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THE darkness of the quaint church was pierced by 74 flickering candles, each dedicated to a miner whose life was lost in the pitch black of the local pit.
As a male voice choir filled the vestry there was sadness for those who had died.
But many also held back tears for the slightly-built priest who had organised the memorial - a man of God who was dying of AIDS.
In the 1990s a tough mining town in South Yorkshire might have been the last place to embrace a homosexual priest with a feared and little-understood disease then known as the "gay plague".
The Rev Simon Bailey could have faced a backlash of hostility.
But, in the midst of hardship and colliery closures, the people of Dinnington not only took Simon to their hearts but protected and cared for him in his darkest days.
Set against a backdrop of grim TV warnings featuring tombstones, and emerging homophobia over the AIDS epidemic, Simon's poignant story gives a snapshot of history.
As his condition gradually worsened he bravely carried on with sermons, funerals and christenings as well as lighter tasks such as jumble sales and parish outings.
INCREDIBLE
In return his faithful flock came together to work in shifts looking after him, bathing him, washing his hair and helping with his medicines.
Simon made worldwide news as the first British Anglican priest with AIDS to remain in his job, giving Holy...