Welsh Church

The Welsh Church of Nelson, or the "Old Welsh Church" as it is often called, was built in 1876 by the Welsh immigrants who had settled in the Nelson area in the 19th century. As was the practice at the time, the church was given a name, "Peniel," i.e., "The Face of God." Sunday Services were conducted in Welsh until after WWI, when the latter generation Welsh Americans had lost facility in their mother tongue. It served that community as a Congregational Church with regular Sunday Services, until shortly after World War II. Since that time, it is officially a non-denominational Community Church, with Sunday Evening Services from the first Sunday of June to the second Sunday of September. The Church building itself was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

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The Sunday Services, which are usually conducted by local area ministers on a rotational basis, begin at 7:00 in the evening. The pianist or organist in attendence usually beings with a medley of hymns at about 6:30pm. The last service of the season, on the second Sunday of September, is a special service beginning at 3:00pm. That last service is the Church's "Gymanfa Ganu" in which Welsh church hymns are sung. The last service is also the Church's "Old Home Week" usually attended by many Nelson residents and their decendants who have moved out of the area. 

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All are welcomed to attend the Sunday Evening Services, which are conducted in English, and neither Welsh ancestry nor affiliation with any particular denomination or religion is required to attend.