Page 70 - Phonebox Magazine July 2014

Churches Combined
Amazing Grace, how Sweet the Sound... ...of 900 children and the
OAmerican group, Durant
lney is a great place to live, and it’s always great to have visitors coming through the town. This is what happened during Life Path from May 20-22nd, where 900 school children from
three surrounding counties were hosted by the churches of Olney.
Life Path is a celebration of the life and faith of John Newton, and the day involved teaching the children about his life in a fun and interactive way. Organised by Scripture Union and Bridgebuilder Trust, the programme included teaching about the amazing transformation John Newton went through, from a slave trader to being moved by God to become a Priest, and eventually serving as a curate in Olney and fighting for the abolition of slavery. These were learnt through music, drama and workshops, including lace making, bell ringing
and pancake running (the day is pictured below).
Durant, a vibrant a cappella group from America (pictured top middle), held a concert in St Peter and St Paul’s Church as the final concert of their UK tour on June 8th.
The large audience were thrilled by their lively, pulsating rendition of songs, including He Lives In Me from The Lion King and they joined in during Amazing Grace. Durant expressed a wish to sing the hymn in the church where John Newton was curate. They also invited the vocalists from the Mix at Six Band to join them and they gave a wonderful rendition of 10,000 Reasons, demonstrating that music is alive and well in the home of Amazing Grace.
Through their gift of music and faith, Durant help those in need all over the world, visiting orphanages and prisons and seeking to transform and inspire people, whatever their circumstances. They will soon be leaving for Africa to continue their mission of using the gift of human voice to draw people to Christ.
The Rev Claire Wood, Rector of Olney
70 Phonebox Magazine
Sutcliff Baptist Church
This month, we marked the 200th anniversary of John Sutcliff’s death (who the chapel is named after). He was a man who encouraged others to live adventurously for God, and helped practically through finance, organisation and prayer. Many years have passed since Jesus first called men and women to ‘Follow Me’, and there is still challenge and adventure in living life ‘all out for God’ - check out our Facebook from a link on the website (olneybaptist.org.uk). Come and hear our latest series of talks on learning from the twelve disciples – a very warm welcome awaits you.
Rev Ian Field