There are only around 600,000 of us. We’re squeezed into a small strip of land on the fringes of Western Europe. In the 1960s we faced a real struggle for survival though there has been a modest improvement since then. We generally lack self confidence and often feel we have to prove ourselves better than our nearest neighbour. But the amount of talent we have seems to be astounding. I’m talking about Welsh speakers and in a concert held last night to raise funds for the Pakistan flood appeal I was reminded how much talent there really is here.

Most of those taking part lived within 30 minutes of the venue and yet among them were young people who will shortly leave to study music at university level and fully expect to become professional performers in the future. They have already sustained a competitive lifestyle in their fields over the past ten years as they have engaged with the eisteddfod culture here in Wales and this dedication has fine tuned their talents to an astonishing standard.

An important aspect of this culture is nominal Christianity. Many of the songs sung last night had religious themes or were actual hymns and one young lad recited the story of Zacchaeus from Luke’s gospel. The concert venue was a fine example of a Victorian chapel and to end the evening we all sang a verse from a well known Welsh hymn. The level of Christian references may have diminished over the years but it is still there – even among the younger generation. And this makes being church here doubly hard, for the stronger the hold of nominal faith the harder it is to see a spiritual breakthrough.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the language and customs of nominal Christianity immunise people from real faith. They would claim to be Christian even though following Jesus’ radical lifestyle does not feature on their radar. As they sing the hymns and spiritual songs in the cultural events they come to know the language of faith without that faith ever making an impact upon their lives.