St Cwyfan’s Church Anglesey

The island on the Sea St Cwfran

This current church is 11th century built on original Celtic Christian site. You can see very clearly the oval raised churchyard, the ‘llan’ of the first settlement. The raised llan is supported by a high stone wall,  which is impressive at around 20 feet high. At low tide the land is surrounded by rocks and inlets of the sea whilst at high tide it is completely surrounded by sea, cutting it off from land. Originally it was a promontory rather than an island but the sea has eroded either side of the llan. 
 

In the distance you can see the looming mountains of Snowdonia and the Llyn peninsula. I can see why the Saint chose this site. It is a typical Celtic Christian site. Looking out to sea, there’s just the horizon, nothing in sight. It really feels like it is the edge of the world and a place where heaven and earth collide. It’s wild and must’ve been brutal in winter even on a May day,  the fresh breeze comes in off the sea, chilling the body. I am surrounded by the sound of lapping waves of the wind coming off the sea. Oyster catchers call sonorously, piping and trilling. It too is a wild sound and one that has been here for centuries. To live here required dedication, courage and strength of spirit. It is not for the fainthearted.

Yet as I sit facing the vast ocean, the church being locked, there is a weight of peace that I only find in places where God is or has been honoured.

I am so aware of the wildness. This landscape belongs to the sea birds. It is alien to us, cold harsh unyielding.

So I seek to steady myself to pray.

Lord what would you say to me?

I sense Jesus is sitting on the bench next to me asking, ‘Do you like it?’ (The view)

I’m taken aback. Today is grey, cold with a very fresh breeze. The mountains loom as huge grey shadows rising from the sea. The rocks surrounding the llan are black and harsh. The grassy mound is bright green with swathes of blooming thrift, yet this is not a comfortable view. Do I like it?

Yes, for the wildness and remoteness, but no, it is cold and unforgiving lacking the beauty seen in other places.

Jesus continues, ‘I like it. It is a place of contrast, of colour and grey, of sanctuary and danger, of beauty and jaggedness . But above all it is a place where my beloved ones seek me and come aside to be with me. Yes I like it because many draw near to me in this place. They recognise the vastness of the world I created and their smallness in the face of creation. They are challenged to realise there is so much more than the busy, hustle of their current existence and even though many don’t know why they are drawn to this exposed isolated spot, there is a part of them which yearns to find me here. There is an ache in people’s hearts to be loved, to be peaceful, to be at rest and here with the rhythm of the sea and the breeze of fresh wind it wipes away much of what burdens them. They want it. When they stop long enough they hear at last the call in their own hearts, that place that aches for me and has ever since the fall. Here they can begin to contemplate there is something or someone much bigger than them. The vastness of the edge of the world calls to that inner longing to connect with me.

Pray for them. Pray for those who come here and don’t even realise what they are searching for. Pray that they will seek me and find me as they seek me with all their hearts honestly and openly.

Other thougjts

Shaped like an ark

Surrounded by ugly farms and man’s detritus

Prayed for Anglesey for Wales for this generation as God led