Abercynon Parish Croeso Welcome
Go with the flow of Christ's blessing
Ymlaen yn llif bendithion Crist
About Us
Who we are
Abercynon is a small town some 16 miles north of Cardiff and we are the Anglican Church (The Church in Wales) in this area. We are in the diocese of Llandaff and part of the grouping of churches in the Cynon Valley deanery. We have two places of worship (St Donat's in Carnetown and St Gwynno's in Glancynon areas of the town, but there is also a church charity shop called SHALOM, situated on Ynysmeurig Road. As an organisation we are an ‘excepted charity’ under the Charities Act and therefore do not have a Registered Charity Number, but our Charity Tax Reference Number is XR38332
Our parish life, worship and mission brings a mix of traditional and contemporary approaches.
GO WITH THE FLOW OF CHRIST'S BLESSINGS ~ YMLAEN YN LLIF BENDITHION CRIST
As our town was built on the busyness of transporting goods down the valleys, for our vision, we are thinking of the way that the River Cynon and the River Taff meet in Abercynon, merging and strengthening the force of the river flowing down to Cardiff. Jesus used the idea of flowing, living water to describe the sense of feeling alive in God's Presence drawing us onwards in faith and service. As of September 2020 we are in the process of becoming a new parish, geographically covering Abercynon up the the Cynon Valley to Aberaman and Cwmbach. More information is on the New Parish page.
What we are about
We love our community of Abercynon and want to share the blessings that Jesus brings to the world in the place where we live and spend our time.
Our parish is linked to the Parish of Nordanstigskusten in Uppsala Diocese Sweden
People ave been gathering in our parish churches since the Victorian era and this has meant lots of changes and developments over the years.
Under COVID restrictions, St Gwynno's is closed for worship but St Donat's is open every Sunday at 4pm for our Sunday service and Tuesdays 6.30pm for quiet prayer, a Foodbank open on Tuesdays 11am to 1pm - all services are also on Facebook live and each Wednesday at 7.30pm we have a zoom-based discussion group.
Please contact Peter the Vicar if you'd like to chat about getting married in church, having a baptism (christening for babies), a service of thanksgiving for the newly-born or a service of blessing and prayers for healing. His contact details are on the info page.
Our history
The origins of the village of Abercynon lay in its importance as a centre for traffic with the Glamorgan Canal, the Aberdare Canal and the Taff Vale Railway all passing through the district. The population increased as local coal mines were opened from 1889 and church buildings were built for weekly worship as ministers and the people sought to connect the Christian faith to everyday life.
St Donat's Church opened in 1898, built on land donated by the Carne family. they had acquired St Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan and hence dedicated this church to the same Celtic Saint. He and another Celtic saint, St Teilo, are depicted either side of Jesus in the stained glass window above the altar. The window also has the insignia of the three armed forces in memory of those who died in the Second World War.
St Gwynno's church was formerly a Mission Room, opened n 1904 so that those living in the more Eastern areas of growing Abercynon could more easily attend church worship. Situated near a former Aberdare and Glamorganshire Canal locks, it was once a lime kiln store, then a warehouse used by canal engineers. St Gwynno was a Celtic saint connected to the area of Llanwonno an early Christian settlement and at the time when St Donat's church was built, the vicar of Llanwonno parish had oversight of Abercynon also.