Ebenezer, Ammanford facts for kids

Ebenezer is a Baptist chapel located in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales. This chapel is a place of worship where services are held in the Welsh language. It has a long history, starting in the mid-1800s, and has been an important part of the local community for many years.

The Start of Ebenezer Chapel

Ebenezer Chapel was started in 1849. It was founded by Baptist members who used to attend services at nearby chapels in Llandyfan and Saron. At first, these early meetings took place in a house on Field Street. There were only thirteen members when the chapel first began.

Just one year later, in 1850, a new chapel building was constructed. It was named Ebenezer and built close to Quay Street. Next to the chapel was a house called Primrose Cottage. This cottage was later bought by the chapel and used as a home for the chapel's caretaker. It was taken down in the 1960s to make space for a car park.

The Rev. Daniel Jones from Felinfoel helped the new church a lot in its early days. He baptised three women in 1850 and led the group that planned the chapel's construction. The first minister of Ebenezer was Dafydd Morris from Pembrokeshire. He served the chapel for three years. After him, Dafydd Williams became the minister from 1862 to 1867.

Growth Under T.F. Williams

In 1867, the Rev T.F. Williams began his long time as minister at Ebenezer. He served for 40 years until 1907. When he started, there were about 50 members. By the time he retired, the chapel had grown to 670 members!

During these years, the town of Cross Inn, which was later renamed Ammanford, grew very quickly. This was because it became a major center for the coal mining industry. As more people moved to the area, the chapel building became too small for everyone. Because of this, Ebenezer was rebuilt and made larger in 1877. It was made even bigger again in 1895. When Williams retired, he was given a special gift to show how much the community appreciated him.

During Williams's time, several smaller churches were started in the area. These churches began as branches of Ebenezer. For example, a schoolroom in Pantyffynnon became its own church, Bethel, in 1904. Another schoolroom in Penybanc, built in 1893, became Pisgah Church in 1912. An English Baptist Church was also started in Ammanford in 1904. Later, Seion, Tirydail, opened in 1913.

Ministers and Milestones

John Griffiths became the minister of Ebenezer in 1908. He had previously served in Ponciau near Wrexham. At this time, Ebenezer had about 600 members. In 1919, John Griffiths was chosen to represent Ammanford on the local council. He later moved away but then returned to Ammanford for a few more years before moving to Cardiff.

After John Griffiths, R.T. Evans became the minister in 1927. He came to Ammanford from Newport, Pembrokeshire. Evans was minister for seven years. In 1934, he was chosen to be the Secretary of the Welsh Baptist Union. Twenty-five years later, he became the president of the union. In 1959, the union's yearly meeting was held at Ebenezer, his old church.

The famous poet E. Llwyd Williams was the minister of Ebenezer from 1936 until he passed away in 1960. He won important awards for his poetry at the National Eisteddfod in 1953 and 1954. In 1962, Garfield Eynon became the minister. He stayed until 1975.

John Talfryn Jones became the minister at Ebenezer in 1977. He has served the chapel for over forty years. Like many other churches, Ebenezer was closed during 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.