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An explosion and fire at a coal mine in Soma, in western Turkey, on May 13, 2014, has become the country's worst industrial disaster. The death toll now stands at 301 after the last two bodies of miners were found. Police put the town of Soma on virtual lockdown after protesters claimed that mine owners ignored safety for profit and that the government had not done its job of enforcing worker safety standards.
And so we pray this news . . . 
"O God, our words cannot express
The pain we feel this day.
Enraged, uncertain, we confess
Our need to bow and pray.
We grieve for all who lost their lives
And for each injured one.
We pray for children, husbands, wives,
Whose grief has just begun.
O Lord, we're called to offer prayer
For all our leaders, too.
May they, amid such great despair,
Be wise in all they do.
We trust your mercy and your grace;
In you we will not fear!
May peace and justice now embrace!
Be with your people here!"
- A hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette in Timeless Prayers for Peace compiled by Geoffrey Duncan