The acclaimed hymn-writer Timothy Dudley-Smith, who was also a leading evangelical figure in the Church of England in his generation, has died.
Dudley-Smith wrote around 400 hymns including 'Tell out my soul', 'Name of all majesty' and 'Jesus, prince and saviour'.
His wide-ranging career included being Bishop of Thetford, Editorial Secretary and later on President of the Evangelical Alliance, and founding Editor of the monthly journal Crusade, created after Billy Graham's 1954 London mission. He also served as General Secretary of CPAS (the Church Pastoral Aid Society). In 2003, he was given an OBE "for services to hymnody".
The website of Praise Trust, the hymn, song and psalm publisher, notes: 'For many years the Bible commentator Derek Kidner was a mentor for most of [his] early [hymn] drafts. While some were begun or completed at home, on trains or elsewhere, several were the fruit of family holidays on the Cornish coast, as a pre-breakfast employment (and delight) overlooking the beach near The Lizard.
'The theme of redemption through the cross and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is a theme encountered consistently, naturally and with variety; so is the fact that "the Lord is risen". Without plagiarising, the hymns deliberately draw on a wide range of earlier poets and other authors for suggested ideas.'
A full obituary will follow shortly.
