It is good to meet here and hold a Welsh service. Conwy is not now known for its use of the Welsh language, although around 20% of the local area are Welsh speakers. Our church schools take Welsh seriously, one is Welsh-medium and the other working towards that. This holy place is the burial place of Welsh princes, even though it is surrounded by a castle built by an English king. I walk through the doors of the tower of that is older than the castle and town walls with a sense of awe. This has been a place of prayer for generation upon generation. You are most welcome here.

Mae’n braf cyfarfod yma a chynnal gwasanaeth Cymraeg. Nid ydy Conwy bellach yn adnabyddus am ei defnydd o’r iaith Gymraeg, er bod tua 20% o’r ardal leol yn siaradwyr Cymraeg. Mae ein hysgolion eglwysig yn cymryd y Gymraeg o ddifrif, mae un yn gyfrwng y Gymraeg a’r llall yn gweithio tuag at hynny. Y lle sanctaidd hwn yw man claddu tywysogion Cymru, er ei fod wedi’i amgylchynu gan gastell a adeiladwyd gan frenin o Loegr. Rwy’n cerdded trwy ddrysau tŵr sy’n hŷn na’r castell a muriau’r dref gyda theimlad o ryfeddod. Mae hwn wedi bod yn lle gweddi ers cenhedlaeth ar ôl cenhedlaeth. Croeso cynnes i chi yma.

What was the first ever Welsh word you learnt to say. For many it is ‘how are you?’ or for those who have followed the Wlpan course, as I did, it is ‘I am a parrot. The first word I learnt was ‘hollaluog. When I arrived in Holyhead, I had not a word of Welsh, but lots of curiosity. That is how learn, isn’t it?

Beth oedd y gair Cymraeg cyntaf erioed i chi ddysgu ei ddweud? I rhai, ‘sut wyt ti?’ neu i’r rhai sydd wedi dilyn y cwrs Wlpan, fel fi, ‘parot dw i.’ Y gair cyntaf i mi ei ddysgu oedd ‘hollaluog’. Pan dw i wedi cyraedd i Gaergybi, heb gair o Gymraeg, ond llawer o chwilfrydedd. Dyna sut i ddysgu?

As we know the word disciple means learner. The disciples of Jesus were always learning. In our passage from Acts, they ask Jesus a question. The answer given shows that they need to go on learning. Don’t we all? I needed to learn word other than ‘Hollaluog’ in order to communicate. Believe me, it is not the most useful word outside of church.

Fel y gwyddom, mae’r gair disgybl yn golygu dysgwr. Roedd disgyblion Iesu bob amser yn dysgu. Yn ein darn o Actau, maen nhw’n gofyn cwestiwn i Iesu. Mae’r ateb a roddir yn dangos bod angen iddyn nhw barhau i ddysgu. Onid ydym ni i gyd? Roedd angen i mi ddysgu gair heblaw ‘Hollaluog’ er mwyn cyfathrebu. Credwch fi, nid dyma’r gair mwyaf defnyddiol y tu allan i’r eglwys.

They want to know how long things will take. When will everything be finished? Learners of everything know that that is a question. When will I speak Welsh fluently? When will I write using mutations without panicking? When? When? When?

Maen nhw eisiau gwybod pa mor hir fydd pethau’n ei gymryd. Pryd fydd popeth wedi’i orffen? Mae dysgwyr popeth yn gwybod bod hwnnw’n gwestiwn. Pryd fydda i’n siarad Cymraeg yn rhugl? Pryd fydda i’n ysgrifennu gan ddefnyddio treigladau heb banicio? Pryd? Pryd? Pryd?

Jesus told his disciples they had to wait and be patient. Waiting is something I find difficult. They were to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. That is a story for another day, except to say one thing. The disciples would go places and do things that were beyond their imagination.

I might say that learning the language of heaven, which for now we will say is Welsh, has taken me to new places and made me do things that I might never have imagined. I have laughed at my mistakes. A particular delight was the time I spoke to the children of Ysgol Thomas Ellis in Holyhead and attempted to lead the service in Welsh without a script and say that Jesus flew into Jerusalem on the donkey. The children laughed, so did the staff.

Dywedodd Iesu wrth ei ddisgyblion fod yn rhaid iddyn nhw aros a bod yn amyneddgar. Mae aros yn rhywbeth sy’n anodd i mi. Roedden nhw i aros am yr Ysbryd Glân addawedig. Dyna stori ar gyfer diwrnod arall, ac eithrio dweud un peth. Byddai’r disgyblion yn mynd i leoedd ac yn gwneud pethau oedd y tu hwnt i’w dychymyg.

Efallai y byddwn i’n dweud bod dysgu iaith y nefoedd, sef y Gymraeg am y tro, wedi fy nghymryd i leoedd newydd ac wedi gwneud i mi wneud pethau na fyddwn i efallai byth wedi’u dychmygu. Rwyf wedi chwerthin am fy nghamgymeriadau. Pleser arbennig oedd yr amser y siaradais â phlant Ysgol Thomas Ellis yng Nghaergybi a cheisio arwain y gwasanaeth yn y Gymraeg heb sgript a dweud bod Iesu wedi hedfan i Jerwsalem ar yr asyn. Chwarddodd y plant, felly hefyd y staff.

I am sure the disciples also made mistakes. As a disciple of Jesus, I make mistakes today.