CHURCH OUTING TO OLNEY 2018

On the 12th May 2018 the Gaulby Fellowship went on an outing to Olney, in Buckinghamshire, arranged by James, Sarah and Rachel where we had fellowship together and learned about two famous eighteenth-century Christians.

The first was William Cowper (1731-1800), hymnwriter and poet, he wrote many hymns including There is a fountain filled with blood, O for a closer walk with God and God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet".

The second was John Newton (1725-1807), former slave trader and later by God's grace a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and a tireless worker for the abolition of slavery. He wrote many hymns including Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds and Glorious things of Thee are spoken. He was ordained as an evangelical Anglican cleric and served at Olney, in Buckinghamshire, for two decades.

The two were very diverse in character. Cowper was a gentle and emotionally fragile man who suffered periodic bouts of depression. Newton, on the other hand, was formerly a profane sea captain but now converted to Christ. They nevertheless became firm friends and spent many hours of fellowship together in Cowper's writing 'shed' (see the photograph). It is an wonderful illustration of the way in which the Gospel draws people together whatever their differences in background.

First of all we visited the Cowper & Newton Museum where we had a guided tour of where Cowper lived for many years, next we had lunch in the market town of Olney, and this was followed by a visit to St Peter & St Paul Church, Olney, where  John Newton was curate for 16 years. Our time in the church was concluded by singing Newton's glorious hymn Amazing Grace.

The Gallery below shows some pictures from the day.