Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind; Rev. But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died to understand those is a piece of cake. I know all the right biblical passages, including Blessed are those who mourn, and my faith is no house of rest, came from fellow reverends, a few of whom proved they knew their cards; these passages are true, I know. When its true and painful, say it softly, None of us have the right to avert our gaze. I went right away to the piano. Didnt the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined? When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 - April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. What do you say to those people? Read more. Will was tyring to elicit thoughts about the whole concept of a god's will. I know all the "right" biblical passages, including "Blessed are those who mourn," and my faith is no house of rest, came from fellow reverends, a few of whom proved they knew their cards; these passages are true, I know. I mentioned the healing flood of letters. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. While he was a student, my father heard the feisty William Coffin preach as a young chaplain at Yale. 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 ne'er a word said she; tragic death of at least 26 Polish pilgrims, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Jonathan Merritt and the ethics of "outing". 2023 Barbara Becker / All Beings Everywhere. Another consolation, of course, will be the learning which better be good, given the price. The scripture reading for each sermon can be found below in PDF format. The time you won your town the race Quotes. Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. On Saturday afternoon at 1:30, the Rev. So while trite, its true: I walked a mile with Pleasure, The civil rights movement: What do you remember with the greatest pleasure or what was the greatest lesson of it? Rememberallproceeds will go directly to support the WSC scholarships at Union Theological Seminary in N.Y.C. http://dlvr.it/Ng3r8d. Smart lad, to slip betimes away Your email address will not be published. The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, Is that so hard to understand? Lewis wrote, They say the coward dies many times; so does the beloved. "Eulogy for Alex" by William Sloane Coffin And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Bill Coffin was such a man. What can be done to turn this public support into organized opposition? The cause of violence is not ignorance. We should be able to plumb the depths of sadness and rise to the heights of joy, even ecstasy, though at my age, its not too easy. 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. 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. RN: What do you think the churches and the National Council of Churches should be doing that they are not now doing regarding the war-occupation? -- William Sloane Coffin. Robert Browning Hamilton Or, in Emily Dickinsons verse: By a departing light We see acuter quite Than by a wick that stays. I have a little sentence or two, about the Chinese Emperor who sent his wise man off for a month, to figure out, what is happiness? But I do not approve. The Coffin award is given in honor of the life and ministry of William Sloane Coffin, former Chaplain to the University and one of the 20th century's most significant religious leaders. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. 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. 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. Updated February 2023. And of course I know, even when pain is deep, that God is good. As the grief that once seemed unbearable begins to turn now to bearable sorrow, the truths in the right biblical passages are beginning, once again, to take hold: Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall strengthen thee; Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning; Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling; In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world; The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.. How does a true Christian operate in a pluralistic world? Well yes this is all very well but why, then, do Christians _thank_ God when something goes right. They have gone to feed the roses. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. As the grief that once seemed unbearable begins to turn now to bearable sorrow, the truths in the right biblical passages are beginning, once again, to take hold: Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall strengthen thee; Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning; Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling; In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world; The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.. You blew it." And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. 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. William Sloane Coffin also wrote about this in his eulogy for his son, Alex, who was killed in a car accident at age 24. I swear to you, I wouldnt be standing here were I not upheld. This album is a collection of prayers from the end of the sermons; 1982-1983. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, You blew it, buddy. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born on June 1, 1924, in New York City to William Sloane Coffin, Sr. and Catherine Butterfield Coffin. Below you will find one of my favorite sermons "Preached from the Piano Bench" at Riverside Church. He was a director, and later vice-president of W. & J. Sloane Company, his family's business, which was founded by his grandfather, William Sloane, from Kilmarnock, Scotland. Rev. An Eulogy for Alex William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Q: What should we be mindful of when we make defense policy? Something I wrestle with is the balance between pastoral presence and prophetic witness as a minister. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. I know how lucky I am! 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. And the folks in Riverside Church had to know whether or not they still had a pastor. I was first introduced to this sermon years ago in a college communications course, and I have thought of it with surprising regularity ever since. But when children die, they take away the future as well. 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. 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. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness. And neer a word said she; Q: I'm interested in the distinction between a speech and a sermon. Receive small business resources and advice about entrepreneurial info, home based business, business franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs. Why would someone grieve for a loved one who is in heaven or in paradise. What makes you think you dont limp?, Love measures our stature. As for the theological issues, I agree with William on the need for respectful silence. My own broken heart is mending, and largely thanks to so many of you, my dear parishioners; for if in the last week I have relearned one lesson, it is that love not only begets love, it transmits strength. Legendary William Sloane Coffin's years at the historic Riverside Church captured in new two-volume collection Louisville, KY-From 1977 through 1987 William Sloane Coffin was the Senior Minister at t . #Hope #Passion. After the death of Coffin's father in 1933, the family moved to Carmel, California, where William attended public school until the ninth grade, when he attended Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. But you seem to be able to deal with these problems in a way that recalls some deep confidence. And the wise mans gone back. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. But like God herself, Scripture is not around for anyones protection, just for everyones unending support. Than by a wick that stays. Details are given further below. The post A Eulogy for Alex appeared first on The Art of Manliness. William Sloane Coffin Jr., a United Church of Christ minister known globally for his peace and justice advocacy, died April 12 at his home in rural Strafford, Vermont. Refusing to cede the battlefield of morality to conservatives, he argues that "compassion demands . Q: How about your own death? Download Sermon Scripture List(84 kb - PDF). 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. And that's what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Either it is god's will or there is no god! You can purchase individual sermons for $4.42 (includes processing fees). When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. It all makes me wonder if its not a matter of God willing or letting, but more like the laws of nature. I swear to you, I wouldnt be standing here were I not upheld. Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store. But when children die, they take away the future as well. 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 . BTW, anonymous was I ere I saw Suomynona WTB, but I'm sure you guessed that right away. Yale University's chaplain, the Rev. Want to start taking action on the content you read on AoM? Didnt the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined?. The garland briefer than a girls. Shoulder-high we bring you home, A good question, Suzy. Theres something in the flight That clarifies the sight And decks the rays. This is the fourth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. ABERNETHY: I asked Coffin to think back on the civil rights and other protest movements he helped lead. Rev. A Prayer by William Sloan Coffin Jr., 1983. 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. But its a fact: few of us are naturally profound. Bill Coffin flourished here, in the cracked common clay of an earthly and earthy life. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. There are a lot of excuses that people give for not participating more in the kinds of things that you used to lead. Still there is much by way of consolation. what do you say? Please address any specific reforms that demand priority. And [a lot of people] think that emotional mediocrity is the good life. 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." Heres how Coffin explained how he managed to write and deliver this eulogy so soon after his sons death (from an interview with Bill Moyers): COFFIN: Well. We see acuter quite He became famous while at Yale in the 1960s for his opposition to the Vietnam War. I said. Like A.E. and Yale Divinity School. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. What an interesting article William Download free, high-quality (4K) pictures and wallpapers featuring William Sloane Coffin, Jr. If a week ago last Monday, a lamp went out, it was because, for him at least, the Dawn had come. For the latest updates across BBC blogs, visit the Blogs homepage. The older I get, the more I accept that death is the inevitable consequence of life, why can't believers? 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. That is what makes the valley of the shadow of death seem so incredibly dark and unending. And set you at your threshold down, And round that early-laurelled head 25 What is the religious challenge at our universities? "William Sloane Coffin offers here a powerful antidote to the politics of the religious right with a clarion call to passive intellectuals and dispirited liberals to reenter the fray with an unabashedly Christian view of social justice. Tony Campolo retells an incident involving William Sloane Coffin following the death of his son, Alexander. But assuming they did, if they hadn't (it was supposed to be god's plan all along) there would be no Christian religion and no savior who died to save everyone else. When sorrow walked with me. 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. William Sloane Coffin was a man with a wild career: he fought in World War II, worked for the CIA after the war, became a "man of the cloth", was thrown in jail as a civil rights marcher with Dr. Martin Luther King, and was an academic, author, and an activist. But left me none the wiser After the death of his wife, C.S. The more we love the bigger we are, There is no smaller package in the world than a man all wrapped up in himself.. But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died to understand those is a piece of cake. Very on the point I think. Editors note: Ten days after his son, Alex, drove off a bridgeand was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered the following sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. @art-of-manliness / art-of-manliness.tumblr.com, Editors note: Ten days after his son, Alex, drove off a bridgeand was killed in a car accident, Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered the following sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. While the words of the Bible are true, grief renders them unreal. Another consolation, of course, will be the learning which better be good, given the price. When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. Still there is much by way of consolation. Rev. Q: You have, in the course of your life, participated in a good many great causes and have done so with a lot of passion. This eulogy from William Sloane Coffin following the death of his son offers words of wisdom and hope for those struggling with the tragedy in Connecticut. __________________ 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. Itsjust one of those things I think is worth a read by all. 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