Timothy Dudley-Smith

The Right Reverend Timothy Dudley-Smith OBE
Bishop of Thetford
Dudley-Smith in 2020.
Diocese	Norwich
In office	1981–1992
Predecessor	Hugh Blackburne
Successor	Hugo de Waal
Other post(s)	Honorary assistant bishop in Salisbury (1992–2024) Archdeacon of Norwich (1973–1981)
Orders
Ordination	1950 (deacon); 1951 (priest)
Consecration	1981
Personal details
Born	(1926-12-26)26 December 1926 Manchester, England
Died	12 August 2024(2024-08-12) (aged 97) Cambridge, England
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Arthur and Phyllis Dudley-Smith
Spouse	June Arlette MacDonald ​ ​ (m. 1959;died 2007)​
Children	3
Profession	Bishop, hymnist
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Cambridge

Timothy Dudley-Smith OBE (26 December 1926 – 12 August 2024) was a bishop of the Church of England and a noted hymnwriter. He wrote around 400 hymns, including "Tell Out, My Soul".

Early life and education

Dudley-Smith was born on 26 December 1926 in Manchester, England, to Phyllis and Arthur Smith. His father was a schoolteacher in Derbyshire who instilled in Dudley-Smith a love for poetry. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Arthur fell ill and died when Dudley-Smith was eleven years old and shortly thereafter, he desired to be a minister. ^[4] He was educated at Tonbridge School before studying maths and then theology at Pembroke College, Cambridge. ^[1] After graduating in 1947, he began his ordination training at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. ^[5] He was ordained deacon in 1950 and priest in 1951 by Christopher Chavasse, the Bishop of Rochester. ^[1]

Ministry

After ordination, Dudley-Smith served as a curate in Northumberland Heath from 1950 to 1953 and as an honorary chaplain to Chavasse. ^{[1] [6]} He later served as head of the Cambridge University Mission in Bermondsey, a boys club located in South London. ^[6] In 1955, he was appointed editor and education secretary of the Evangelical Alliance and editor of the new Crusade magazine, created after Billy Graham's 1954 London mission. ^{[5] [1] [2]} After leaving the Evangelical alliance in 1959, Dudley-Smith began serving with the Church Pastoral Aid Society, first as assistant secretary, and then as general secretary from 1965 until 1973. ^{[2] [1] [6]} While serving there, Dudley-Smith started writing hymns, including "Tell Out, My Soul", written at Blackheath, London, in May 1961, ^[7] with his first published hymns appearing 1965 Anglican Hymnbook. ^{[8] [1]} He also published the hymnals Youth Praise (1966; 1969) and Psalm Praise (1973). ^[8] Dudley-Smith was part of what has been described as a British "hymn explosion" after World War II. ^[9]

From 1973 to 1981, Dudley-Smith served as Archdeacon of Norwich and as Bishop of Thetford from 1981 to 1991. ^[1] He also served as president of the Evangelical Alliance from 1987 to 1992. ^[10] He was chairman of the governors of Monkton Combe School from 1992 to 1997. ^{[11] [12]}

Personal life

In 1959, he married June Arlette MacDonald, a junior Wimbledon competitor and former day care worker. ^[6] They were together for 48 years until her death in 2007 and they had one son and two daughters. ^[1] His son, James, is also ordained in the Church of England, and as of August 2024, serves as rector of St John's Church, Yeovil. ^[13] Dudley-Smith died in Cambridge on 12 August 2024, at the age of 97. ^{[2] [4] [8]}

Honours

Dudley-Smith was a member and honorary vice-president of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland; he was also awarded fellowships from the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and the Royal School of Church Music. ^[14] In 2003, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for services to hymnody". ^[14] In July 2009 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Durham University. ^[15]

Selected works

• Dudley-Smith, Timothy (1987). A Flame of Love: A Personal Choice of Charles Wesley's Verse. London: SPCK. ISBN   9780281043002.
• —————— (1989). Praying with the English Hymn Writers. London: SPCK. ISBN   9780281044337.
• —————— (1999). John Stott: The Making of a Leader. London: IVP. ISBN   9780830822072.
• —————— (2001). John Stott: A Global Ministry. London: IVP. ISBN   9780851119830.
• ——————; Dakers, Lionel (2001). Beneath a Travelling Star. Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Press. ISBN   9781853114496.
• —————— (2003). A House of Praise: Collected Hymns 1961–2001. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780191001598.
• —————— (2006). A Door for the Word: 36 new hymns 2002–2005. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780193355873.
• ——————; Llewellyn, William (2006). A Calendar of Praise. Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Press. ISBN   9781853117558.
• ——————; Llewellyn, William (2007). High Days and Holy Days. Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Press. ISBN   9781853118197.
• ——————; Llewellyn, William (2008). The Voice of Faith. Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Press. ISBN   9781853119095.
• ——————; Llewellyn, William (2009). Above Every Name. Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Press. ISBN   9781853119781.
• —————— (2009). Snakes and Ladders: A Hymn Writer's Reflections. London: The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland. ISBN   9781907018008.
• —————— (2009). Praise to the Name: 36 New Hymns 2005–2008. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780193365889.
• ——————; Llewellyn, William (2010). Draw Near to God. Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Press. ISBN   9781848250222.
• —————— (2012). Beyond Our Dreaming: 36 New Hymns 2008–2011. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780193380011.
• —————— (2015). A House of Praise 2: Collected Hymns 2002–2013. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780193403772.
• —————— (2017). A Functional Art: Reflections of a Hymn Writer. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780193408715.
• —————— (2019). A House of Praise 3: Collected Hymns 2013–2018. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780193529526.

References

1. Saward, Michael (2006). "Timothy Dudley-Smith: An Acknowledged Master Craftsman" (PDF). Anvil. 23 (4): 290. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
2. "The Rt Rev Timothy Dudley-Smith, leading writer of singable hymns like Tell out, my soul – obituary". The Telegraph. 13 August 2024. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
3. Shirt, Esme (1 December 1997). "Lord, for the years..." Evangelicals Now. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
4. Silliman, Daniel (15 August 2024). "Died: Timothy Dudley-Smith, Who Turned Metrical Poetry into Hundreds of Hymns". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024.
5. "A Song Was Heard at Christmas". Carols.net. 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
6. "The Rt Rev Timothy Dudley-Smith obituary: prolific hymn writer". The Times. 14 August 2024. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
7. Dudley-Smith, Timothy (21 June 2002). An Annotated Anthology of Hymns. OUP Oxford. p. 409. ISBN   978-0-19-152064-8.
8. "Timothy Dudley-Smith, hymn-writer and bishop, has died". Church Times. 12 August 2024.
9. Giles, Gordon (28 October 2016). "Singing through the tide of change". Church Times . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
10. Dudley-Smith, Timothy (1997). "Lord, for the Years..." Evangelicals Now. Interviewed by Shirt, Esme. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
11. A Delightful Inheritance by P. LeRoy, Monkton Print, 2018.
12. "Announcements | OBIT – Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith former Chair of Governors". www.monktoncombeschool.com. Monkton Combe School. 18 August 2024. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
13. "James Dudley-Smith". St John's Church. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
14. "Dudley-Smith, Timothy". Hope Publishing. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
15. Watson, J. R. (2009). "Timothy Dudley Smith: Doctor of Divinity" (PDF). Durham, England: Durham University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2010.

External links

• Official website
• Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland
• Hymn Society in the United States and Canada
• List of his published hymn texts at Hymnary.org

Church of England titles
Preceded by Hugh Blackburne	Bishop of Thetford 1981–1992	Succeeded by Hugo de Waal
Religious titles
Preceded by Unknown	President of the Evangelical Alliance 1987–1992	Succeeded by Fred Catherwood