Since we missed out on our weekly church history/archives post on Thursday (busy last couple of days), we will do so today.
According to the Church History Institute “daily story,” today, March 10, 1747 is the date of John Newton’s (1725-1807) conversion. This is their note about this:
1747
John Newton, a sailor on a slave ship, is converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He eventually becomes an Anglican clergyman, the author of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace” and a zealous abolitionist. “That 10th of March is a day much to be remembered by me; and I have never allowed it to pass unnoticed since the year 1748. For on that day the Lord came from on high and delivered me out of deep waters.”
“Today in Christian History” (part of Christianity Today) also noted it in their daily email, posting this additional information:
March 10, 1748: John Newton, the captain of a slave ship, converts to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He had been reading Thomas a Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ, and was struck by a line about the “uncertain continuance of life.” He eventually became an Anglican clergyman, the author of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace,” and a zealous abolitionist
You may find more on Newton at this Christian History link. Perhaps we know him most by his famous hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Belonging to the back ground of this classic song is this (taken from the above article):
After leaving the sea for an office job in 1755, Newton held Bible studies in his Liverpool home. Influenced by both the Wesleys and George Whitefield, he adopted mild Calvinist views and became increasingly disgusted with the slave trade and his role in it. He quit, was ordained into the Anglican ministry, and in 1764 took a parish in Olney in Buckinghamshire.
Three years after Newton arrived, poet William Cowper moved to Olney. Cowper, a skilled poet who experienced bouts of depression, became a lay helper in the small congregation.
In 1769, Newton began a Thursday evening prayer service. For almost every week’s service, he wrote a hymn to be sung to a familiar tune. Newton challenged Cowper also to write hymns for these meetings, which he did until falling seriously ill in 1773. Newton later combined 280 of his own hymns with 68 of Cowper’s in what was to become the popular Olney Hymns. Among the well-known hymns in it are “Amazing Grace,” “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,” “O for a Closer Walk with God,” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood.”
While there are thousands of editions of the singing of this hymn, perhaps my favorite is this one by Wintley Phipps. He also includes a little background on Negro spirituals and why the minor key is so important to “Amazing Grace.” Enjoy this amazing performance.
As an aside, if you are looking for a wonderful night of music, tonight Grace PRC is hosting its “Night of Music” fundraiser for the young people – in her new sanctuary. This is the note you will find on her website about it:
GRACE NIGHT OF MUSIC will be held THIS Saturday at 7:00 PM in the new sanctuary. Please join/support our Young People at this annual night of praise and convention fundraiser. This year’s lineup features the Voices of Victory, Covenant Quartet, and much more. Refreshments will be served following the program.
Maybe we will see you there! 🙂
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