Refurbished church offers more to the Merthyr' community.

A bright future serving more people is the message from The Salvation Army in Merthyr Tydfil as settles into a newly refurbished church this month. 

The building in Glebeland Place dates to 1935 but Merthyr Tydfil is The Salvation Army’s oldest active church in Wales, having been established in 1878 when two 21-year-old evangelists named Kate Watts and Harriet Parkin arrived in the town. 

For the past 25 years the larger downstairs section of the building has been leased to the local council. Now that part of the church has been refitted and returned to The Salvation Army. The building was officially opened at a special service led by Wales Divisional Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Roberts, who said: 

“The Salvation Army has been serving the people of Merthyr Tydfil for just under 150 years, almost as long as we have been established in Wales. By making full use of the building once again we look forward to welcoming local people into this refurbished community space. I encourage residents of Merthyr Tydfil to drop in and say hello, join us in worship or find out about the activities on offer.” 

As well as the building hosting various drop-in sessions and workshops along with a new kitchen and café area, The Salvation Army’s Housing First team will move from the town centre to offices in the church. Housing First is centred on the principle of supporting people experiencing homelessness into housing followed by intensive support for that person to help them to remain in their new home. 

Major Granville Myers who leads the church is looking forward to an exciting new chapter: 

“Our refurbished two-story building means our mission with worship and community expressions can work in tandem with specialist work for people experiencing homelessness. We believe that the work of transforming lives will be greatly strengthened as we serve together.” 

Cara Forsey is the Housing First Project Manager in Merthyr Tydfil: 
“We are really excited to be moving into the church after being based in the town centre since 2018. It will bring together the strength of our community church and the Homelessness Service to support local people.” 

Housing First in Merthyr Tydfil currently supports 14 people and will have its own entrance and reception area plus two offices, a meeting room and a utility room with a washing machine and tumble dryer for use by people being supported. 

More information about the history of The Salvation Army in Merthyr Tydfil and across Wales can be found on The Salvationist https://www.salvationist.org.uk/ including a fascinating podcast with the Director of the International Heritage Centre, Steven Spencer: The All Terrain Podcast: Wales 150 Special | Salvationist