Leah and Jessie Roberts got married in 2013 and started a band. Then they searched for a name that was unique, creative, memorable, and pointed to Jesus in some way. A friend suggested Poor Bishop Hooper, and Leah and Jessie ran with it. (Bishop John Hooper was an Anglican Bishop who was martyred in 1555). Since then, they often get the question, “what’s with the name?” Leah and Jessie are always grateful to share about what the name means to them and how suffering often accompanies passionate, faithful devotion.
Over the years, what started out as a simple husband/wife musical duo has developed into a multifaceted performance experience that has included a full band, a multimedia version of the Stations of the Cross (Golgotha Experience), a collection of art and music for Advent (Firstborn), Hymns I, Hymns II, and a three-year pandemic project where they wrote new tunes for all 150 Psalms and released them week by week on YouTube. Watch their beautiful version of Psalm 72 here: Poor Bishop Hooper - Psalm 72 (Live)
Jesse and Leah Roberts are not fancy people. They live in Missouri, they have three kids, they are leaders in a house church, and they own a recording studio that provides some income, but most of their music they give away for free, seeing it as a ministry. Through their lives and music, they embody the passion, love, and simplicity of the Anglican bishop from whom they derive their name: Poor Bishop Hooper. (Poorbishophooper.com)
About the Author
Sam Gutierrez is the Associate Director at the Eugene Peterson Center for the Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary. More of his creative work can be found at printandpoem.com