And, in spite of all of this, God is wherever love can be found. He was 81.. William Sloane Coffin Jr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (born 1924) was a Yale University chaplain who spoke out against the Vietnam War and was indicted as a criminal by the United States government for conspiring to aid young men to avoid the military draft.. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born to considerable wealth and social position on June 1, 1924, in New York City. If a week ago last Monday, a lamp went out, it was because, for him at least, the Dawn had come. The prayers are presented in several multi-year collections. You will also find a collection of his prayers that concluded many of his sermons. And home we brought you shoulder-high. Runners whom renown outran Alex, as he was called, was killed in a car accident in 1983 when he was only. When sorrow walked with me. For all she had to say. Rev. Still there is much by way of consolation. ABERNETHY: In our conversation, Coffin quoted words he liked, words he attributed to Irenaeus, an early church father: "The glory of God is a human being fully alive." Because there are no rankling unanswered questions, and because Alex and I simply adored each other, the wound for me is deep, but clean. Rev. I'm puzzled by all of this. I walked a mile with Sorrow And neer a word said she; But the things I learned from her But oh, the things I learned from her When sorrow walked with me. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born to considerable wealth and social position on June 1, 1924, in New York City. BBC Northern Ireland presenter William Crawley discusses the often controversial political, religious and ethical issues of the day. Fragrant is the blossom. Here are additional selected citations in chronological order. What can be done to turn this public support into organized opposition? Ill say you dont, lady! I said. For the latest updates across BBC blogs, visit the Blogs homepage. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. And of course I know, even when pain is deep, that God is good. I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the cold ground. John Wright #5 T he Rev. Rev. Which is not to say that there are no nature-caused deaths I can think of many right here in this parish in the five years I've been here deaths that are untimely and slow and pain-ridden, which for that reason raise unanswerable questions, and even the specter of a Cosmic Sadist yes, even an Eternal Vivisector. But it's a fact: few of us are naturally profound. Refusing to cede the battlefield of morality to conservatives, he argues that "compassion demands . And find unwithered on its curls William Sloane Coffin Jr. in 1987. That clarifies the sight The night after Alex died I was sitting in the living room of my sister's house outside of Boston, when the front door opened and in came a nice-looking, middle-aged woman, carrying about eighteen quiches. He became famous while at Yale in the 1960s for his opposition to the Vietnam War. Lewis wrote, They say the coward dies many times; so does the beloved. If the order gets mixed up, thats misery. And I played all the hymns. A different man named Alex Hamilton who was a British broadcaster used the saying in 1978. Ten days after his son, Alex, was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered this sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. Jim Antal, a Norwich resident who advises the president of the national United Church of Christ on climate change, will deliver the inaugural William Sloane . The fact you find that puzzling makes me glad not to be in your family! And that's what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. It withers quicker than the rose. A Eulogy for Alex Editor's note: Ten days after his son, Alex, drove off a bridge and was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered the following sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, You blew it, buddy. The Theology of William Sloane Coffin Thursday, February 15, 2007 Eulogy for Alex Ten days after his son, Alex, was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered this sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. Last week my senior minister shared with me a sermon dated January 23, 1983 (Palm Sunday) written by William Sloane Coffin. But like God herself, Scripture is not around for anyones protection, just for everyones unending support. You can stay up to date with Will & Testament via these feeds. If we (me included) could only get a fraction of a grasp between the difference between time and eternity we would cling much less to time and be closer to God's perspective. William Sloane Coffin Jr. in 1986. You blew it. The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is It is the will of God. Never do we know enough to say that. And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Ive read and re-read this passage many times: I told them, It was an accident. In his younger days he was an athlete, a talented pianist, a CIA officer, and later chaplain of Yale University, where the influence of H. Richard Niebuhr's social philosophy led him to . God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. For some reason, nothing so infuriates me as the incapacity of seemingly intelligent people to get it through their heads that God doesnt go around this world with his fingers on triggers, his fists around knives, his hands on steering wheels. Embed. First you leap, and then you grow wings., It is often said that the Church is a crutch. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, You blew it, buddy. Rememberallproceeds will go directly to support the WSC scholarships at Union Theological Seminary in N.Y.C. This is the last year of the complete 10 year collection of sermons. A formula, A phrase remains.but the best is lost. Among the healing flood of letters that followed his death was one carrying this wonderful quote from the end of Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms": "The world breaks everyone, then some become strong at the broken places.". When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. But if anyone dare speak in response to this tragic accident, they could learn much from William Sloane Coffin, the American justice activist who died last year, about what not to say to. William Sloane Coffin. William Sloane Coffin gave what would be his final sermon at Chautauqua. This is the first year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Your email address will not be published. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. I walked a mile with Sorrow Still there is much by way of consolation. From fields where glory does not stay, 10 For instance, the Christians persecuted the Jews for nearly two thousand years because as they said, they believed the Jews killed Jesus. Actually, its even more worth a listen; its considerably more powerful inthe oral form in which it was delivered, and the audio can be accessed here. He liked it here. In a prideful way it would be easier to walk the valley alone, nobly, head high, instead of as we must marching as the latest recruit in the worlds army of the bereaved. A good question, Suzy. BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Well, that really is selfish and here I thought some believers like Christians are supposed to be charitable. And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your mind's a blank, that "there is no joy the world can give like that it takes away." Have a think about the bigger picture!! To-day, the road all runners come, 5 The garland briefer than a girls. Didnt the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined?. Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead, So I shall so let us all seek consolation in that love which never dies, and find peace in the dazzling grace that always is. Either it is god's will or there is no god! Rev. What an interesting article William God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. After earth has stopped the ears: Now you will not swell the rout He was 81. . Seems a good deal for him - get all the praise when things go our way but none of the blame when things go wrong due to no fault of our own. Until one has personally experienced the loss of a loved one, one can not understand the feelings about the death both positive and negative. 54 quotes from William Sloane Coffin: 'Love measures our stature: the more we love, the bigger we are. Among the healing flood of letters that followed his death was one carrying this wonderful quote from the end of Hemingways A Farewell to Arms: The world breaks everyone, then some become strong at the broken places.. And that's what happens to the horror of all those townsfolk. So why the grief, self pity? And finally I know that when Alex beat me to the grave, the finish line was not Boston Harbor in the middle of the night. The reality of grief is the absence of God My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The reality of grief is the solitude of pain, the feeling that your heart is in pieces, your minds a blank, that there is no joy the world can give like that it takes away. (Lord Byron). Then, as I began to re-read it, I noticed that the guy's name is William Sloane Coffin. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Yes, but at least, My God, my God; and the psalm only begins that way, it doesnt end that way. But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died to understand those is a piece of cake. As for the theological issues, I agree with William on the need for respectful silence. Coffin questioned authority throughout his career, using civil . This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born on June 1, 1924, in New York City to William Sloane Coffin, Sr. and Catherine Butterfield Coffin. But . It all makes me wonder if its not a matter of God willing or letting, but more like the laws of nature. By a departing light Didn't the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined?". Quotes, as voted by Quotefancy readers. After one year at Yale, Coffin joined the U.S. Army, in which he served until 1947, when he returned to Yale, graduating with a B.A. In my case on the death of my wife they were summed up well in a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay entitled Dirge without Music. As almost all of you know, a week ago last Monday night, driving in a terrible storm, my son Alexander who to his friends was a real day-brightener, and to his family fair as a star when only one is shining in the sky my twenty-four-year-old Alexander, who enjoyed beating his old man at every game and in every race, beat his father to the grave. Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave. At Riverside, the profession of faith is "Jesus is Lord." God did not bash the truck into your fathers car. This is beautiful!!! The Rev. " William Sloan Coffin, who died yesterday at 81, was among the foremost pacifists of his generation, and set the mold for the liberal activist preacher ." Coffin, the model for Doonesbury's Reverend Sloan, was a Freedom Rider, Yale chaplain, champion for social justice and one of the most respected leaders of the anti-Vietnam war movement. This is the third year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. This is the tenth year of the complete 10 year collection of sermons. Did you perhaps mistake me for someone else?? And the wise mans gone back. Because there are no rankling unanswered questions, and because Alex and I simply adored each other, the wound for me is deep, but clean. The woman most in need of liberation is the woman in every man and the man in every woman. That is what makes the valley of the shadow of death seem so incredibly dark and unending. c a m p u s l i f e ; m e s s a g e I do hope that many will learn what not to say to a grieving loved one. So while trite, its true: I walked a mile with Pleasure, She chattered all the way; But left me none the wiser For all she had to say. Thats why immediately after such a tragedy people must come to your rescue, people who only want to hold your hand, not to quote anybody or even say anything, people who simply bring food and flowers the basics of beauty and life people who sign letters simply, Your brokenhearted sister. 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