Shepherd Knapp
1873 - 1946
Congregational
Biography
Shepherd Knapp (1873–1946) was an American Congregational minister, historian, writer, and hymn author whose career joined parish ministry with literary and civic interests. Born in New York City on September 8, 1873, he was the son of Shepherd and Emma Benedict Knapp and a grandson of Gardiner Spring, longtime pastor of Brick Presbyterian Church. Knapp graduated from Columbia University with an A.B. in 1894 and from Yale Divinity School with a B.D. in 1897.
After four years as pastor of the Congregational church in Southington, Connecticut, Knapp served from 1901 to 1908 as assistant pastor of Brick Presbyterian Church in New York, where the American Antiquarian Society later noted the influence of pastor and writer Henry van Dyke. In 1908 Knapp became pastor of Central Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, remaining there until his retirement in 1936. His Worcester ministry was interrupted by a year of YMCA service in France during the First World War. New York University awarded him an honorary D.D. in 1912.
Knapp wrote beyond hymnody. His publications included History of the Brick Presbyterian Church and its companion Personal Records of the Church in 1908, On the Edge of the Storm in 1921, drawn from his wartime experience, Old Joe and Other Vesper Stories in 1922, and The Liberated Bible in 1941, a subject-arranged presentation of Old Testament narratives. He also wrote poetry and participated in Worcester's literary life through the Bohemians club.
His surviving hymn texts are comparatively few, but they show the same pastoral concern for Christian service, unity, discipleship, and the kingdom of God that marked his ministry. He was elected to the American Antiquarian Society in 1909 and remained active in its meetings and library interests until late in life. Knapp died in Worcester on January 11, 1946.
After four years as pastor of the Congregational church in Southington, Connecticut, Knapp served from 1901 to 1908 as assistant pastor of Brick Presbyterian Church in New York, where the American Antiquarian Society later noted the influence of pastor and writer Henry van Dyke. In 1908 Knapp became pastor of Central Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, remaining there until his retirement in 1936. His Worcester ministry was interrupted by a year of YMCA service in France during the First World War. New York University awarded him an honorary D.D. in 1912.
Knapp wrote beyond hymnody. His publications included History of the Brick Presbyterian Church and its companion Personal Records of the Church in 1908, On the Edge of the Storm in 1921, drawn from his wartime experience, Old Joe and Other Vesper Stories in 1922, and The Liberated Bible in 1941, a subject-arranged presentation of Old Testament narratives. He also wrote poetry and participated in Worcester's literary life through the Bohemians club.
His surviving hymn texts are comparatively few, but they show the same pastoral concern for Christian service, unity, discipleship, and the kingdom of God that marked his ministry. He was elected to the American Antiquarian Society in 1909 and remained active in its meetings and library interests until late in life. Knapp died in Worcester on January 11, 1946.
Hymns by Shepherd Knapp
Lord God of Hosts, Whose Purpose, Never Swerving
Role: Lyricist