“He builds his lofty palace in the heavens, and sets its foundation on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.”
– Amos 9:6
“Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd,
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i’m golwg sydd hardd…”
–Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
(anthem genedlaethol answyddogol Cymru)
“Old land of the mountains, the Eden of bards,
Each gorge and each valley a loveliness guards…”
–Land of My Fathers
(unofficial national anthem of Wales)
There is something ancient and deep about God’s creation around Ffald y Brenin. As the morning mist hovers over the floor of the valley, our souls are stirred. As the gnarled trees bend and groan in the wind, our souls are stirred. As the golden hour bathes the hills with a radiant warmth, our souls are stirred.
Even as we approach Ffald y Brenin for the first time – winding our way along the single-track road of the Cwm Gwaun – we’re met with this sense that God has been here a long time and is inviting us into his presence in this beautiful land.
And then there’s that special moment when we reach the top of the drive and catch a first glimpse of this spacious Eden. That breath-catching feeling so many have experienced offers a taste of what Ffald y Brenin founders, Phyllida and Peter Mould, felt upon arriving here for the first time. After years of the vision being delayed, they visited this land without much expectation. But as they turned the corner of the drive, they both ‘knew without any shadow of doubt that this was it.’ This was the land that God had called them to steward.
The land of Ffald y Brenin and beyond—the Cwm Gwaun, Carningli on the moor, and ultimately stretching across Wales—stirs a longing that’s not fully understood. Much of it is unspoiled but not untouched, with both its striking beauty and its balance of human intervention and care.
If you’ve walked the land here before, you may have experienced the deep longing that surfaces for many. It can inspire a wordless knowing of the Shalom that we were created for.
That longing touches upon something known to many Welsh people, particularly the Cymry Cymraeg (the Welsh-speaking Welsh). It is known as Hiraeth, a deep longing, almost an ache, that pulls at your soul. This land is God’s creation, and the Lord can use it to pull us toward him.
Fervent prayers have been lifted for decades within Ffald y Brenin’s stone buildings. The prayers have consecrated the rooms.
And outside the walls, the valley, hillsides, and moor have hosted prayers for more than a millenia. St. Brynach walked this land in the 500s. He established a church. He prayed. He climbed Carningli and communed with angels.
Later, the songs of Revival would consecrate the land. People would give their lives to Jesus and surrender to the cold valley waters to be baptised.
Like the familiar mists around Ffald y Brenin, the living water of Jesus has soaked this land.
In the Bible, the Hebrew people were sometimes known as ʽAm haʼaretz, namely, ‘People of the Land’. Here in Wales, the country is called Cymru in Welsh (Cymraeg), which is also translated roughly as ‘People of the Land’. For both peoples, the land has played a defining role in their stories.
In the beginning, however, we were all people of the land. Genesis tells how God created the first human from the land, with a mission to tend and keep the garden.
So here, we can walk the land and feel our rootedness in God. And we can feel our rootedness in a faith that was brought to Wales by the Romans and has remained uninterrupted for nearly 2,000 years.
Here, we may experience God’s presence in the Chapel, the Prayer Room, or a guest room. But many will also experience God while strolling the gardens, or praying at the cross overlooking the Gwaun Valley, or retracing St. Brynach’s steps across the moor. We feel the breeze, or the wind and the rain, we follow our footfalls upon the soil, and we can hear the voice of God.
At Ffald y Brenin, we can also walk along pastures and enjoy the ‘unspoiled but not untouched’ lands. Ffald y Brenin’s fields are managed by Robert, our neighbouring farmer. Robert loves the land. Whenever we pass his sheep and cattle, we also pass land that has been nurtured and not exploited. Robert uses farming methods that honour God’s Creation, many of which have been passed down through generations.
As he looked to the future, Robert recently decided to sell a portion of his land—a portion called Penlan Uchaf. We get a deep sense that God is leading Ffald y Brenin to purchase this land.
The lands of Penlan Uchaf and Ffald y Brenin were once part of the same farm, so buying Penlan Uchaf will reunite the land.
But Penlan Uchaf is also part of God’s unfolding vision for Ffald y Brenin. As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, the Lord is focusing on the next forty years and the next generations. This vision will include protecting the sacred core of Ffald y Brenin, while potentially holding space for gatherings, training, retreats, and creative ventures.
For those tangible reasons, Penlan Uchaf is important. But there is also something about the land itself. There is something about the longing, the Hiraeth. There is something about reunification and reconciliation—joining the land, as well as turning deeper into the ancient faith that is uniquely seeded in the Welsh soil, the Welsh people, and the Welsh language.
As the turmoil of the world carries on, through Penlan Uchaf we can dedicate more of the land that has known ancient saints and revival voices. We can consecrate more of the mountain for people to be with God. We can commission more of the land for people to find rest as children of God, and once again, as people of the land.
As a fresh wind of faith in Jesus blows across this country, and we turn our gaze to future generations, may the land of Ffald y Brenin continue to be a thin space—a sacred place to meet with him.