Owen Marianydd Owen was born at Llanaelhaearn, Caernarvonshire on 5th January, 1871. His father, also named Owen, was a blacksmith originally from Dwygyfylchi, near Conwy; while his mother Anne was from Clynnog, not far from Llanaelhaearn. Owen was brought up by godly parents and was baptised by the illustrious Silas Morris of Bangor (1862-1923), Principal of the Baptist College in Bangor. He then spent eight years away from home working in a drapery business on Market Square in Llanrwst, fulfilling the desire of his parents that he enter the world of commerce. However, while doing so, he came to realise that he was destined for a life in the Baptist ministry, and so began to study to prepare himself.
Owen first began preaching in 1893 at Ainon Baptist Chapel, Glanwydden, a small village chapel between Llandudno and Colwyn Bay. He would have been twenty-two by that time. A year later, in April 1894 while he was still a student at Walton School, Llangollen, he was ordained as pastor of the churches at Llansilin, Moelfre, and Efail-rhyd. After two years there, realising his need of further theological training, he entered Spurgeon's College in London where he remained for two years, being taught by the well-known greatly respected son of C.H. Spurgeon, Thomas Spurgeon (1856-1917).
After this, Owen M. Owen became minister at Bethel Chapel, Holywell in 1898, remaining there until June 1901. During that time he ensured the chapel was fully renovated, the congregation making use of the Assembly Hall while the work was being done. It was in the summer of 1901, at the end of his period of office here, that Owen married in Doncaster Ruth Ellen Brooks, B.A., who was a teacher in Holywell and a member of his congregation. At the age of 29, just married, he was then invited to take on the role of minister at Elim Baptist Chapel, Penydarren. They would minister here for five years until 1906, with Ruth playing a leading role in the Sunday School and the Band of Hope
Keswick in Wales
Owen M. Owen was one of a group of ministers at the forefront of which was R.B. Jones, who were involved with others (including Jesse Penn-Lewis) in organising the first Keswick in Wales at Llandrindod in 1903. R.B. Jones wrote to Owen about a meeting he had had with F.B. Meyer during this planning process:
'Yesterday I spent a few hours in the company of our brother ... We began to discuss problems of our work as ministers and learned from each other that brothers known to us were equally disturbed. We both feel that some special outworking of the Holy Spirit accounts for the fact that so many of us independently of one another have come to speak more spiritually about our work and thirst for a life of closer communion with God. We are suggesting some kind of Keswick. O! do we not need to be filled with he Holy Spirit. I believe there is a tide now, in the all-wise providence of God, and if we can take it at the flood we shall be carried by it to a great triumph in our work. I pray for you and beseech your prayers for me ...'
It was Owen who was prevailed upon to write to F.B. Meyer formally inviting him to speak at the proposed convention.
Many of those attending the convention at Llandrindod Wells in the summer of 1903 found their lives transformed by it. R. B. Jones' own testimony is typical of the effect it subsequently had on the lives of delegates:
'Oh how sweet it is to pray. And what a wonderful book the Bible has become. Formerly it was a collection of texts; now its every word is fraught with a message for me personally. And is not the greater wonder reviewed, when one thinks, that he was content for so long, to live without it. And how grandly simple it is, Jesus Christ living in me.'
Of F.B. Meyer's impact in particular, Owen wrote of an evening at the Convention when the great preacher visited six of them privately:
'He came to talk with us in our lodgings, and a heavenly dawn broke on the souls of some of us. Heavenly light drove away the black darkness! ... We saw clearly that sanctification was the work of God, and that He begins the work in the will. All we had to do was to be willin g for the Lord to sanctify us. We saw that the willing was also of God. The King won the castle of man-soul that week in the case of some of us ... The particular intent of Dr. Meyer's ministry was to use every evangelical persuasion he knew to bring the will to open the gates so that the King of Glory might come in.'
(quoted from 'Yr Efengylydd' May 1929 by B. P. Jones in 'Voices from the Welsh Revival' p. 15)
Owen, already a convinced and evangelistic tee-totaller, was strongly convicted to give up smoking - a universally common habit at that time. He would go on to be a key figure in the Revival not only in the Merthyr area, but also across Wales; and his church went on to experience full blown revival from the summer of 1904 onwards, well before the full outpouring of the Spirit through the ministry of Evan Roberts at Loughor. Indeed, his church appears to have been experiencing significant signs of awakening ever since the Llandrindod conference. This seems in large part to have been provoked a deep hunger to know more of God as a result of the conference, encouraged by the input of F.B. Meyer on that occasion.
The Rev. F. B. Meyer says that at the close of the Convention at Llandrindod in August, 1903, five or six young ministers came to him and said, “We will spend a whole day once a month until you come again, praying for a revival." The ministers referred to are the Revs. W. S. Jones, Llwynypia; R. B. Jones, Porth; O. M. Owen, Penydarren; R. S. Morris, Cwmavon; Mendus Williams, Pontygwaith and James Nicholas, Tonypandy. By to-day, this prayer circle has been greatly enlarged, and reports of successful revival meetings at their various churches are being daily chronicled.
(letter an un identified Baptist minister to the 'Rhondda Leader' 17th December, 1904)
It is perhaps worth briefly saying something about each of the ministers involved with Owen, all Baptists, who are mentioned here as being part of this commitment to pray for revival. But in fact it was Owen himself who served for a few years as secretary for the Llandrindod Convention, and had been the one to write to F.B. Meyer to invite him to speak at it in the first place,
W.S. Jones (1862-1933) of Jerusalem Welsh Baptist, Llwynypia, formerly of Carmarthen, where he was the minister from 1897 until 1903. He had experienced a personal baptism of the Spirit some five years before, and is described by Jesse Penn-Lewis as being a key influence in the period leading up to the Revival.
Dowlais born R.B. Jones (1870-1933) was a Baptist minister in Porth in the Rhondda, and would go on to be the spark initiating the Revival in Rhosllannerchrugog in North Wales just a few days after the outbreak in Loughor under Evan Roberts. He subsequently established a Bible School in Porth.
Robert Seiriol Morris (1868-1933) was the minister at Penuel Welsh Baptist in Cwmavon where he remained for 31 years from, 1895 - 1927, before moving to Nebo Chapel in Ystrad, Rhondda, serving there until 1932.
Thomas Mendus Williams (1874-1967) was minister at Calfaria Welsh Baptist in Wattstown, Rhondda, but left to join the Anglicans in April 1904 due to a perceived lack of reverence in his own denomination. He went on to serve the Church of England in Mitcheldean and Ross-on-Wye.
James Nicholas (1877-1963) of Moriah Welsh Baptist, Tonypandy in the Rhondda from 1901 to 1916 when he moved to Castle Street Chapel, London, retiring in 1938. Originally from rural Carmarthenshire, he became popular with Rhondda miners for his championing of their battle for better working conditions.
Revival
Owen M. Owen invited his friend and colleague R.B. Jones to come to Penydarren in the summer of 1904 as part of a mission to encourage holiness. This mission visited a number of places in the coalfield area of South Wales. In these meetings, R. B. Jones says there were 'impressive manifestations of the Lord's presence and work'. Owen later wrote a letter to R. B. Jones dated 3rd December 1904 describing what had been happening at Elim, his Baptist church in Penydarren:
My church has experienced a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord for at least five months (ie: since the end of June 1904). Indeed there have been unmistakable signs of awakening in some lives for the last fifteen months. There have been repeated testimonies to a deep thirst for a holier life; many confessing that never in their lives had they such a desire to live for God. About six months ago I convened a special Sunday evening service for young people who desired to possess a deeper spiritual life. The Holy Spirit came down and took possession of that meeting and overwhelmed us all with power from on high. On another usual Sunday evening service the Spirit descended in the same remarkable manner; I could hardly speak, so manifest was the presence of God. There was such power in the words I spoke that strong men were broken in pieces. That night several young men gave themselves to the Lord. The same experience was repeated on several Sunday evenings, but, as yet, the church as a whole was not ready. Then came the missionary prayer week, a week whose every night was spent in praise and prayer. Following this came the week of thanksgiving for the harvest. The Sunday preceding these special weeks, at my invitation, those who were ready to yield entirely to the Lord and to go out seeking the lost, were met together. They were but a few, but they were used for the kindling for the fire. Ever since, souls have been saved every day. The church had entered upon the blessing of Pentecost. There is, of course, no doubt that the whole movement has a vital connexion with my own awakening. Now I have a new church with a large number of men and women filled with the Holy Spirit, and who are used to win souls.’
'Seren Cymru' included the following report in the issue published on 23rd December, 1904:
ELIM, PENYDARREN.
Minister, Rev. O. M. Owen.
The above church like its sister church Hebron, Dowlais, has experienced a period of spiritual revival which had been going on for some weeks before the Revival broke out in Glamorgan. There had been heavy drops from time to time from the end of the summer onwards, and to those who understood the signs of the times these frequent droplets were undoubted prophetic signs that a much greater blessing was coming. In response to the request of the Missionary Society, and with the agreement of the whole church, a week of meetings was held in September to praise God for his blessings on the mission fields, and to pray for the future success of Mission. When praying for these things, a cloud of blessing broke over the church, and some people were saved every night that week. The following week was spent giving thanks for the harvest, and the Lord continued to add daily to the church of “those who were being saved.”
Since then, the church has spent eleven weeks in prayer. Despite feeling great power, and seeing the mysterious actions of God, the minister insisted that Pentecost had not yet arrived, and said one Monday night about a month ago that the Lord had brought the church to the very edge of the border beyond which was Pentecost, and yet the church had refused to cross it, and went back again and again. He urged the church to take the crucial step and cross together that evening to the land of promise. We can easily attest that happening, and by the following Sunday evening eighty one had been converted that week. Up to now, about a hundred and forty-one have been admitted to the church.
In addition to the evening prayer meeting, there was a series of multiple meetings at 10 in the morning for night-shift workers, and all who could come. The sisters’ prayer meeting was also held every afternoon at 2.30. These are wonderful meetings, and in them there is an unrivalled feeling of earnestness, originality and positivity. But the meeting that remains in the memory of all who attended it was the at the end of the gathering that Saturday night when they went out at eleven o'clock to bring in the drunkards and the drinkers. About ten came to receive Christ after midnight. Participation in the meetings is by all parties. Husbands and wives, sons and daughters, the youngest of the youngest members of the church. Those who have been silent throughout their Christian life in years gone by are heard praising God. In this Revival it can be said that 'the last are foremost'. No one is asked to take part in the service, but the greatest willingness to do so is to be found, especially when the meeting has reached its full heat. There is also the greatest variety of expression: prayers, verses, testimonies, solos, and hymns of all kinds, in both English and Welsh, as the Spirit inspires. We saw some amazing things one week. Men have responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Young men voluntarily go through all the taverns to share tracts, and to motivate men to come to the prayer meeting. Some people over the age of eighty have surrendered and accepted Christ. The most numerous of the group of converts are men over the age of thirty. At one of the sisters' meetings in the afternoon, one sister prayed for her father, who was about seventy years old, and he came to the meeting that evening (the first time we had ever seen him in a prayer meeting), and he was saved. We also saw a man who is a pure Englishman, who knows no Welsh, and has been very vain, completely overwhelmed by the power of one of the meetings.
Perhaps the greatest blessing is what the Revival has done to church life. Tens of the old members have been made new members. Some can certainly be said to be "filled with the Holy Ghost." There are two great areas of potential that have been dormant for years and almost useless to the church, but now of are involved, and of true service, namely, the sisters, and the young people. It was never know before that a single sister ever took part in a prayer meeting in Elim, but now a large force is praying. And even though the Lord has added many converts to us, we believe that we may yet see things greater than these. "God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we give you praise."
Another news report contained the following:
Mr. O. Owen, the pastor of Elim Chapel, has, it is said, been under some wonderful religious influences lately, and in some of the open-air services his demeanour suggested that he had been affected n precisely the same manner as Mr. Evan Roberts.
Rhymney
In fact it is clear that at the same time that Evan Roberts was speaking to the people of Loughor and Gorseinon early in November 1904, and R.B. Jones was doing the same at Rhosllannerchrugog, encouraging people to declare for Christ and receive the Spirit, Owen M. Owen was doing the same in Rhymney. R.B. Jones and Owen exchanged letters at that time sharing news of what was happening. Owen wrote later:
I was conducting a week's mission in the Rhymney Valley that same week, and we exchanged letters twice that week, for we were privileged to see some of the wonderful work of God. The heavens were rent and the mountains began to flow down at his presence. Verily, Pentecost was with us, and that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel was again fulfilled.
(R.B. Jones: Gospel Ministry in Turbulent Times - Noel Gibbard p. 40)
What had already been happening in Penydarren for some months was already being spread elsewhere by Owen M. Owen. A news report of the Rhymney Valley meetings appeared in the same edition of the 'Evening Express' that covered the meetings of Evan Roberts at Trecynon, near Aberdare - the first place he visited away from Loughor and Gorseinon at the very beginning of the outpouring that his ministry there had provoked. The report is but a sketchy one, but it is clear that something significant was happening:
INCIDENTS IN THE RHYMNEY VALLEY
At Cwmsyfiog, near New Tredegar, revival services have been held and are being continued this week at Bethania Chapel conducted by the Rev. W. S. Jones, Llwynypia, and the Rev. O. M. Owen, Penydarren. Services are held at ten o'clock each morning for the convenience of night workmen. A young man, well known in the district, who of late discarded religion, attended one of the meetings, and during prayer was seen to be rather uneasy in his seat, and several times attempted to rise, and he eventnally declared himself for Christ. In the afternoon meetings for women are held, and the meetings in the night are continued up till ten and eleven o'clock.
During an open-air meeting which took place ontside a hotel a great rush was made from inside the public house. No fewer than 40 up to the present have professed conversion.
This account probably describes the first flowering of the Revival in what was then Monmouthshire.
In October 1904 Owen M. Owen was speaking at a week of anniversary meetings at Heol-y-Felin Welsh Baptist Chapel in Aberdare, where his friend W. Cynog Williams was the minister. These two friends, both of them having been greatly affected at Llandrindod, had met each other over the Christmas period in 1903 and had encouraged each other regarding the work of the Spirit. Heol-y-felin had subsequently experienced much blessing. In September 1904 a series of prayer meetings had been powerful here and had had to be moved from the vestry into the main chapel. In the anniversary meetings in October 1904 as many as 50 were converted; and when Evan Roberts arrived in Trecynon to speak at Bryn Seion, the Spirit was already working in Heol-y-Felin, a very short distance away.
Evan Roberts at Elim
Evan Roberts visited Merthyr and district for ten days from 22nd January 1905. The morning and afternoon of Wednesday 25th January after Evan Roberts had spoken at the second of two meetings at Peter Price's Bethania Chapel Dowlais, Evan Roberts was at Owen M. Owen's Elim, Penydarren. The meetings were very successful, and the afternoon meeting was reported in the 'Evening Express' on the following day:
Mr. Evan Roberts in his opening remarks declared that it was clear from their faces that there were people present who had not received the Saviour, and they needed Him. There was anxiety depicted on the countenances of some, while others had evidently experienced the breeze from Calvary. There I was an outburst of simultaneous prayer, and suddenly Mr. Evan Roberts said: I cannot let the meeting go on any further without testing it. All who are members of Christian Churches will now rise." A large throng rose, and while some sat, others prayed, and one young man in the gallery, going to someone in the body of the chapel, called him by an endearing name, and said, "Come now, Rees bach; now is your time," and, turning to prayer, he said the Lord knew that that friend had said he would not come, but he must. The person referred to was not seen to rise, but a man in the gallery shouted that it was hard, but after praying for himself he rose, amid songs of "Diolch iddo." The scene became more and more exciting as one after another rose. It was said that a young woman could not see her way clear because she did not feel the influence. Mr. Evan Roberts: Do you believe? You must believe - the feeling will come." Another voice: She thinks she is too great a sinner." Mr. Roberts: "Y penaf" ("the chief of sinners") was saved. Others rose, one by one, amid prayers, exhortations in Welsh and English, and hymns of praise. Resuming, Mr. Roberts said the Heaven of the Christian would be in proportion to the work done here for Christ's Kingdom. He graphically described the conduct of those who thought they were going to Heaven and travelled in the opposite direction - they would be over the precipice before they knew it! Was there no one else who would accept the light? A Voice from the gallery; Everybody here has come." Other Voices: "There are three left here." Mr. Roberts: Won't they come now, that the Holy Trinity may abide with them? God had been very good to them in this meeting. Would they sing once more, "Duw mawl y rhyfeddodau maith"? The request was instantly complied with, the congregation rising to respond, and singing with much spirit. The service throughout was a remarkable one, and yet totally different from the Dowlais meeting of the previous night. When Mr. Roberts had put on his overcoat shortly after four p.m., it was thought the service was drawing to a close, but there seemed to be no disposition on the part of anyone to go, and, further prayers being offered, the evangelist rose once more and dwelt pathetically upon the picture of the Saviour's love and sacrifice, and it was after five when the service terminated.
Defending Evan Roberts
Several Days later, on 31st January, the infamous letter written by Bethania's minister Peter Price was published by the 'Western Mail'. It was strongly critical of Evan Roberts, and claimed that there were two revivals going on concurrently: one the real Biblical move of the Holy Spirit; and the other, a sham revival led by Evan Roberts which was characterised by emotionalism, chicanery and manipulation. The letter provoked a storm of protest in the weeks that followed, though there was a small minority who supported Price's view.
Having experienced meetings conducted by Evan Roberts the day after he had been at Bethania, Owen M. Owen was quick to lead to the former coal miner's defence in a lengthy letter published in the 'Evening Express' on 4th February. He described Peter Price's letter as 'a needless and bitter attack', saying he had 'committed the grossest indiscretion' that he had 'ever known a man in his position to commit.' He went on to make his own strongly-worded, yet wise and well-balanced view of the Revival:
The theory of the two revivals is the product of Mr. Price's imagination. The present awakening is without a doubt a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. I may state that my own Church had experienced a great awakening: we had held nightly prayer meetings for two months before Mr. Evan Roberts commenced his work, and had an ever-increasing roll of converts. When the reports of Mr. Roberts's meetings appeared in the daily press it stimu- lated our people to much greater activity. end in seven days added 81 to our number of converts. The movement which Mr. Price calls the "sham revival" proved a great blessing to us, and inspired many a weary worker with intense enthusiasm for the salvation of souls. It is really wonderful that a sham revival should prove such an inspiration to others. Let us wish God-speed to this sham revival, since such results accrue from it. We venture to assert that Mr. Price's theory of the two revivals is untrue. Is it not true that the awakening in Mr. Price's Church, as well as all the Dowlais Churches, except Hebron, has had its origin indirectly through the Evan Robert movement? Were it not for that movement, humanly speaking, the Bethania. Church would not have had a revival, excepting, perhaps, the little flutter that generally attends the settlement of a new pastor. ...
... I unhesitatingly assert that there is but one revival, and it is real, Divine, intense in its nature, and has taken the form God meant it to take. But when we say that it is Divine in its source we do not forget that it flows through human channels. Every great religious movement has both its Divine and human side. The human side of the present revival is open to criticism, and might derive much good from criticism, if it were wise and kind. The meetings of Mr. Roberts naturally differ in many ways from our ordinary night after night revival meetings. The composite character of his audiences naturally accounts for this. Things happen in Mr. Roberts's meetings which I personally could not approve of, nor is Mr. Roberts responsible for them. I have felt that Mr. Roberts has in some of his meetings shown a want of tact, and with some of his methods I do not agree; but I am absolutely convinced that he is a spiritual man or a Spirit-filled man, and I feel that any work is perfectly safe in the hands of such a man. The one indispensable qualification for the work to which Mr. Roberts is called is spirituality, for the absence of which philosophy honours is not an equivalent. I am persuaded that Mr. Roberts has learnt far more of the meaning of Christianity than his critic.
Owen ended his comments with the following sentences:
I have no doubt that the article written by Mr. Price was honestly meant to serve the interests of the religion of Jesus, but little did he think that in reality he was lending a hand and his influence to further the interests of the kingdom of darkness, for such has been the case, and the mischief, unfortunately, can never be undone. Extremely painful instances of mischief wrought by that article have come under my observation already. "God's in His heaven." All is right with the revival.
During the Revival period right through to the time when he moved away from Penydarren, Owen served as a speaker at many of the conventions for the deepening of the spiritual life that were held across Wales. He was a key part of the team that was drawn on for these, which included R.B. Jones, W.S. Jones, W.W. Lewis, and E. Keri Evans - all of whom played key roles in the Revival. In fact it was Owen who did much of the secretarial work of organising these conventions in Wales. He also was a frequent lecturer at R.B. Jones's Bible School at Porth, and served as treasurer once R.B. Jones launched the magazine 'Yr Efengylydd' (The Evangelist) in 1908.
Healing
There was one particularly striking incident during the Revival itself involving the dramatic healing of an invalid young woman who was a part of Elim, Penydarren, in which Owen M. Owen was instrumental. The young woman was Annie Griffiths, the daughter of Thomas and Annie Griffiths. Her father was a steel smelter in the Penydarren work. Originally from Pembrokeshire where Annie had been born in Narberth in 1883, where her mother originated. her father had been born in Llangolman in the Preselis. The family had moved to the Merthyr district shortly after young Annie had been born.
Here is how 24 year old Annie Griffiths' healing was reported in the Evening Express on 20th September 1905:
Faith and Prayer.
A REMARKABLE CURE AT MERTHYR.
An unusual occurrence has taken place at Penydarren, near Merthyr. A young lady, 24 years of age, named Annie Griffiths, living with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Griffiths, at 74, Brynhyfryd Street, who had been laid up with an affection of the hip for some weeks, and who it was thought would not recover the use of her limbs without the aid of crutches, got up completely cured as the result, it is claimed, of faith-healing. Two ministers, the Revs. Mr. Owen, of Elim Baptist Chapel, and Mr. Francis, Aberdu, Cardiganshire, prayed earnestly for her recovery on the Saturday evening, and shortly afterwards she got up, dressed herself without assistance, and came downstairs. The following day she took part in all the chapel services, and is evidently completely cured, for she can walk about the neighbourhood, to the astonishment of the residents, without assistance, and looks in better health than ever. She is a young lady of a religious turn of mind, and regards her recovery as having been brought about by the interference of the Divine Will, and says it was due entirely to her undoubted faith, which was strengthened owing to the reading in a pamphlet of a similar recovery. Miss Griffiths, although deeply interested in the revival, did not take an unusually prominent part, but in the course of the year her interest in religious matters had become more intense, and her pastor had been much distressed at the fact that she was so very ill.
MISS GRIFFITHS' STORY
Miss Griffiths, in an interview, said she had come to the conclusion that God would allow her to recover. Mr. Owen had given her a little pamphlet on faith-healing, which turned her thoughts in that direction, and she did not see why she could not be cured like other people. It is to God's work I owe my recovery, and not to what the ministers or I did." Mrs. Griffiths said she tried to induce her daughter to stay in bed until Sunday morning. but she came down fully dressed, and at ten o'clock next morning went to a prayer meeting at Elim Chapel. A next door neighbour, named Mrs. George, said she was simply astounded when her husband told her that Miss Griffiths had gone to chapel. Another neighbour, named Mrs. Rosser, said she asked the doctor when he called on Friday last to see Miss Griffiths whether he thought she would be able to walk again, and he remarked, "Yes, on crutches."
William Thomas (W.T.) Francis, who was born in Morriston, Swansea in 1869, was the young minister at Aberduar Welsh Baptist Chapel in Llanybydder, where he served from 1902 until he moved to Aberaman in 1909, where he took on the pastorate at Gwawr Chapel, moving to Calfaria, Llanelli four years later.
A further report that appeared in the 'Aberystwyth Observer' on 28th September 1905 included comments made by the doctor who had been attending the young woman:
A case of faith-healing is reported as having occurred at Penydarren, Merthyr, Miss Annie Griffiths, aged 24, having, it is said, a wonderful recovery from illness which threatened to make her a permanent invalid. Dr. Morrison, Merthyr, on Wednesday said he had diagnosed the case as one of tubercular hip joint disease. His diagnosis was confirmed by Dr. Cresswell. He saw Miss Griffiths on Friday. On Monday he was astonished when she walked into his surgery without a trace of limp. "I am cured now," said Miss Griffiths, in reply to the doctor's question. You have been very kind to me, and done all you could for me, but, of course, you are only an earthly physician, and I took my case before the heavenly Physician, and here I am, well." Dr. Morrison added: "There is no humbug about it. She walked into the surgery apparently well. It was possible," he said, for persons labouring under strong emotions to appear to temporarily overcome bodily illness."
In this case, the healing seems to have been lasting, however.
As a result of these news reports of the Revival at Elim, Penydarren, it was not long before Welsh churches across Britain began to attempt to secure the services of Owen M. Owen.
On 22nd March, 1906, 'Y Cymro' included the following paragraphs:
He was drawn to Pendarren, near Merthyr, in the year 1901, where he laboured with extraordinary zeal until now. No one in the circle of our knowledge has dedicated himself any more to his Lord than this beloved brother, and his Master has honoured him far beyond the common good.
Mr. Owen belonged to that spirited society known by the name of Keswick, and among the few selectmen he has called to his stage. No one present will forget the powerful speech he delivered last summer. There are frequent calls for him from England and Ireland and Wales for the Conventions to sustain the deepening of spiritual life. He is but a young man in the flower of his days, and his prospects are as bright as promises to God.
At his farewell meeting at Elim, held on 5th March, 1906, many ministers from Glamorgan spoke very highly of Owen M. Owen. The following from W. Cynog Williams, the minister of Heolfelin Baptist Chapel, Trecynon near Aberdare from 1903 to 1941, was typical and insightful:
'When I first met him at a preaching meeting in Pontlottyn, I felt he had something I didn't have. The encounter marked the beginning of a new life for me. We have met many times since then. I owe him a lot of the light I have had on religious themes. He has entered a new era in the Baptist pulpit. The purpose of his preaching was not to humiliate people but to deepen their spiritual life. People ask for bread and get bread, they don’t ask for fish and get a serpent from Mr Owen. One of his greatest hallmarks is his complete dedication to work. He throws himself wholeheartedly into the work of which he is engaged.’
('Seren Cymru' 30th March, 1906)
In his five years at Elim, Owen M. Owen baptised 200 converts and saw 61 backsliders restored, more than doubling the size of the church. Soon after the Revival, he accepted the call to become minister of Windsor Street Baptist Church in Wavertree, Liverpool. While here, he and his wife Ruth and their four children, Briallen, Dorothy, Cecil and Margaret, lived at 17 Heathfield Road, Wavertree. Owen served here for seven years, until just before the Great War.
While in Liverpool he served as secretary of the Denbigh, Flint and Merioneth Baptist Association, as well as continuing to pursue a commitment to supporting both work among young people and missionary work overseas.
By 1913, Owen M. Owen's reputation confirmed across Merseyside, he moved across the the river to Birkenhead to serve at Grange Road, a large and influential English Baptist church housed in as grand a building as ever Owen served in, sadly now demolished and replaced.
He was minister here from 1913 until 1921, when he moved back to Wales as minister of Duckpool Road Chapel in Newport which he served for seven years until 1928. It was in his time there that the current large red brick chapel building was erected.
Owen M. Owen moved back to England in 1928, to South Street Chapel, Exeter (1928-36) until retirement in 1936. It was in Exeter that his wife Ruth died early in 1935, aged 64. A year later he married Edith Clara Carter, a widow, and they moved to the north of England following his retirement. But his work was not yet done, for he assisted the church at Southfield Road, Middlesbrough during a pastoral vacancy; and at the same time was minister-in-charge at Geneva Road, Darlington in 1936-37.
Late in 1951 Owen went to live with a daughter at Beckenham in Kent following the death of Edith that year at the age of 80. He died in Beckenham on 24th November, 1952 at the age of 81, leaving a son and two daughters, all four of his children having been born to his first wife in the period before the Great War. I have not yet been able to discover where he was buried. His obituary in the Baptist Yearbook spoke of his gracious personality, glimpses of which can hopefully have been seen in this tribute to him.
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