It was also felt that it would be appropriate to hold a service on the Sunday afternoon nearest to the 1st March. Due to the kindness of local churches, this has been held in a variety of buildings, such as the old Market Rd Baptist Church, Baddow Road Congregational Church, and in the previous London Rd Congregational Church where a service is recorded on the 28th February 1965. This building stood where the Alders Store now stands. It is interesting to note that the �new� Christ Church where the annual Choir Concert is held was born out of London Rd Congregational Church and Baddow Rd Congregational Church. The present day service is held in the delightful little United Reformed Church in Little Baddow, which has itself a tremendous history associated with the Rev Thomas Hooker.
The Welsh Society has developed a very special relationship with this little church beginning in the early 1960�s. It happened that two members of the church belonged to the Welsh Society and, one summer weekend, had a marquee in their garden in Little Baddow for their daughter�s wedding. They invited Society members to a Sunday morning service in their little church followed by lunch in the marquee. This became a wonderful annual habit (not the wedding or the marquee of course!) but morning service and afterwards coffee in the Manse garden. It never rains when the Welsh Society joins in morning worship with Little Baddow URC Church in the month of June! It is thoroughly enjoyed by all and we owe a great debt of gratitude to the minister and elders of the church for allowing this to continue.
It has always been the will of the Welsh Society to preserve and promote the Welsh language. A number of members are Welsh speaking, mostly because they spoke Welsh at home. However, the rest of us are and feel just as Welsh and many can pronounce the language but they did not have the good fortune, so to speak, to be brought up in Welsh! Anyway no distinction is made. Welsh classes have been tried, even in Kings Rd School in the 1960�s and more recently, some informal classes were held and some progress was made! It is a very difficult language to learn!
On some occasions a Society Choir has been tried but really with little success. |
