Thousands to Follow Wilberforce as Modern-Day Slave Abolitionists

|PIC1|Amazing Grace Sunday will kick off 18 February, as more than 2,500 churches and tens of thousands of individuals across the globe commemorate the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

Thousands of people, including many Christians, will take a stand against modern-day slavery when they pray for freedom and sing the historic song, "Amazing Grace".

The event was inspired by Bristol Bay Production's newest film, Amazing Grace, which chronicles the lives of anti-slavery pioneers William Wilberforce and John Newton, who wrote the lyrics for the hymn "Amazing Grace".

Wilberforce, Newton and a group of loyal friends effectively navigated the world of 18th Century politics to abolish the slave trade throughout the British Empire. The movie stars Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce and Albert Finney as Newton and is directed by Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough, Coal Miner's Daughter), with an original screenplay written by Academy Award® nominee Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things).

Local church leaders will be invited to free previews Amazing Grace throughout February, ahead of the Hollywood film's official release in the UK on 23 March.

Church congregations from the UK, US, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Dubai, Albania, Malaysia, Romania, Panama, India, Spain, West Indies and Nigeria plan to participate in the event.

Churches can register on the website created for the event, where lyrics, music and information about the song are also available. For additional information, visit www.AmazingGraceSunday.com