Jeffery William Rowthorn

Jeffery William Rowthorn was born in Newport, Wales, on April 9, 1934. He studied modern languages at Christ's College, Cambridge, earned his theological degree magna cum laude at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and trained for ordination at Cuddesdon. Ordained in the Church of England in 1962 and 1963, he served at Woolwich and Garsington before returning to the United States in 1968 as chaplain and dean at Union.

In 1973 Rowthorn joined Berkeley Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, and the newly founded Yale Institute of Sacred Music, teaching pastoral theology, liturgics, and worship. Students preparing for the 1978 Yale and Berkeley baccalaureate asked him to write a hymn for them; the result was Lord, You Give the Great Commission. He later recalled that he usually wrote for particular occasions and preferred familiar tunes so singers could attend closely to new words.

Rowthorn became suffragan bishop of Connecticut in 1987 and Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe in 1994, serving until 2001. His editorial work included Laudamus and, with Russell Schulz-Widmar, A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools and Sing of the World Made New. He and his wife, Anne, also produced God's Good Earth, a collection of prayers for creation. Rowthorn died in Bloomfield, Connecticut, on July 23, 2025. His work united liturgical scholarship, ecumenical worship, episcopal ministry, environmental concern, and hymn writing.