This week in Christian history: Pope Pius IX flees Rome; St. John the Divine consecrated

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, November 24, 2024

Elisha Hoffman, prolific hymn writer, dies – Nov. 25, 1929

Elisha A. Hoffman (1839-1929) was a pastor and prolific hymnwriter who wrote the songs 'I Must Tell Jesus' and 'Are You Washed in the Blood?' — Elisha A. Hoffman (1839-1929) was a pastor and prolific hymnwriter who wrote the songs "I Must Tell Jesus" and "Are You Washed in the Blood?" | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Elisha Hoffman, a pastor and hymn writer known for such songs as “I Must Tell Jesus” and “Are You Washed in the Blood?” died at the age of 90.

A native of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Hoffman had little formal music education, yet he is credited with writing approximately 2,000 hymns.

“He has assisted in the compilation and editing of fifty different song books, some of which have received marked favor and have been issued in large editions,” wrote contemporary J. H. Hall in 1914.

“While his ministry in the churches which he has served has been fruitful, his songs in the good which they have done have constituted a still larger ministry. Through his songs he preaches to many thousands who never hear his voice.”