularly for services, until Rev Evans left about two years later.  She remembers the church as being quite thriving, all services were in Welsh. There were many concerts, and singers who came to perform; she remembers especially a quartet from Bala, Saskatchewan. She kept in touch with Rev Evans after he left Winnipeg, moving first to Vancouver and then Australia. A few years ago, he returned to his native Bala, where he died only quite recently.

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Fe sylweddolir ychydig o’r ysbryd yr oes yr Eglwys Gymry Winnipeg o’r pennill canlynol, un o nifer a sgrifennwyd gan WJJ ym Mehefin, 1909   :  “Daeth y rhai hyn im meddwl ar ôl yr Ysgol Sul 13/6/09”

                                                    Pwy all fesur? pwy all bwyso?

                                                    Maint fy mhechod rwyn y byd.

                                                    Ni all llyfrau yr holl lysoedd

                                                    Eu cofnodi oll i gyd,

                                                               Un syn abl,

                                                    Hwna ydyw Duw ei Hun.

Cantorion Cymreig Winnipeg

Fe basiodd wythnos eithriadol iawn yn hanes Eglwys y Cymry, Winnipeg, trwy i’r efengyles, Miss Rosina Davies, ymweled â ni.

Cynhaliwyd gwasanaethau grymus iawn ganddi.

Dywedodd Miss Davies ei bod yn falch iawn o weled eglwys Gymraeg yma, ac erfyniai ar bob Cymro a Chymraes i roddi eu cefnogaeth iddi.

Cafwyd cyfarfod arbennig yng nghanol yr wythnos, o dan nawdd yr Eglwys a’r “St David’s Society”, a Mr. J. Farr yn y gadair, i roddi croeso i Miss Davies i’n plith. Clywsom Mr W.T. Jenkins yn canu “Cartref”, a Miss Jennie Roberts (Llanddulas) “Y Bwthyn Bach To Gwellt”.  Y mae’r ddau hyn ymysg prif gantorion y ddinas yma. Hefyd adroddodd Mr J Whitfield Jones “Magdalen” yn effeithiol iawn.

Anrhegwyd Miss Davies â thorch o flodau hardd gan y “Ladies’ Aid  Society”, a dywedodd hithau ychydig hanes ei thaith. Ymdawodd oddi yma am Milwaukee.

David M Jones

Winnipeg

Y Ford Gron

Medi 1931

This comes from a Welsh magazine ‘Y Ford Gron’ (The Round Table), that was published by the Baptist denomination in Youngstown, Ohio, and was sent to me by Bryan Jones, secretary of Cymru a’r Byd.  He found it recently at a book-fair in Bala.

Translation:

Welsh Singers of Winnipeg

A most notable week in the history of the Welsh Church in Winnipeg has just passed, with the visit of the evangelist Miss Rosina Davies.

Some very powerful services were held under her leadership.

Miss Davies said she was very pleased to see a Welsh church here, and she urged every Welsh man and woman to support it.

A special meeting was held in mid-week under the auspices of the Church, and the St David’s Society, with Mr J Farr in the chair, to welcome Miss Davies to our midst.  We heard Mr W T Jenkins sing ‘Cartref’ (‘Home’), and Miss Jennie Roberts sing ‘Y Bwthyn Bach To Gwellt’ (‘The little thatched cottage’).  These individuals are two of Winnipeg’s leading singers.  Also we heard Mr J Whitfield Jones reciting ‘Magdalen’ very effectively.

Miss Davies was presented with a posy of lovely flowers by the Ladies’ Aid Society, and she recounted a little of the story of her travels. From here she left for Milwaukee.

Thomas L Thomas

Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas was born in Maesteg, Wales in 1911, and came to America with his parents when he was 12. The family settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His father, Josiah Thomas was a professional musician who played flute with the London Symphony Orchestra and subsequently with the Pennsylvania Orchestra. In 1932, at the age of 21, Thomas L. won a scholarship to study in New York with Oscar Seagle, and he subsequently became one of the finest singers of his time, appearing with orchestras around the world, and at the Metropolitan Opera; he was heard regularly on the radio and made a number of recordings; at one time he was reputed to be the highest paid classical singer in the USA. He visited and performed in Wales many times, and in 1978 he was honoured with admission to the Gorsedd of Bards during the National Eisteddfod held that year in Cardiff. He was still active as a singer in 1975. He regularly featured Welsh repertoire in his programs, and remained fluent in Welsh throughout his life.

Sometime in the 1960’s, he married Celia Goshinski, whom he first met during the 1930’s when she was employed as housekeeper to his cousin, Mildred Rockwell, who lived in Wellsboro, PA, and who was also for many years his accompanist. Thomas died in Scottsdale, Arizona in April 1983 at the age of 73. His wife died in Scottsdale in 1999 at the age of 82. His older brother, David Elwyn, who died in 1981, also at the age of 73;  is credited with appearances in 2148 consecutive performances of ‘My Fair Lady’. His younger sister, Gwyneth Thomas Boston, also a noted singer, died in Pennsylvania in July 2011.

Thomas L Thomas appeared in Fred Gee’s Celebrity Concert Series at the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium on December 9th, 1943, 24th October 1946 and again on November 8th, 1951. His first appearance in the city was in October 1941 when he was the guest of the Women’s Musical Club. His Welsh repertoire on that occasion comprised the well known folk songs Dafydd y Garreg Wen & Cyfri’r Geifr. In 1943 he included  Ar Hyd y Nos & Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn.

In 1985, the singer’s extensive archive of scores, concert programs, recordings, photographs etc was returned to Wales

    Elfed & Barbara Thomas - Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas (1911-1983) : Portrait of a Professional

                Welsh Music/Cerddoriaeth Cymru 

                        Vol/Cyf 8  No/Rhif.3    Autumn/Hydref 1986  pp/tt  7-12

                        Vol/Cyf 8 No/Rhif.4     Winter/Gaeaf  1986   pp/tt  29-39

kdj

The former Welsh Church in July 2005