More Good Books

Labour of Love in Liverpool
D Ben Rees
Published by: Modern Welsh Publications (288 Pages)
UK Price: £15.00
ISBN 978 0901332 905

This is the 63rd volume edited or written by my friend and fellow Minister in the Presbyterian Church of Wales, Dr D Ben Rees, and traces the history of Bethel, Heathfield Road Chapel, Liverpool 15, and the experiences of the members of Smithdown Place Schoolroom, Webster Road Chapel, Ramilies Road schoolroom, Heathfield Road and Bethel chapels.

All in all, this excellent book traces the history of the Welsh language churches mentioned above. Packed with photographs, Dr Rees explores in great detail the history of what might be called the ‘Welsh Diaspora’, as husbands, sons, fathers and brothers, left the hills and valleys of their beloved homeland from 1770 onwards, seeking employment in England. The increasingly affluent Port of Liverpool drew men in their hundreds with the increasing prosperity of the City bringing with it the promise of employment and riches for those prepared to work hard. The Welsh, with a history of hard work grounded in the mines, quarries and hill-farms of the Principality.

Despite learning English, no simple task for many, there was a great spiritual hunger that needed to be satisfied by hearing God’s Word in their own language, and this created in them the desire to build and worship in their own chapels, independent of others. As Dr Rees points out in the very first chapter, these young Welsh men and women did not desire a building that would cater for their spiritual needs for an hour or two on a Sunday, but a building that would be open to them every night of the week, a home from home.

This is far more than simply a historical record of a people. It has been written from the heart, and you can sense the very soul of the people, their desires, joys and sorrows pulsing through the pages. After reading this book and exploring the many pages of photographs I defy anyone not to be stirred by the passion of the people who grace the pages through Dr Rees’ eloquent writing.

This book is highly recommended, not only for all those interested in the history of the Welsh in Liverpool, but also those who seek to understand a little more about the spiritual hunger that motivates God’s people.

Fire in the Thatch
Eifion Evans
Published by: Evangelical Press of Wales (234 Pages)
ISBN 1 85049 119 4
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Eifion Evans has written extensively on the subject of Revival, and in this volume he explores the true nature of Religious Revival, and seeks to answer many of the questions that come naturally to those who seek to understand exactly what Revival is all about.

It is perhaps by studying how Revival came in the past, and how it was manifested, that we can best prepare ourselves for a new work of the Holy Spirit in our own times. Evans looks at the great Welsh Revival preachers such as Griffith Jones of Llandowror, John Davies of Tahiti, Dafydd Morgan of Cardiganshire, and others.

Reading through this excellent recounting of the power of God’s presence and the manner in which it has manifested itself to earlier generations helps to create for the modern-day Christian a desire for a closer relationship with God today, and a thirst for a new visitation by the Holy Spirit.

That Revival is desperately needed today is without question. The state of the world is such that it is needed throughout, but the state of our land in particular demands that we all seek the coming of God upon it once again, not like a gentle breeze but like a roaring tempest.

Revival Comes to Wales
Eifion Evans
Published by: Evangelical Press of Wales (131 Pages)
ISBN 1 85049 025 2
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If you are interested in the history of Revival, particularly of Revival in Wales, then your bookshelf would be empty without this book about the 1859 Welsh Revival. It was originally published in 1959 under the title When He Comes, and has been reprinted on many occasions since.

Wales has been called ’The Land of Revivals’ and so when Revival broke out in 1859 it was, as Eifion Evans points out at the beginning of this fascinating book, neither a new or strange phenomenon. Between 1762 and 1862 there had been at least fifteen notable periods of Revival, each with its own characteristics, each serving the period in which they arose. In this book the author explores the background, the prayerful preparation, the men of vision whom God used to bring about Revival, the passage of events and the fruit that ensued as a result.

(Although currently out of print, this book is available second-hand if you search for it.)