2015 Update:  Dave asked that this short essay be included on the Roy-Hart reunion website. This is the same text that he read as part of the invocation at the beginning of the 50th reunion dinner. He hopes you may find it interesting and inspirational.

John Newton 1725-1807

Born near London England John was raised by a sea captain father, his mother who was a devout Christian died when he was seven. He then spent several years in boarding school then at the age of eleven went to sea learning the trade from his father. Sailors were not noted for the refinement of their manners, but Newton had a reputation for profanity, coarseness, and debauchery which even shocked many a sailor. He openly rejected the notion of a God and was a self-proclaimed atheist. He chipped away at the faith of others, leading other sailors into unbelief. John Newton was also not fond of authority and once deserted his post in the Royal Navy, was placed in irons and flogged in humiliation in front of a crew of 350. He was known as "The Great Blasphemer." by his fellow crewmembers. He sank so low at one point that he contemplated murdering the captain, led a mutiny and later was traded off for another from a passing slave ship. He once threw himself overboard in a failed suicide attempt near West Africa. He became a slave himself to a slave trader in Africa. Early in 1748, he was rescued by a sea captain who had been asked by Newton's father to search for him, and returned to England. Freed from slavery, he got a commission to serve as first mate on a slave ship, and later earned the rank of captain of his own ship. During his career he transported thousands of Africans to lives of slavery in America.

During a return trip home the ship had been thrashing about in the north Atlantic storm for over a week. Its' canvas sails were ripped, and the wood on one side of the ship had been torn away and splintered. The sailors had little hope of survival, but they mechanically worked the pumps, trying to keep the vessel afloat. On the eleventh day of the storm, sailor John Newton was too exhausted to pump, so he was tied to the helm and tried to hold the ship to its course. From one o'clock until midnight he was at the helm. As the ship was at the brink of wreck. Newton prayed to God for mercy and the cargo miraculously shifted to fill a hole in the ship's hull and the vessel drifted to safety. Newton took this as a sign from the Almighty and marked it as his conversion to Christianity. He did not radically change his ways at once, his total reformation was more gradual. "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards," he later wrote. He did begin reading the Bible at this point and began to view his captives with a more sympathetic view.

With the storm raging fiercely, Newton had time to think. His life seemed as ruined and wrecked as the battered ship he was trying to steer through the storm. His mother had prayed he would become a minister and had early taught him the Scriptures and Isaac Watts' Divine Songs for Children. Some of those early childhood teachings came to mind now. He remembered Proverbs 1:24-31, and in the midst of that storm, those verses seemed to confirm Newton in his despair:

Because I have called, and ye refused . ..ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also laughed at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh: when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.

John Newton had rejected his mother's teachings and had led other sailors into unbelief. Certainly he was beyond hope and beyond saving, even if the Scriptures were true. Yet, Newton's thoughts began to turn to Christ. He found a New Testament and began to read. Luke 11:13 seemed to assure him that God might still hear him: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him."

Deliverance

Newton's life, rife with the "dangers, toils and snares" at which his text hints, repeatedly brought him face-to-face with the notion that he had been miraculously spared. He was aboard ship one night when a violent storm broke out. Moments after he left the deck, the crewman who had taken his place was swept overboard. On one occasion, he was thrown from a horse, narrowly missing impalement on a row of sharp stakes. Another time, he arrived too late to board a tender that was carrying his companions to tour a warship; as he watched from the shore, the vessel overturned, drowning all its passengers. Years later, on a hunting expedition in Africa on a moonless night, he and his companions got lost in a swamp. Just when they had resigned themselves to death, the moon appeared and they were able to return to safety. He also survived a stroke and malaria. Such near-death was commonplace in Newton's life.

That day at the helm, March 21, 1748, was a day Newton remembered ever after, for "On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters." Many years later, as an old man, Newton wrote in his diary of March 21, 1805: "Not well able to write; but I endeavor to observe the return of this day with humiliation, prayer, and praise. "Only God's amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God." Newton never ceased to stand in awe of God's work in his life. "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior."

New Directions

Though Newton continued in his profession of sailing and slave-trading for a time, his life was transformed. This time, he encouraged the sailors under his charge to prayer rather than taunt them for their beliefs. He also began to ensure that every member of his crew treated their human cargo with gentleness and concern. However, it would be another 40 years until Newton openly challenged the trafficking of slaves. He began a disciplined schedule of Bible study, prayer, and Christian reading and tried to be a Christian example to the sailors under his command. Philip Doddridge's The Rise and Progress of religion in the Soul provided much spiritual comfort, and a fellow-Christian captain he met off the coast of Africa guided Newton further in his Christian faith. Newton left slave-trading and took the job of tide surveyor at Liverpool, but he began to think he had been called to the ministry. His mother's prayers for her son were answered, and in 1764, at the age of thirty-nine, John Newton began forty-three years of preaching the Gospel of Christ. John and his beloved wife Mary (At the end of his life John would write that their love "equaled all that the writers of romance have imagined") moved to the little market town of Olney. He spent his mornings in Bible study and his afternoons in visiting his parishioners. There were regular Sunday morning and afternoon services as well as meetings for children and young people. There was also a Tuesday evening prayer meeting which was always well attended.

From a wretch of a man, to writer of the world's most famous hymn For the Sunday evening services, Newton often composed hymns which developed the lessons and Scripture for the evening. In 1772, He penned the hymn "Amazing Grace" and at the time was criticized as too simple; however it has endured for more than two centuries, offering hope to those grieving or searching for meaning to life. With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God through Jesus Christ, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Author Gilbert Chase writes that it is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns," and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually. It has had particular influence in folk music, and has become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, occasionally appearing on popular music charts it has become a global music sensation. "It may be the most recorded song on the planet," according to Jerry Bailey, executive at Broadcast Music, Inc., of Nashville, acknowledging at least 6,600 separate artists recordings of the song. The song was used extensively during the second great awakening revival in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.

Now that you know a little about the author, can you recall any of these lyrics written over 250 years ago?

"Amazing Grace"

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me, His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below, Will be forever mine.

John Newton, Olney Hymns, 1779

I’ve been married 41 years as of March 7, 2005. My wife’s name is Sharon. We have three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

In 1964-1965, before and just after graduating from high school, I worked for Duracraft Homes and Gasport Builders building houses.

In September of 1965, I started working for Harrison Radiator. I worked there until 1979, when I left to do fulltime ministry.

In 1971, I became a Christian and my life changed completely. God filled me with the love of Jesus Christ and gave me the love for people. I took an educational leave from GM and went to Southeastern Bible College in Lakeland, FL. Then I went to Northeastern Bible College in PA and Berion Bible College in MO. I had a burden to work with troubled kids and I was youth director of the Lighthouse Youth Center in Lockport for 7 years. Many young people came and received Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior and were delivered from drugs and alcohol.

When I left the Lighthouse. I became a fulltime pastor in Barker, NY. I started and built the church in 1978. In 1985, we built a new building for the sanctuary. I am still currently the Pastor at Barker Assembly of God and have been for 26 years now. We are planning to build a new church in Gasport on Route 31. We have 10 acres on the corner of Bolton Rd. and Rochester Rd. and have started some construction there.

I have been to Korea as a missionary evangelist twice. The second trip I was accompanied by my grandson, Eric Hayes II. We also sponsored a family of 12 from the Soviet Union and helped them come to America. They lived in Barker for a year and have since moved to Sacramento, CA, and have become very successful. The father and son have started a church in Sacramento -- Russian Ukrainian and Bella Russian Church. This church’s congregation has grown to about 10,000 people. I had the pleasure of ministering there in 2004. We also helped start a church in Pueblo, Mexico, in the year 2000.

My hobby is classic cars. I have a 1965 Pontiac 2+2 convertible that I am working on and hope to have finished for our 40th reunion. I live in Middleport and, by god’s grace, live my life to the fullest.