The Miners Who Could Not Stop Singing

In 1904, a twenty-six-year-old Welsh coal miner named Evan Roberts stood before a small congregation in Loughor and spoke with trembling conviction about the saving power of God. Within weeks, something extraordinary swept through the valleys of South Wales. Coal miners — men who descended daily into darkness, their faces blackened with dust — began singing hymns underground. The sound of praise echoed through the tunnels of the Rhondda Valley before the morning shifts even began.…