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Anglican bishop and hymnwriter (1926–2024) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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".
Timothy Dudley-Smith | |
|---|---|
| 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 | 26 December 1926 Manchester, England |
| Died | 12 August 2024 (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 |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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