All Saints of Wales

Almighty God, who dost call thine elect from every nation,
and dost show forth thy glory in their lives:

grant that, following the example of the Saints of Wales
and strengthened by their fellowship,

we may be fruitful in good works to the glory of thy Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[The Collect for the Saints of Wales from the Church in Wales Prayer Book of 1984]

"Near Devauden, in Gwent, there stands on an isolated hump the tiny church of the Holy Cross at Kilgwrrwg, where the hermit Gwrrwg established his cell........ It is the most tranquil place in the world. A circular churchyard surrounds the building, there is an ancient crooked cross among the trees, a wooden boot-remover stands in the porch, for it can be a muddy clamber up there, and through the roof the ivy creeps. The Church is lit only by candles, from a candelabra in the chancel, and it stands in absolute silence, far from all traffic in a bowl of the low Gwent hills, looking westward to the distant outlines of the Black Mountains, Pen-y-Fal and Holy Skirrid..."

          from The Matter of Wales by Jan Morris (O.U.P. 1984)