A BEAUMARIS clergyman has spoken out in an effort to calm anger about a sermon that has caused controversy in a nearby village.
Reverend Neil Fairlamb, the Rector of the Benefit of Beaumaris, caused outrage in the village of Llanfaes, with a sermon he delivered on Sunday, June 26, at St Mary’s and St Nicholas’ Church to mark Mayor’s Sunday.
After the sermon several residents complained that Reverend Fairlamb had referred to Llanfaes as “Giroville”, however the Reverend said that his comments have been misinterpreted.
He said: “There is ignorance and prejudice about the people in Llanfaes and most of the time Llanfaes gets left out.
“I was told prejudiced things about Llanfaes and I have heard prejudiced things in Llanfaes about Beaumaris.
“Like all prejudices there is sometimes a grain of truth in them but they are not helpful and must be faced.
“I was only reporting the prejudice comments to address them.
“They are not my opinions and I am awfully sorry to have caused any misunderstanding.”
Councillor Ron Parry, who represents Llanfaes, wrote a letter to the Chronicle in which he expressed his distaste at the sermon.
It read: “The weather was perfect, the town band played the civic party into the church with their usual gusto and everything was going extremely well, until from the good reverend came harsh and extraordinarily unfair criticism of the village of Llanfaes.
“To say the residents are outraged is gross understatement and we are extremely saddened that our village has been so vilified, so publicly. Rev Fairlamb- perhaps the name should be Unfairlamb!”
The mayor of Beaumaris, Cllr Clay Theakston, who is also from Llanfaes, had also expressed concern about the sermon.
He said: “I appreciate that he probably did not mean how it came across.
“However, when everyone misinterprets something it is not the people who have misinterpreted it that are at fault, it is the person who said it.”