Songs of Praise

Amazing Grace (2023x2)

Yayınlanma tarihi: Oca 08, 2023

Claire McCollum visits Olney in Buckinghamshire to celebrate 250 years of one of the most popular hymns in the world, Amazing Grace. On 1 January 1773, John Newton’s now famous words were first performed in the parish church where he was curate. 250 years on, Claire visits that same church to discover the remarkable story behind the hymn, the extraordinary life of its composer and the reasons for the composition’s enduring power. In Olney, Claire meets local experts who reflect on the life of John Newton, from his early years of debauchery as a sailor and then as a slave trader to his later life as a dedicated clergy man, hymn writer and abolitionist. Claire hears how a moment of epiphany at sea sparked a deep Christian that faith helped him to realise the full horror of his actions and compelled him to spend the rest of his life serving others and striving to abolish the evil of slavery. Claire also meets 30-year-old Jordan Hattee, who shares his own experience of God’s amazing gra