Faith in Action: Welsh Churches Campaign for Peace, 1925-2025
The season of peace and goodwill, Christmas is traditionally a time when minds turn to praying for an end to conflicts world wide, and seeking ways to offer practical support to those suffering in the wake of war; 106 years after the world collectively uttered ‘never again’ with the WW1 armistice of 1918, in 2024 Christmas still witnesses tragedy in Palestine and Israel, Ukraine, and many other lower profile conflicts not of the making of those caught up in them. As we are all called towards ‘New Year’s Resolutions’, the need to put faith into action is never stronger.
In a world now dominated by 24-hour news, we can draw inspiration from stories of peace makers past – and as we enter the New Year of 2025, WCIA alongside partners Wales-wide will be marking the centenary of a campaign that sought to quite literally put faith into action, by bringing together in 1925 the Churches of Wales in what is thought to have been the first ecumenical (interfaith) campaign of the 20th century – the Welsh Churches Peace Appeal to America.
What was the 1925 Churches Peace Appeal?
Inspired by the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition of the previous year, 1923-24, the 1925 Churches campaign was the brainchild of Welsh League of Nations Union Director, the Rev Gwilym Davies, along with Prof Charles Webster of Aberystwyth University. Seeking to persuade the then-isolationist USA to join the League of Nations (predecessor to today’s UN), they identified an opportunity to influence the churches of America , through an appeal to their Federal Council meeting in Detroit over December 1925. With just 2-3 months to organise, a community campaign on the scale of the 1923-24 women’s peace appeal was not feasible – so they approached church leaders of each denomination then widespread in Wales, to sign a shared interfaith decalaration.
What’s the Plan for 2025?
Over recent months, WCIA have been working with Cytun (Churches Together in Wales), Academi Heddwch and others to develop plans to celebrate and explore the centenary of the Churches Peace Appeal – and importantly, to explore issues of peace today among communities Wales-wide. Looking forward this will include:
- An event on 26th January 2025, the 70th Anniversary of Gwilym Davies’ passing, in his home town of Caerphilly, in partnership with Gelligaer and Merthyr Historical Societies, Cytun and local churches.
- World Interfaith Harmony Week over the 1st week of February will be marked by WCIA with an online launch, and a discussion at Wales’ Temple of Peace’ (including a lunchtime ‘Temple Tour’) on 5th February.
- A touring ‘popup exhibition‘ will be developed over Spring 2025 and made available from April onwards for displays and events through local churches and community groups.
- Learning resources for schools will be developed, to be available for the 2025-26 school year.
- 17-19 June 2025, St David’s will host the annual gathering of the Cathedral Archives, Libraries and Collections Association of the UK and Ireland, which will include an exhibition and events on the 1925 Peace Appeal.
- 26 September – 2 October 2025, St David’s Cathedral will stage a public exhibition commemorating the 1925 Churches Peace Appeal, the centenary of an Orthodox Patriarchs pilgrimage to St David’s (pictured below), and the 1700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed (the defining statement fo Christianity agreed in 325AD).
- During October, Libraries Week across Wales will provide an opportunity for faith libraries to hold events marking the Churches Peace Petition.
- 10 December 2025, the centenary of the Churches Peace Petition’s presentation in Detroit, USA will be marked by an event TBC.
