Dr. Rodney Romney papers, 1980-2001

Reverend Rodney Ross Romney was born in Arco, Idaho on January 17, 1931 to parents Daniel Gaskell and Lois Taylor Romney. He graduated from Butte High School and Linfield College and taught for several years before attending Berkeley Baptist Divinity School and the American Baptist Seminary of the West, where he earned his Doctor of Ministry. He married his wife, Beverly, in 1964.

Rev. Romney was the senior minister of Seattle First Baptist Church on Capitol Hill from 1980 to 2000 and hosted a radio show that broadcasted his sermons on Sundays on KIRO. He also served as the president of the Church Council of Seattle for two terms and taught at schools such as the American Baptist Seminary of the West and Seattle's Northwest Theological Union. Throughout his career, Rev. Romney authored six books: A Promise of Light, Journey to Inner Space, Love without Conditions, Wilderness Spirituality, Lessons of the Soul, and I Heard a Crow Call My Name, and also composed several hymns. Rev. Romney welcomed diversity in his church and sought to include all people regardless of their race or sexuality. Rev. Romney died on June 30, 2012, in his home at Idaho Falls, Idaho.