The Salvation Army leads worship at The Royal Welsh Show

The Salvation Army is proud to lead a worship service at The Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells this Tuesday, 23 July at 11am.

A service will be held at the stand of Cytûn - ‘Churches Together in Wales’ every day at 11am. The Royal Welsh Show is marking its 120th anniversary since it began in Aberystwyth, while The Salvation Army is celebrating 150 years in Wales throughout 2024.  On Tuesday it will be the turn of The Salvation Army’s Territorial Envoy, Samantha Jones, from Newtown to take worship based on the theme of this special anniversary year, Dyma Gariad / Here is love. 

Wales’ Divisional Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Roberts, says this year's anniversary is the perfect time to demonstrate the work of The The Salvation Army in Wales: “In celebrating the past we are inspired to continue the good work today. We are grateful for the generous support of members of the public and look forward to serving the people of Wales for many more years to come.”

The centre piece at the Salvation stand on the showground will be a knitted craft display depicting the Christian journey in Wales. It’s been almost two years in the planning and making. Dorothy Keates, from the craft group at Canton Salvation Army in Cardiff, says as well as tackling how to bring their vision to life, they faced one other challenge: “Once we started work on the display, controlling our creative enthusiasm was difficult. Our passion for the project meant the display could have been at least double the size. Our group used different materials including Welsh slate to create an interesting dimension to each scene so the viewer can see something new each time with a variety of crafts including knitting, appliqué and cross stitch. The finished display has surpassed what we expected. We hope it makes people think about their own journey with God.”

The intricate, detailed display features scenes starting with stories from the Bible including Creation, Noah’s Ark, the Birth of Jesus, His Crucifixion and Resurrection. The next part of the display focuses on the story of the Salvation Army in Wales with scenes showing mission tents, small chapel halls and groups of Salvationist’s in open air ministry.

After The Royal Welsh show, the craft display will also be at the Eisteddfod in Pontypridd in August and there are plans for it to move around Wales in the autumn.