Born: June 15, 1812, Ta­vis­tock, De­von­shire, Eng­land.

Died: 1873, Ply­mouth, Eng­land.

Daughter of Rev. W. Rook­er (for nearly half a cen­tu­ry the Con­gre­ga­tion­al min­is­ter at Ta­vi­stock), Eliz­a­beth led a young men and wo­men’s class in the ves­try of her fa­ther’s cha­pel on Sun­day even­ings; it was named the “Will­ing Class” be­cause the stu­dents came “will­ing­ly.” From 1840 to 1844, she wrote sev­er­al hymns for this class, some of which came into use through var­i­ous col­lect­ions, in­clud­ing the Bap­tist Psalms and Hymns in 1858. Some years lat­er, 18 of these hymns were col­lect­ed and print­ed by one her old schol­ars as Will­ing Class Hymns.

Elizabeth mar­ried T. Edge­combe Par­son in 1844.

Sources

Lyrics

1. Angels round the Throne Are Praising
2. Far Above the Lofty Sky
3. Father of Spirits, We Entreat
4. Hark! A Distant Voice Is Calling
5. Hark! ’Tis the Savior Calls
6. Is There One Heart, Dear Savior Here?
7. Jesus, We Love to Meet
8. Lord, We Bend Before Thee Now
9. Lord, We Stand Before Thy Throne
10. Our Savior’s Voice Is Soft and Sweet
11. Savior, Round Thy Footstool Bending
12. This Is God’s Most Ho­ly Day
13. When Shall We Render
14. Youthful, Weak, and Unprotected