Nations from across the world were represented at last week’s successful St David’s Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in the Welsh Parliament.
The annual event, which was established in 2018, brings together Members of the Senedd, church leaders from across Wales, international guests and others, to share in the spirit of prayer and thanksgiving for the nation of Wales and its rich Christian Heritage.
The events are organised by a cross-party committee of Members of the Senedd, chaired by Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar.
As in previous years, there was an International Reception the night before the Prayer Breakfast, where speakers included Timothy Cutts of the National Library of Wales; Pastor Maximiliano Gianfelici from Patagonia; Dr Gudrun Kugler MP, co-chair of the Austrian Prayer Breakfast and others.
There were also musical performances the Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda and the award-winning Welsh choir Côr CF1.
At the Thursday morning Prayer Breakfast itself, speakers included, Elin Jones MS, the Presiding Officer in the Senedd; Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice; and The Most Reverend Mark O’Toole, Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia. The keynote speaker was His Royal Highness Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who spoke about the faith of the people of Lesotho and its Royal Family. He also indicated his desire to establish a Prayer Breakfast in the Lesotho Parliament.
In addition to this, guests also enjoyed musical performances from the Watoto Children’s Choir and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Darren said:
“I am delighted that once again these events were a huge success.
“It’s always wonderful to see guests from across Wales and the globe gather together in Cardiff Bay to celebrate our Christian heritage, pray for the Wales, build relationships between church leaders and Members of the Senedd, and to reflect upon the relevance of the Christian faith in public life.
“The musical performances at both the International Reception and the Prayer Breakfast were superb and very much enjoyed by the guests.
“I also thank everyone who participated in the events, especially our inspirational keynote speaker His Royal Highness Prince Seeiso, and those who travelled from afar, from Latvia to Uganda, Patagonia and the Falkland Islands, there were representatives from all over the globe.”
At both events, there were treasures from the National Library of Wales’s collection on display, including the bible famously bought by Welsh teenager Mary Jones.
In the year 1800 Mary Jones, the 15-year-old daughter of a weaver from Llanfihangel-y-Pennant at the foot of Cader Idris, walked 25 miles, barefoot and across rugged mountain country, simply to buy a Bible from the Reverend Thomas Charles of Bala, who then used her story to inspire the establishment of the Bible Society.
