St Clears Mission - Yr Eglwys heb furiau/ The Church without walls

As part of the vision for mission of the South West Wales Circuit and Cylchdaith Cymru (of Synod Cymru the Welsh Language part of the Methodist Church), the area of St Clears in Carmarthenshire was identified as an area of missional need in that we have no Methodist Church in that area.

It was also noted that we have no fresh expressions or church plants as part of either circuit. So, in September 2019 Deacon Jon Miller was appointed to come to the area and explore new ways of being church and develop a Christian community in St Clears and the region around it.

The work is being developed under the banner of Yr Eglwys heb muriau/ The Church without walls because we are trying to create a community that not only doesn’t operate out of a single space but is embedded in the local area but also is an Inclusive Community without boundaries or barriers.

Warm hub- Since December 2022 a Warm hub has been offered in Y Gât St Clears by the Town council in conjunction with Yr Eglwys heb Furiau. Through work within the hub, Jon has been able to cultivate strong links with local people on the economic margins as well as with older generations in need of conversation. 

Caffi Creu- Has developed out of my Crafternoons endeavour and Art from the Heart. It is the beginnings of Church with local people meeting and learning how to paint, draw, craft and create, while engaging in conversation and discussion about life and faith. We have been meeting now since June last year and regularly have around 20 in attendance. We meet in Mol’s Bistro one Wednesday evening a month.

“Cakes for Christ” and “Bore Coffi yn Mol’s”- A coffee morning of sorts based in Mol’s Bistro in St Clears where the Deacon (me) bakes gluten free cakes, chats with patrons, paints and hands out artwork. This is part of the new Christian community building. Although this has reduced a bit, I still regularly “loiter” in the café and am available for local people to talk with me. .

Art from the Heart- The work of public painting and handing out bilingual watercolour cards in public has expanded and over the last 12 months over 500 have been given out and many of these had corresponding pastoral conversations and prayers

Town centre chaplaincy- The town centre chaplaincy work has changed based on time availability with it being based more solidly with being part of the Council, Warm hub, Walking for Wellbeing and being in Mol’s. I am very well known in the town now and people know that they can come to me.

The future plan for the work in St Clears is to expand Creation Café to run more frequently and explore other arts and crafts. This is beginning in March with a second session meeting in an afternoon in addition to the evening to better accommodate those who do not like to come out at night and younger people. Jon ia also exploring how to begin Creation Café Kids which would work as an after-school group in Y Gât.

Jon is working with friends who have farms/woodland locally to explore the idea of running some kind of forest church under the working title Capel Gwyllt (Wild Church). This is likely to be a multi-site venture which would meet at the farm, in the woodland and on the beach. Also looking to work with the town council on the setting up of a community woodland on a section of ground between the school and a new housing estate. This would then be integrated into the work of Capel Gwyllt.

Deacon Jon is also a member of the town council, which has enabled the building of links with the local community, and serves as a section assistant to the Beavers group.   

More information and contact: Deacon Jon Miller ( email )

The Church Without Walls streams worship on a weekly basis and exists as a digital church in many ways.

There are also daily devotions posted on the Yr Eglwys heb muriau / Church without Walls  FaceBook page