NEWS 2001
The Induction of Gareth Lloyd as Minister of Hebron
Saturday 6th October 2001 was a very happy day for the
congregation of Hebron
At 3pm
the church gathered with many friends from near and far for the induction
of the Rev Gareth Lloyd, when he was officially recognised and set apart
as the new minister.
The much
esteemed and loved Rev Sulwyn Jones retired from the pastorate of Hebron
at the end of June, after faithfully teaching the Word of God and making
known the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ there for 37 years
(1964-2001). In the goodness and mercy of God, Mr Jones’ work was
continued without a break by Mr Lloyd, who is a graduate of the
Evangelical Theological College of Wales, and who had received additional
ministerial training over the previous two years as assistant to Mr Jones.
Mr Lloyd and his wife Angela both grew up in Nelson where they attended
Bethel Evangelical Church; they have three children – Matthew, Thomas and
Lydia. During these two years the church at Hebron had come to love and
respect Mr Lloyd more and more, so that when Mr Jones gave notice of his
retirement in January, it might have seemed obvious and natural that Mr
Lloyd would succeed him. However, the members of the church were
determined to seek God’s will rather than to follow their own wishes. Only
after much prayer and careful consideration was Mr Lloyd warmly and
enthusiastically asked to serve as the new minister of Hebron. He very
gladly accepted the invitation, and began his ministry at the beginning of
July.
The Rev
Terry Williams of Nelson chaired the induction service, and the Rev
Malcolm Jones of Maesycwmmer read an appropriate chapter of the Bible and
led the congregation in prayer. One of the elders of Hebron outlined how
Mr Lloyd had come to be invited to be the minister, and the Rev Stuart
Olyott of the Evangelical Theological College of Wales inducted Mr Lloyd
as the minister of Hebron. The Rev Sulwyn Jones then preached a
challenging and encouraging sermon on ‘Samuel: a model for the Christian
minister’, and the service was closed in prayer by the Rev Alan Watkins of
Tredegar.
The
members and minister of Hebron are very conscious of God’s leading and
blessing up to this point, and are heartily grateful to Him for all that
He has done for them in the past. They are now eagerly looking forward to
what He has planned for them as they seek to serve Him in this new chapter
of the church’s history.
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| Stuart Olyott & Gareth
Lloyd |
Participating
ministers |
After the service |
Gareth LLoyd & family |
The Retirement of Sulwyn Jones as Minister
of Hebron
Sunday 24th June 2001 was a very
special day in the life of Hebron.
 We
came to the end of an era, as our Minister of 37 years (1964-2001), Rev
Sulwyn Jones, retired from the pastorate of the church.
It simply is
not possible to express adequately our gratitude to him for his long and
faithful ministry, and to our great God and Saviour for giving him to us
and supporting him over all these years. On Friday 22nd we held a service
of thanksgiving and farewell, when contributions from within the church
and from friends near and far combined to give an overview of Mr Jones'
ministry. But on Sunday we were able to spend time ‘alone’ with him, when
he brought God’s Word to us for the last time as our own Minister. And we
were each individually able to express to him something of our thoughts
and feelings as we parted for the last time as pastor and people. We trust
and pray that God will keep him, bless him and use him for many years to
come, along with his wife Enid who has also played an important part in
the life of the church.
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