"Amazing Grace" - Sierra Leone's part in the story.

In Derby we recently had a performance by the Saltmine Theatre Company, a professional company with a Christian ethos who perform in Schools, Churches and mainstream theatres in the UK and Northern Ireland. They presented the play, “Amazing Grace”, using word, folk song and physical theatre.  John Newton’s remarkable life story was told from his time as a slave ship captain to church leader and author of arguably the most famous hymn ever written.

                                                               John Newton 1725-1807

This was a powerfully moving story of slavery, freedom and the remarkable power of love and grace to transform a life.

Sierra Leone played a big part in John Newton’s life.  In 1744, when in the Royal Navy, he fell out with his Captain who exchanged him with a sailor on a slave ship that was heading to Sierra Leone. He lived there for a year and seeing the money to be made in the slave trade undertook three voyages as a trader.  After his conversion to Christ, he was consulted about planting a new colony for freed slaves in the country and the town of Newton, 24 miles from  Freetown, is named after him.