{"id":3905,"date":"2026-10-20T19:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/?p=3905"},"modified":"2026-10-20T19:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:00:44","slug":"aberfan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/?p=3905","title":{"rendered":"Aberfan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coco had no idea in 1966 that not many years later Merthyr, living up to its name, would become another place of pilgrimage. We contrast the words of two men in their response to a modern tower of Siloam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The school has gone!<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"373\" height=\"680\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/ws\/av-embeds\/articles\/c6n8d4d1n5z3o\/p0phj4vq\/en-GB\/\" title=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c6n8d4d1n5z3o\"><\/iframe><hr><div style=\"text-align:center;width:373px;\">BBC article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c6n8d4d1n5z3o\" target=\"_new\">&#8216;The school has gone&#8217;: The cries heard by man who called 999 as Aberfan disaster unfolded<\/a><br>Dave Evans: &#8220;Those two words spoke volumes that day&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Aberfan and Faith<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\".\/dmp\/AllThingsConsidered-20261018-AberfanAndFaith.mp3\" id=\"audio3905\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At <a href=\"javascript:(function(){ const audio = document.getElementById('audio3905'); audio.currentTime = 1354; audio.play(); })()\">22:56<\/a>\n we hear about twenty seconds of Cardiff boy Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaking words which, whilst strongly contrasting with those of the head teacher&#8217;s son, contain the same compassion for those who endured the suffering and those who did not survive it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/brand\/b0079fx0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">All Things Considered<\/a><br>Radio Wales,<strong>\u00b7<\/strong>18 Oct 2026,<strong>\u00b7<\/strong>29 mins<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan Disaster approaches, Jonathan Thomas hears powerful first-hand memories from two people whose lives were shaped by that tragic day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retired Methodist minister <strong>Rev Irving Penberthy<\/strong> recalls ministering to families in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, while <strong>Gareth Davies<\/strong>, who was just five years old and a pupil at Pantglas School, reflects on his experiences as a survivor. Together they explore how faith, community and resilience helped Aberfan endure its darkest days, and what those memories mean six decades on. Featuring reflections inspired by the exhibition Aberfan 60: The Days After, this programme offers a moving and thoughtful look at suffering and faith.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those two words indeed speak volumes. We may speak them with respect; we may speak them with love; we shall all confess them in awe when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Philippians%202:10-11&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">at the name of Jesus every knee [shall] bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and <em>that<\/em> every tongue [shall] confess that Jesus Christ <em>is<\/em> Lord, to the glory of God the Father<\/a>, but let us not take them<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Deuteronomy%205%3A11&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> in vain<\/a> for there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Acts%204:12&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for Siloam, the Lord taught us with compassion how we should respond: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were present at that season some who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, \u201cDo you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all <em>other<\/em> Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all <em>other<\/em> men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke%2013:1-5&amp;version=NKJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke 13:1-5<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coco had no idea in 1966 that not many years later Merthyr, living up to its name, would become another place of pilgrimage. We contrast the words of two men in their response to a modern tower of Siloam. The school has gone! BBC article &#8216;The school has gone&#8217;: The cries heard by man who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3911,"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions\/3911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.purechocolate.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}