Abilene Association of Congregations Meeting
The public is invited to hear Dr. Darryl Tippens, retired ACU English professor, speak about the hymn “Amazing Grace” at the monthly meeting of the Abilene Association of Congregations.
When: 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 28
Where: First Central Presbyterian Church, 400 Orange St.
Lunch: $3 donation requested
Program: Tippens will speak on “The Amazing Journey of ‘Amazing Grace’: The Backstory of How One Song Became the Most Famous Hymn in the World.”

By Darryl Tippens

“Amazing Grace,” over 250 years old, is well known across denominations, cultures, racial groups, languages, and nations. It has been recorded more often than any single musical work in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records—well over 3,000 according to the Library of Congress. It is estimated that 10 million performances take place around the globe every year. Yet for most of its life, this sacred song was a bit of a sleeper, little noticed, and virtually ignored in the land of its origin. What caused the rise of this old hymn to such beloved prominence? It turns out several factors contributed to the its present status as “the ultimate song of redemption.” Many of the factors occurred relatively recently, within the last 50 years.

Today “Amazing Grace” is sung not just in churches, but performed and sung at all sorts of events: secular concerts, funerals, and various state functions, especially in times of national crisis. The hymn has become the “spiritual national anthem” of America, though its appeal is universal. Composed by an English clergyman and former captain of a slave ship, John Newton, the hymn text crossed the Atlantic and was published in the U.S. in 1789, the same year the U.S. Constitution. In America the hymn found a new life, a new melody, a new verse, and a new cultural and social mission led largely by African-American leaders and their churches. After its sojourn in America, the song then went wide, becoming a song loved around the world. The presentation at the Association of Abilene Congregations will highlight some of the key moments in the life of “Amazing Grace”—from marginal, almost forgotten hymn to a global sensation.

Darryl Tippens is retired University Distinguished Scholar at Abilene Christian University