David Newton

Board President

David Newton, Board President, is a native of London, England, moving to the US for graduate school in 1978, when he was 22. For most of David’s professional working life he has been involved as an investor, leasing agent and manager of commercial and residential real estate. He strongly identifies with and observes as a modern orthodox Jew, fortified by a broad world view which largely results from the influence of his parents and his own experiences. His credentials as a volunteer commenced running a Christmas food drive during his days attending an Anglican boarding school to working as a fundraiser for nonprofits to providing hospice support in the Princeton area.  

David has been a board member of Fellowship in Prayer since 2009 and the President of the organization since 2012. Up until his tenure FIP had been primarily known for its quarterly publication, Sacred Journey. When the board decided to suspend publication of the journal, David promoted and managed FIP’s conversion to becoming a grant maker.

Grant making is probably not the ultimate objective for Fellowship, but rather an interim activity while the board attempts to better identify its true purpose. Grants are currently allowing the organization to sponsor peacemaking activities, promote prayer and meditative practices and become involved in community-based acts of kindness.

David fully admits that he struggles with separating prayer from its religious affiliations. He recognizes that prayer is an inalienable right belonging to everyone, and he finds religious related prayer more than often fails to resonate with anyone beyond the adherents of the religion from where the prayer originates. Yet he is not looking for sameness in prayer. Rather, he wants our religious and cultural diversity to be united through acts of peacemaking and kindness which is the foundation stone to us eventually learning how to pray and meditate as “one.”  

Please feel free to communicate with David by writing to him at dnewton@fellowshipinprayer.org.