– in the Senedd at 3:46 pm on 9 November 2022.
Item 5, the 90-second statements. First of all, Mike Hedges.
Thank you very much. Tabernacle Chapel in Morriston. This year marks 150 years since the opening of the independent Tabernacle chapel in Morriston. Those watching Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol on Sunday would have seen the chapel full and would have seen the splendour both inside and out. It was designed by the architect John Humphrey and was built at a cost of £15,000 in 1872, which is equivalent to over £1 million today. It is a big chapel.
I don't know how to say it in Welsh, but it is a building that shows Morriston and is seen as the chapel of Morriston.
Previously, it was the home of the world-famous Morriston Orpheus choir, and it now regularly hosts concerts for the Morriston women's choir, the Morriston rugby club choir and the Tabernacle choir.
It was built to replace Libanus, because that had become too small for the number of regular attendees. The design was copied several times elsewhere in Wales. The pulpit is the focal point, and below it is the sedd fawr, or elders’ pew, for the deacons. The Welsh inscription above the organ reads 'Addolwch yr Arglwydd mewn perffaith sancteiddrwydd', or 'Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness'.
Like any 150-year-old building, it is in need of constant repair. Swansea Council has recently been supporting the building, and has turned the vestry into a space available to the community. Like many chapels in Wales, it has an ageing and declining congregation. However, this is the landmark building in Morriston—psalm 96.
I have previously asked for the Tabernacle to be turned into a museum of religion in Wales. We cannot afford to lose this building.
I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate S4C, which has its headquarters in Carmarthen, on celebrating its fortieth birthday last week. The channel was established on 1 November 1982, and I'm sure that many of us will have fond memories of gathering around the television on that historic evening. I have some very fond memories of the launch.
Over the past few decades, the channel has created iconic programmes and characters that have stayed with generations of viewers: Superted, Sali Mali, C'mon Midffîld!, Cefn Gwlad, Pobol y Cwm, and of course memorable rugby and football matches.
The channel has developed not only to be an important part of the personal lives of so many of us, but its contribution to our journey towards becoming a confident, vibrant and inclusive nation has also been very notable indeed.
Whilst challenges remain, the channel has been remarkably successful in evolving as our viewing habits have changed so much. When S4C was launched, there were just four channels available, but now digital and various different platforms are available, with a choice of hundreds of different channels. But thanks to the innovation of staff and management, the channel has succeeded in reflecting twenty-first century Wales to viewers across the globe, ensuring that the Welsh language belongs to everyone in Wales.
In celebrating the 40 years, we must also recognise those who campaigned so valiantly for its establishment and who sacrificed so much for the benefit of the channel: Gwynfor Evans, the members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, and ordinary people who understood the importance of having a Welsh language channel for the future of the Welsh language. Our debt to them is very great.
So, long live S4C and onwards to the next 40 years. Thank you.
Thank you very much to you both.