Prayers for mine accident victims

People look at floral tributes on a small road junction close to Gleision Colliery in the Swansea Valley after four miners lost their lives
12 April 2012

Prayers have been said in churches across Wales in memory of the four men killed in a mining accident.

Friends and family of those that died came together in churches across the Swansea Valley, South Wales, to seek spiritual comfort.

The nation's rugby team dedicated its World Cup win in New Zealand to the families of the four men and the Prince of Wales has agreed to become Patron of a appeal fund set up in their memory.

People lit candles, wrote condolences and sat in quiet reflection to remember Phillip Hill, 45, Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50, and Garry Jenkins, 39.

Worshippers gathered at St John the Evangelist in Cilybebyll - the church closest to where Thursday's disaster at the Gleision Colliery happened. In a sermon, the Rev Martyn Perry called on people to put their trust in God - even when times are hard.

"It is easy for us to trust in God when things are going well and life is easy and you can see the pattern," he said.

"Against that kind of background it is easy to trust but there are of course other times like this when we can't see a purpose, when we can't see a pattern and things are difficult and distressing. It is against this background that we wonder about our ability to trust God, even when we don't really understand what God is doing."

At St David's Church in Resolven, people came together to remember the miners - especially Mr Hill, who lived nearby.

Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton dedicated the side's 17-10 World Cup win over Samoa to the four men's families. "We said if we lose the chances are we're probably going home so there was a lot of pressure on the boys and I would like to dedicate the win to the families of the miners back home," he said.

And Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers spoke of losing his own father Malachy last weekend to cancer as well as the tragedy at the Gleision Colliery.

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