Photo by Chris Frost
In honour of our 40th year, we’ve put together a list of 40 things we thank God for – from the early days of Ffald y Brenin to today. It’s a feast of God’s goodness. Enjoy!
- Lord, we give thanks for your original vision for Ffald y Brenin, which you gave Phyllida Mould all those years ago. First, for its bigness – the scale, the aspiration, the holy adventure of it all. But also its smallness, showing us that the little details really do matter in your kingdom. God, you are vast and intimate, both.
- We give thanks for how Phyllida scribbled the vision on egg shaped pieces of paper, stuck them in her Bible, and prayerfully waited for you to make them ‘hatch!’ Thank you for the example of Phyllida and Peter saying “yes” to your call and labouring to make it a reality.
3. We give thanks for Ffald y Brenin’s foundations – how the award-winning architect Christopher Day was surprised to discover that the rock in the Chapel was not a boulder but part of the mountain itself. This meant the Chapel had to be built around the rock, reflecting the spiritual reality that Ffald y Brenin is built on the solid rock of Christ.
4. We give thanks for each of the many, many volunteers who gave their time, their money, their prayers, their love, and their encouragement in the early days. Lord, thank you for their lovely ordinariness and their enthusiasm for the task.
5. We give thanks for giving Phyllida an eye for beauty – arched windows and doors, cosy nooks, stunning views – and how this beauty continues to bless all who come here.
6. We give thanks that over 40 years, God has brought people from over 40 countries to visit Ffald y Brenin. Just like the Welsh revivals of the past, what happens here flows out to the nations.
7. We give thanks for the physical location of Ffald y Brenin. Its remoteness is an invitation to pilgrimage and prepares hearts to meet with you.
Photo by Emelyne Burkhard
8. We give thanks for the daily Rhythm of Prayer, a consistent reminder of our connection and journey with you, Lord. Though the liturgy is repeated day after day, each prayer time has its own flavour because of the fresh work of the Holy Spirit and the unique combination of people in attendance that day.
9. We give thanks for the name Ffald y Brenin, Welsh for Sheepfold of the King. Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd and the King of Kings, and we thank you for laying your life down for us, your sheep. You lead us beside still waters and restore our souls.
10. We give thanks for the assistant wardens over the decades who have so faithfully served and who have quietly, consistently brought their love, their faith, their kindnesses to the place and to the people staying there. We think of Gordon and Audrey, Vic and Lillian, David and Sylvia, Dick and Nancy, and Roger and Tisha.
11. We give thanks for Roy and Daphne Godwin who gave so much over so many years; who faithfully listened to what you were saying and courageously built on what had gone before, setting in place structures and ways of understanding our call which have stood the test of time so well.
12. We give thanks for Clive and Cristina Orchard who responded to the trustees’ call for help in an emergency, stepped in as Wardens for six months and ended up serving faithfully for almost five years. They weathered COVID lockdowns and creatively brought Ffald y Brenin back to be the thriving place we enjoy today.
13. We give thanks for your surprises. People with just the right skills and talents offering to help at precisely the right moment (like the help we had with the design of the courtyard gardens between the Centre and the Car Park), unexpected support and good will from the National Park and other public authorities, neighbours showing up to help with flooding, surprise donations to cover our expenses, and countless more.
Photo by Anna Huws
14. We give thanks for all the stories of how people hear your voice here. Like a long-time pastor who knew for the first time in his life that you loved him. Or a church leader who was reassured that you were indeed working in his church. Or the woman who sensed you confirm her choice of the man she was going to marry (and she did marry him!).
15. We give thanks that in a hectic and intense world, you’ve made Ffald y Brenin into a protected place of rest. You gently show people that rest is not a prize to be achieved but a gift to be received.
16. We give thanks for the salvations that have happened here. People like Chris Gardiner. And the woman who read the inscription on one of our benches, “Pray for the lost sheep of Wales,” recognised herself as one of those sheep, and came to faith in Christ.
17. We give thanks for stories of healing – blind eyes that see, injured backs that work, impaired legs that walk.
18. We give thanks for how Ffald y Brenin has been a shelter where marriages and relationships have been restored.
19. Jesus, we give thanks that “a bruised reed you will not break, and a smouldering wick you will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42: 3). Many who come here are fragile, discouraged, grieving, lost, or disillusioned, and you are so tender with them.
20. We give thanks that for so many, Ffald y Brenin is a place to not only know about you but to know you. To know your ways and your character. To know your voice and your touch. It is a wonderful paradox that you are beyond our human comprehension and yet make yourself knowable.
Photo by Jenny Burns
21. We give thanks, Lord, that not only do you draw near to guests but also to those of us who work here. You teach us to live and work from a place of rest, you sustain us with your love, and you restore our physical and mental health.
22. We give thanks for the personalities, skills, and giftings of team members you’ve provided over the years, as well as for your timing in bringing them here at the right seasons.
23. We give thanks for every moment of prayer, growth, vulnerability, encouragement, and prophetic imagination we’ve had as a team. You have met us around the farmhouse kitchen table during lunch breaks, in the Prayer Room during daily prayer, and in the gardens.
24. We give thanks for every trustee that has helped lead Ffald y Brenin over the last 40 years. We are grateful for their prayerful discernment in decision-making and the sacrifice of their time and resources.
25. We give thanks for the Gwaun valley, for the kindness of our neighbours, and for the rich Welsh heritage of the land we steward.
26. We give thanks that in the 6th century, St. Brynach laid a spiritual foundation in our area by praying on Mount Carnigli (within walking distance of Ffald y Brenin). This land was and continues to be steeped in prayer.
27. We give thanks for what God is doing in Wales and how the Lord has been blessing Welsh language weekends at Ffald y Brenin that Anna Huws has organised.
28. We give thanks for our office team, who manage bookings, pray with people on the phone, check in guests, lead daily prayer, manage finances, create resources, run the shop, and keep the place running. God, you notice every detail and rejoice when your children partner with you in the practicalities of the kingdom.
29. We give thanks for the houskeeping team, who work hard to launder the sheets, clean the toilets, vacuum the floors, wash the windows, and make guests feel welcome. Father God, their care is an extension of your hospitable heart.
30. We give thanks for our gardening team, who go out in wind, sun, rain, and snow (Simon bafflingly always in shorts!) Thank you for their physical effort, their eye for beauty, and their ability to plant, water, and prune at the right times.
31. We give thanks for the gardens themselves, as well as for your creation surrounding Ffald y Brenin –the pop of red begonias, the resilient beauty of heather, the abundance of butterflies, the morning mist in the valley, the wild Preseli ponies, the darkness of the night skies. They all proclaim your glory, Lord!
32. Holy Spirit, we give thanks for how often we experience your tangible presence here. Your faithfulness is new every morning.
33. We give thanks for the water that continues to flow here. The property was originally called Sychbant – dry hollow – and water challenges have risen many times. But you continue to keep the water moving, reminding us that you are the living water.
34. We give thanks for Local Houses of Prayer, a ministry flowing out from Ffald y Brenin to the nations. It’s a movement of ordinary people who long to see God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on their particular piece of earth as in heaven. Lord, thank you for Anne de Leyser and her immense energy and dedication to leading this ministry.
35. We give thanks for the powerful ministry and practice of blessing that has become an integral part of this place.
36. We give thanks for how often we hear stories of guests ministering to each other during their stay here. Some have met here as strangers and become lifelong friends who continue to encourage and disciple each other.
37. We give thanks for your faithfulness and provision during COVID. Not only did you sustain us financially while the centre was closed, but you helped us to minister to people through online Prayer days and other videos.
38. We give thanks for Friends of Ffald y Brenin. We believe it is you, Lord, who prompted their hearts to generosity, and we are so blessed by their response to that call. Their financial sacrifice and their prayer are reaping a Kingdom harvest.
39. We give thanks for our neighbours and that they have agreed to sell us their property, Penlan Uchaf. Thank you for the way this land will help us cultivate more space for the vision you are forming for the next 40 years.
40. We give thanks for the fire in current hearts; for the abundant proofs we see today and every day that you still delight in Ffald y Brenin, and, just as important, have more in store! You continue to sharpen our vision as we step into the #NEXT40. You are the God of today and the God of tomorrow!