Please stand for our opening hymn "Ämazing Grace"

The Sunday evening congretation all rose from their seats in the Nave where we had been seated with the choir.

Why were they asked to sing Amazing Grace, how did we end up in the Nave let alone in the village of Olney in the United Kingdom and what was the reason behind the first hymn being Amaging Grace?

As I had planned to attend The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul Olney so months ago well almost twelve months ago, a quick search of the Parish website showed an Choral Evensong once during my current visit so that was why I was here.

As I arranged to attend I requested that Amazing Grace be sung,

No reply was forthcoming as the Parish has no Curate. However the Director of Music Lee Dunleavy did eventually get back to me on behalf of The Parish and advised that they were only too happy to agree to my two requests. The first was to sing Amazing Grace and the second was the provision of supper to the congretation as a Thank You.

A walk around the Church grounds will have you at the grave of John & Mary Newton.

A feature of the Church is a pulpit with a plague John Newton's Pulpit.

I am sure that none of my readers will not be familiar with Amazing Grace.

Our Order of Service tonight listed it as traditional Folk Melody.

The Pipes & Drums of The Royal Scot's Dragoon Guards had their instrumental version of Amazing Grace as Number 1 on the Top 40.

Judy Collins also had a Top 40 No 1 hit with a vocal version of Amzing Grace.

The Cherokee Indians of the United States have a very moving version of Amazing Grace that pays homage to their lifestyle and the Animals such as The Bald Eagle and The Grey Wolves that reflect their past.

Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson,Neil Diamond,Randy Travis,Andy Williams,Elvis Presley,Leann Rimes,Aretha Franklin,Andrea Bocelli,Soweto Gospel Choir.Celtic Woman,Alan Jackson,& The Mormon Tabernacle Choir all have one thing in common, they all made a hit recording of Amazing Grace.

Rebecca Ferguson used it on X Factor with her deep Southern Black voice bringing the judges to tears.

A survey of Funeral Directors listed Amaziing Grace as the number 1 requested hymn at funerals.

If you have access to The Olney Hymns page 53 will show you the lyrics.

Traditionally in Hymns Ancient & Modern listed Amazing Grace as Hymn no 56.

A quick check of Folk Music will tell yoou Amazing Grace is the No 1 Folk Music.

Africian American Spiritual history shows Amazing Grace as their No 1.

Author Golbert Chase lays claim to Amazing Grace as being the most famous of all folk hymns.

The Secular music world however claims Amazing Grace is one of the best known secular songs and music as it is recorded by thousands of different artists in most languages of the world and heard over 10 million times a year at different functions.

Many Americans claim Amazing Grace as an American Folk song. Well while the other claims may be hard to disprove that one is not.

Amazing Grace lyrics were written by John Newton while he was Curate at St Peter & St Paul Parish church in Olney.

In 1773 he first unveiled Amazing Grace lyrics as part of his sermon illustration on New Years Day in 1773.

It was not until 1779 that it was first published in The Olney Hymnal where John Newton had joined with poet. William Cowper to produce a volume of works of Christian Hymns.

So hopefully you have gathered why I wanted to hear Amazing Grace at Olney. The actual puplit still remains but is unused, the desk that John Newton wrote Amazing Grace is in the John Newton & William Cowper Museum in Olney and I rate it a privledge tat I was allowed on a previos visit to sit at that desk.

A final reason besides the obivious enjoyment it bring me is that on neither of my previous visits (2011 & 2015) was Amazing Grace sung at these services.

The music of Amazing Grace is not so easy to trace with over twenty different melodies being associated with Amazing Grace until 1835 when the tune "New Britain"became THE music.

With the traditional music based on the leading instruments being The Bagpipes & side drums. No Scottish pipe band would not have a version of Amazing Grace in their most requested songs.

The final link is why did John Newton write Amazing Grace with such passion and meaning that it's message is just as strong 253 years later a message that crosses religious boundaries, crosses cultural boundaries and knows no physical boundaries and is a part of secualar life?

John Newton was not always a man of religion, infact for much of his early life he totally ignored religion, his job as an Altantic Slave Trader was against all religious teachings.

John Newton's days were numbered by his often insubordination to authority far from his later ordination into the Church of England in 1764.

County Donegal Ireland, John Newton and myself have a common link. My family on my father's side left County Donegal Ireland to settle in Australia while John Newton almost lost his life in a storm off the coast of County Donegal in 1748.

The storm was so severe and John Newton felt his life was so close to ending that he called out to God for Mercy, the storm abated and John Newton's spiritual conversion had commenced. It did however take a while and it was not until about 1755 that he gave up his slave trading, his sailing days and began the study of Christian theology leaing to his mentioned ordination in 1764 and subsequently his time as Curate in Olney.

The lyrics of Amazing Grace reflected his new calling and bear witness to the past,his conversion and the ongoing Grace that lead him home.

So I and my Sister are very grateful that we were able to come to The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul Olney to join with the choir in the nave along with the local congretation to join for Choral Evensong and witness Amazing Grace being sung in the very church were it was first revealed over 250 years ago.