He effectively became a slave trader himself, plying the route between Britain, Africa and the West Indies. Service on various ships followed, and having been press-ganged - in Chatham - onto the HMS Harwich in 1742 he ended up on a slaving ship which deposited him on Plantain Island in Sierra Leone for two years. John Newton was the son of a ship’s captain and gently devout mother, who sadly died a week after his seventh birthday, and his happy childhood was curtailed when his father remarried and he was sent to an Essex boarding school where he was bullied.Īfter two years he went to sea with his father. He wrote it to be sung on New Year’s Day 1773, so this year we have been celebrating its 250th anniversary. It must be extremely unlikely that John Newton would ever have imagined his New Year hymn would have such influence and travel even further than even he did, nor that a ship would be named in its honour. Somewhat ironically, there is a Tall Ship called ‘Amazing Grace’, available for charter in the Americas. A musical about the life of Newton, entitled ‘Amazing Grace’ written by Christopher Smith ran on Broadway for three months in 2015. The hymn has often been used in films and television productions, lending its title to at least six films, one of which, directed by Michael Apted in 2008 is all about the abolition of slavery with William Wilberforce as is central character. For as well as being a direct expression of Newton’s experience of personal salvation during a tempestuous sea voyage it has gained the weight of relevance to questions such as the slave trade American identity, Black Christian identity the global spread and the appropriation of worship music crossing cultural divides.
Safeguarding Overview, updates and events Safeguarding Audit Safeguarding Contacts Safeguarding Annual Report Policies and ProceduresĪmazing Grace! is one of the most famous and much loved of all Christian hymns.About News Annual Report and Accounts Venue Hire Filming Who's Who Diocese of Rochester Cathedral Policies and Procedures Development Plan.Support Us Vacancies Friends Donate online Sunday Club Volunteer.Cathedral Trust Cathedral Trust Business Guild The Gundulf Society Beacon Fundraising.Learning Schools, colleges and universities Family activities Research Guild.Explore Cathedral collections - Library & archives - Priory & Gardens - Textus Roffensis Historic Rochester Diocese of Rochester Heritage.What's On What's On Services Upcoming Closures Exhibitions Guided Tours Fenland Black Oak Table.Visit Visiting information Getting Here Café in the Crypt Upcoming Closures Visiting FAQ Group visits Guided Tours Pilgrimage Visit Rochester.Worship & Music Services Worship online Prayer Music Weddings Baptism, Confirmation & Holy Communion Funerals.Phipps relies on accounts Newton gives in his ship journal, diary, letters, and sermons for this most readable scholarly narrative.John Newton (1725-1807) - Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral In an afterword on Newtonian Christianity, Phipps explains Newton's critique of Karl Marx's thesis that religious ideals are always the effect of what produces the most profit. His close involvement with both capitalism and evangelicalism, the main economic and religious forces of his era, provide a fascinating case study of the relationship of Christians to their social environment. The account he gave to Parliament on the atrocities he had witnessed helped William Wilberforce obtain legislation to abolish the slave trade in England.Newton's life story convinced many who are "found" after being "lost" to sing Gospel hymns as they lobbied for civil rights legislation. While pastoring a poor flock in Olney, he and poet William Cowper produced a hymnal containing such perennial favorites as "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" and "God Moves in a Mysterious Way." Later, while serving a church in London, Newton raised British consciousness on the immorality of the slave trade. This movement stressed personal conversion, simple worship, emotional enthusiasm, and social justice. A gradual spiritual awakening transformed Newton into an ardent evangelist and anti-slavery activist.Influenced by Methodists George Whitefield and John Wesley, Newton became prominent among those favoring a Methodist-style revival in the Church of England.
Liverpool, his home port, was the center of the most colossal, lucrative, and inhumane slave trade the world has ever known. In "Amazing Grace," the best-loved of all hymns, John Newton's allusions to the drama of his life tell the story of a youth who was a virtual slave in Sierra Leone before ironically becoming a slave trader himself.
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