Faith and continuity in times of change 

The Revd Beverley Morgan is celebrating 30 years of ministry at Merchants' Hill Baptist Church in Pontnewynydd, Torfaen, after being inducted into the pastorate there in 1994

 
In 1994, at a time when the fountain pen could write the sermon, the landline was the key means of social organisation, and video tapes provided entertainment—before the invention of the ubiquitous smartphone, social media, and demand subscriptions—the Revd Bev Morgan became Merchants' Hill’s newest pastor.

Standing alongside the main upper Eastern Valley road is the late 19th century, gable-fronted, Romanesque-style, listed chapel, complete with a rose window, gracing a welcome to the village of Pontnewynydd, Pontypool, Torfaen. Built on a former wool factory and opened for services in March 1888, in an era of frenetic Christian, social, and industrial activity, Merchants' Hill would have stood to witness the Welsh revival of 1904, the heavy toils of industry on its congregation, two world wars, and the post-industrial transformation from iron-foundry and railway village to commuter belt.

Bev decided, after a period of lay preaching, that he should answer the call to full-time ministry. Thus, he resigned his job as a police officer with the Ministry of Defence to become a student at Cardiff University, reading for a Diploma in Theology in 1991. On St. David’s Day, 1992, Mr Ken Roderick, deacon of Merchants' Hill, approached Bev to preach at the chapel. This was accepted with the curious fact that this was one Baptist chapel in the wider valley that he had never set foot in before.

Bev was ordained on 14 April 1994 at the church of which he was a member and serving deacon, Griffithstown Baptist Church, with the text of Ephesians 4:1-13 shared: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up,” and a Bible presented. Shortly after, on 25 June 1994, Bev was inducted at Merchants' Hill.

Thirty years is a long time for anyone to be in one profession, let alone in one place of employment. The duration of that effective time in ministry can only be attributed to the team that works around the minister. It is through the Lord’s blessing and inspired workers by the Holy Spirit that it has come to fruition. It could not have been achieved without the support of his wife, Sheila, who supported him from the very beginning of his Christian journey. She encouraged him to attend church, was baptised with him in 1979, was there during the hardship of being away as a student, and supported his calling at Merchants Hill.

Bev has also celebrated 25 years as a moderator at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Glascoed, Monmouthshire. It was from Glascoed that the first minister appointed to the ministry at Merchants' Hill, James Gomer Watts, originated. The Revd Watts, who began his calling in 1886 and died in 1915, was, until the start of this year, the oldest serving minister.

The glory is God’s for the work of the diaconate, members, and minister of Merchants' Hill. Pontnewynydd has lost at least five places of worship, and the Eastern Valley many more. Yet, in this age of change, a world where AI could write sermons, and many people live with localised secularism, Merchants' Hill offers a Sunday service, a Bible study, outreach work, and hosts a local history society. The faith of continuity rightly overrides that of historical interest.
 

Article submitted by Bev's son, Robert Morgan