Evangelical charity Tearfund is being urged to reconsider a decision to axe its final paid employee in Wales and oversee ministry there from London – prompting a former director to accuse it of treating the country like ‘a colony’.
This year, for the first time since 1987, the organisation won’t have a staff member promoting their mission in the nation. It is the fourth and final role to be cut from Tearfund Wales in the last three years.
Former director of Tearfund Wales, Hywel Meredydd Davies (pictured), who worked for the charity for 12 years, said he felt ‘disappointed’.
‘No one expected this or was consulted generally, as far as I can see,’ he commented.
‘[Tearfund] thought they could walk out of Wales quietly – and they now have a damage control issue. I know many have written in and expressed their disappointment and withdrawn their funding. I know of a church who had been giving £1,000 who have said “no more”.’
He added: ‘I call on Tearfund to reconsider their decision – they should treat Wales no differently to Scotland, England or Northern Ireland, and should understand the importance of protecting the use of the Welsh language. They should secure a strategic position for Tearfund Wales in the central administration of Tearfund UK.’
‘Over the years, Tearfund respected us as a nation, but I would say they’ve now acted towards us as a colony – so they can manage us from Teddington, and we would be loyal to them. We are a nation with our own government, we work nationally with charities like Christian Aid and Oxfam, and we’ve also got a distinctively bi-lingual culture – understanding Wales means you have to be here.’
Arfon Jones, who first translated the Bible into modern Welsh, said: ‘The news that there won’t be a Tearfund worker in Wales is disappointing. The late Dr Dewi Arwel Hughes was the first Tearfund worker in Wales back in the 80s, later being appointed as their Theological Adviser, and playing a key role in forging their vision and values.’
‘I’ve been a Tearfund supporter for over 40 years and will continue to support what I consider to be a Christian charity that is firmly rooted in Scripture,’ he added.
Siôn Meredith, who managed Tearfund Wales from 1993-2006, stated: ‘I hope Tearfund will continue to engage with its supporters and volunteers in Wales, and that it will commit to restore a meaningful and strategic staff presence in Wales in the future, so that Welsh Christians may play their full part in Tearfund’s ministry alongside the other nations in the UK.’
In a statement, Tearfund said: ‘Our current financial circumstances mean that we have to make really difficult choices. Tearfund is strategically restructuring some parts of the organisation in order to reduce our spending. This is a result of changing patterns of income and significantly higher operating costs globally, driven by inflation.
‘Regrettably we have had to make a number of staff globally across the organisation redundant, including the one staff member who had a specific remit of working with the church in Wales.
‘Tearfund is so thankful for the generosity of its supporters in Wales. We will carry on supporting Wales developing our Welsh Advisory Committee that is representative of churches in Wales. We have other members of staff and our network of volunteers based in Wales, some of whom are Welsh speaking. We will continue to translate Tearfund literature into Welsh and we are exploring ways in which we can enhance our engagement with supporters in Wales. We also have staff based in Wales with UK-wide or global roles and they will carry on the long tradition of influencing how Tearfund works. We hope to continue our strong relationship with churches and Christians in Wales.’
