On Friday 18th November, 40 people gathered in the hall to watch the film Amazing Grace.
This moving film recounts the experiences of John Newton, as a crewman on a slave ship, whose subsequent conversion inspired his writing of a poem which was later used in the hymn Amazing Grace. It's core theme, however, is the heroic effort of William Wilberforce as he spearheaded the campaign against the slave trade in the British Empire.
There was an interval half way through the evening during which everybody enjoyed a hot-pot supper, followed by apple pie and cream.It was an entertaining but extrememly thought provoking evening. It was impossible to leave without offering a prayer of thanks for men like Wilberforce and Newton as well as prayers for those who still find themselves enslaved in 2011.
Sadly the battle for freedom for all people is not yet over. If you are not convinced by that you could start by visiting http://www.antislavery.org/.
According to the tearfund webside, at http://www.tearfund.ie/news/slavery_st._patrick/, "There are 27 million people in slavery today. This means that there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history. Slavery has existed for thousands of years, but changes in the world’s economy and societies over the past 50 years have enabled a resurgence of slavery."
We really don't know how lucky we are!
Thank you to Geoffrey for arranging such an interesting evening.
