Francis Bland Tucker (January 6, 1895 – January 1, 1984) was an American

Bible scholar Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and hymn writer.

Early and family life

Born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1895, Bland Tucker became the youngest of 13 children (several of whom died as infants). His father, the Rev. Beverley Dandridge Tucker, had become rector of historic St. Paul's Church and soon helped establish

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...

, including the

St. George Tucker House The St. George Tucker House is one of the original colonial homes in Historic Williamsburg. It was built in 1718–19 for William Levingston (who, incidentally, built the first theater in America). The house eventually came into the hands of St. ...

, named for an ancestor. St. George Tucker (1752–1827) had been a distinguished lawyer, legal scholar, state and federal judge during and after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. In fact, both sides of Tucker's family were among the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsbur ...

. His mother, Anna Maria Washington, was a collateral descendant of the first U.S. president, and one of the last children born at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

before it became a museum. Several family members also became priests and missionaries. His eldest brother Henry St. George Tucker (1874–1959) became 19th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Beverley Dandridge Tucker Jr. (1882-1969) became bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Ohio The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America comprising the northern 48 counties of the state of Ohio. Established in 1818, it was the first diocese of the Episcopal Church to be established ou ...

in 1932 (and retired in 1952). F. Bland Tucker attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and graduated from that institution and the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

. He married Mary (Polly) Goldsborough Laird (1890-1972), daughter of the Rev. Henry Laird of Brookville, Maryland.

Ministry

Upon being ordained, the Rev. Bland Tucker served at St. John's Church in Georgetown (Washington, District of Columbia). Beginning in 1945, he served for 22 years as Rector of Christ Church in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, then was named "rector emeritus" and told he could live in the rectory for the rest of his life. A few months after his arrival at Christ Church, Tucker received an offer to become bishop of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Although two of his brothers were bishops, he declined, preferring to become a simple parish priest. In 1953, the

Forward Movement Forward Movement is the name taken by a number of Christian Protestant movements in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and other countries. United Kingdom The term "Forward Movement" is said to have been used for the first time in the mid-18 ...

published ''More than Conquerors,'' a collection of Tucker's letters to his congregation, including about his seemingly miraculous recovery from lung cancer while awaiting surgery at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. During the Civil Rights controversies relatively early in his Savannah ministry, Tucker refused to condone the practice of white churches excluding people at services for fear of "kneel-ins." Instead, he retorted, "I would not presume to speculate as to why my own parishioners come to church, much less someone I do not know," so Christ Church's doors remained open to any who wished to enter, during his official ministry that ended in 1967, and to the present day. Although Tucker quipped that he preferred the 1892 version of the Book of Common Prayer, which he learned in his youth, and was well aware of the controversies that accompanied adoption of the 1928 version, he became a theological advisor to the commission that produced the 1979

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

. Bland Tucker also served on the two commissions, forty-two years apart, that revised hymnals of the Episcopal Church, and in his later years wrote hymns and translated others from Greek. The 1982 Episcopal Convention overwhelmingly approved the revised Hymnal which includes 17 of Tucker's contributions. Among these are the texts, ''Oh, Gracious Light'' (Hymns 25–26), ''Father, We Thank Thee Who Hast Planted'' (Hymns 302–303), and his original text, ''Our Father, by Whose Name'' (Hymn 587). Only

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

is credited with more items in the 1982 Hymnal.

Death and legacy

F. Bland Tucker died on New Year's Day, 1984. Bishop

Reeves Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County K ...

conducted the funeral (which featured many hymns that Tucker had composed) and noted his friend's passing as the "end of an era." Tucker was buried at Savannah's historic

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the 1994 novel ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' by John Berendt, ...

beside his beloved wife, whom he had survived for a dozen years, with the help of faithful parishioners. In 1999, the Rt. Rev.

Henry I. Louttit Henry Irving Louttit, Jr. (June 13, 1938 – December 31, 2020) served as the ninth Bishop of Georgia. He was the 901st bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). Early and family life Henry I Louttit, Jr. was born ...

, who had become the Bishop of Georgia, placed Tucker on a list of local saints remembered in the diocese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Francis Bland 1895 births 1984 deaths American Christian hymnwriters American Episcopal priests University of Virginia alumni Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Francis Bland Tucker Writers from Norfolk, Virginia Washington family People from Savannah, Georgia American people of Bermudian descent