EGN NEWS DESK
(CP) Timothy Dudley-Smith, a former bishop within the Church of England and the prolific hymn author behind such songs as “Lord, Through the Years” and “Tell all, my Soul,” has died at age 97.
Dudley-Smith, credited with having written the lyrics for about 400 hymns, died within the early hours of Aug. 12, in line with the Diocese of Norwich. He is survived by three kids and 4 grandchildren.
The Rt. Rev. Graham Usher, bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, stated in an announcement that Dudley-Smith was “much-respected” and “notably concerned with schooling and vocations throughout the diocese.”
“When I grew to become Bishop of Norwich, Bishop Timothy wrote a most heat and inspiring letter, and we corresponded additional about his ardour for the atmosphere,” stated Usher.
“Of course, he was a well known hymn-writer, together with the blockbuster ‘Tell out my soul’ which has inspired many individuals of their Christian religion or so as to add their ‘sure’ to God’s name of their lives and make a dedication to following Jesus.”
Born Dec. 26, 1926, in Manchester, Dudley-Smith was educated at Cambridge and ordained in 1950 to a curacy at Northumberland Heath in Kent, in line with an obituary posted by The Church Times. He would later function archdeacon in Norwich and bishop of Thetford.
Dudley-Smith supported the evangelistic efforts of the Rev. Billy Graham, actively serving to with the American preacher’s effort when he got here to London in 1954.
In addition to being bishop of Thetford from 1981-1991, Dudley-Smith additionally served as common secretary of the Church Pastoral Aid Society from 1965-1973 and director of the Evangelical Alliance from 1987-1992.
Dudley-Smith stated that he didn’t have “musical capability,” noting that he solely wrote the lyrics for the lots of of hymns credited to him. Nevertheless, for his broadly in style sacred music, he can be awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2003 for his “companies to hymnody.”
“It is the hymn author’s privilege to supply to the worshippers phrases wherein to dress and specific the aspirations and feelings of the guts,” stated Dudley-Smith, as quoted by The Christian Institute.
He believed {that a} good hymn “should be true to divine revelation and true to Christian expertise,” and this included being “true to the revelation of the Bible — whether or not a revelation of the character of God, of the particular person and work of Christ, or the dignity, degradation and future of women and men.”
To mark his eightieth birthday in 2006, fellow hymnist Canon Michael Saward wrote concerning the in depth accomplishments of the previous bishop.
“Everyone is aware of Tell out my soul (May 1961) and Lord, for the years (February 1967),” stated Saward, as quoted by The Living Church. “Yet, of all right this moment’s hymn-writers, he’s most likely alone in producing the best proportion of Rolls Royce texts and a really small scrap-yard of previous bangers.”
© The Christian Post
