Calfaria, Penygroes facts for kids

Calfaria is a special church building called a Baptist chapel. It's located in a village named Penygroes. This village is near Ammanford in Carmarthenshire, Wales. For a long time, services at Calfaria were held in the Welsh language. Now, they are bilingual, meaning they use both Welsh and English.

The Start of Calfaria Chapel

Calfaria Chapel began in 1896. It was started by Baptists who used to go to other chapels nearby. Many miners also joined. These miners had moved to the area to work in coal mines like Emlyn and Caerbryn.

At first, the group met in people's homes. Later, they used a small, old building. This building was known as the Hen Sied y Band, which means "The Old Band Shed". The number of people attending grew quickly.

Ministers of the Chapel

A minister is like a leader or pastor for the chapel. The first minister was Reverend Job Herbert. He started his role two years before the chapel building was even finished! Reverend Herbert stayed for a very long time, serving for forty years.

After him, several other ministers led the chapel. These included Handel Turner, E. Bryn Jones, Elwyn Williams, Wynn Vittle, and Carl Williams. As of 2020, the minister is Aled Maskell.