Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

W$t (Kljristian ^tatttrartr. Vol. No. 2. AUGUST, 1891. Price One Penny. REV. JOHN PUGH, FATHER OF THE CARDIFF EVANGELISTIC MOVE¬ MENT. jN presenting to our readers a portrait and a short biographical sketch of the Eev. J. Pugh, we will en- \g deavour to avoid indulging in sham modesty on the one hand and in unwarranted adulation on the other. It is but natural—and we have to thank outside friends for the sugges¬ tion—that our series of monthly portraits and sketches should commence with the father of the Cardiff Evangelistic Movement in the interest of which this Magazine is issued. We here insert a por¬ tion of a sketch of Mr. Pugh, which appeared in the Pontypridd •Chronicle in 1882, writ¬ ten by "Awstin," an ablejournalist and im¬ partial critic. After dwelling on the rapid growth of the church at St. David's, Pontypridd, the writer continues thus:— " Suffice it to say here that the church pros¬ pered so well that just prior to that time the friends gave a call to the Rev. J. Pugh, of Tredegar, to become its pastor, and he, having accepted the in¬ vitation, commenced his duties here on the first Sunday in April, 1881. The Rev. J. Tugh was born in the year 1846, at New Mills, Montgomeryshire, and, like the generality of the children of the Methodi st s, was brought up in the church. From what he has stated several times recently at public meetings, he appears to have sown some wild oats when a youth in Pembrokeshire, whither his father [A. d- G. Taylor, removed about the year 1860, to erect bridges on the Pem¬ broke and Tenby Railway for Messrs. Davies and Roberts, but he was received into church fellowship when between 20 and 21 years of age. As soon as he did that he appears to have commenced holding open-air meetings, then with no in¬ tention of entering the ministry. He was afterwards induced by friends to prepare for the ministry : he entered Trevecca College when 23 years of age, and having spent his time there took charge of the young church at Tredegar in July, 1872, passing his Synodical Examination, as is the custom with the Calvinistic Methodists, 12 months later. When he commenced his duties at Tredegar his little English Church was composed of 16 members, but, during hi3 stay of nearly 9 years in that ironworks district, Mr. Pugh, by his energy and devotion, was the means of adding to the church membership 400, of getting up a Sunday School of 450 children, and the growing church which before his advent had no temple or tabernacle of her own erected a large and handsome chapel. He was " called " by the Brecon Church over which the Rev. J. Idrisyn Jones is pastor, but he declined the call on ac¬ count of the depression at Tredegar, and when poverty is rife and active, a sympathetic preacher has plenty to do. Times got brighter, the " call" from St. David'sChurch reached Tredegar, and, seeing a vast field for his energies among the E nglish-speaking masses of Pontypridd, Mr. Pugh accepted it. He has a habit of mak¬ ing himself "at home," and no sooner was he " at home " in Ponty¬ pridd than he directed his steps to the high¬ ways and bye-ways in order to carry out as far as he could the cam- mission to " preach the Gospel to every crea¬ ture." His open-air mis¬ sion during the summer was attended with ben¬ eficial results, his con¬ gregation increased rapidly, and ultimately his church. The mem¬ bers now number 90 ; there is a Sunday School connected with the church having a roll of 270 scholars, and an average attendance of 190 ; while the band of hope.of 230 children is an honour to the church and the town. The congregation on Sunday evenings is crowded, so that the projected chapel will have to be built soon, and when it is said that the chapel is to hall, and that it is it will be imagined Cardiff:] be in keeping with the present estimated to cost about .£2,000, that the English Methodist Church of the future will be worthy of the minister, the worshippers, and their cause. Mr. Pugh is immensely popular with his own flock, and, con¬ sidering the short time he has been at Pontypridd, he has made an extraordinary number of friends amongst people of all denominations and of no denomination. Being not only an active minister, a home-missionary, and an evangelist, but also an enthusiastic temperance advocate, he is a host in himself; and being blessed with a constitution equal to that