We have to be forced down. " 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. So why were they angry? He liked it here. "Human unity is not something we are called on to create only something we are called on to recognize." 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. In other words, in my intense grief I felt some of my fellow reverends not many, and none of you, thank God were using comforting words of Scripture for self-protection, to pretty up a situation whose bleakness they simply couldnt face. View all William Sloane Coffin Quotes. And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Practicing wholesale justice Interview with Bob Abernathy August 27, 204 The Rev. "The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love." --- William Sloane Coffin. @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. Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible., I love the recklessness of faith. Have a think about the bigger picture!! As far as I can tell, when you die, in the words of Art Bell, it's.."lights out" (I love the way he puts it.) 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. I'm not a believer but at least I appreciate when people demonstrate that they actually believe in what they say they do. We all do what we know how to do, maybe. Ten days after Alex's death, he delivered this extraordinary sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. There is no smaller package in all the world than that of a man all wrapped up in himself.', 'Prophets from Amos and Isaiah to Gandhi and King have shown how frequently compassion demands confrontation. We have to be forced down. 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. 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. While the words of the Bible are true, grief renders them unreal. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. "Eulogy for Alex" by William Sloane Coffin The more we love the bigger we are, There is no smaller package in the world than a man all wrapped up in himself.. No matter where they're going or what they're going to experience, the primary reason people mourn a death is because they know they'll miss the person who died and won't see them again. The night after Alex died I was sitting in the living room of my sisters house outside of Boston, when the front door opened and in came a nice-looking, middle-aged woman, carrying about eighteen quiches. Rev. Bill Coffin was such a man. Q: I'm interested in the distinction between a speech and a sermon. If a week ago last Monday, a lamp went out, it was because, for him at least, the Dawn had come. In other words, in my intense grief I felt some of my fellow reverends not many, and none of you, thank God were using comforting words of Scripture for self-protection, to pretty up a situation whose bleakness they simply couldn't face. I know that. 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. Alex. But . 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.". I wrote the sermon. In his younger days he was an athlete, a talented pianist, a CIA agent, and later chaplain of Yale University, where the influence of Reinhold Niebuhr's . If you had a pastoral visit with the president, what would you say? William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Ill say you dont, lady! I said. I agree about the need for silence regarding those grieving. 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? 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. There are a lot of excuses that people give for not participating more in the kinds of things that you used to lead. Kate Braestrups book is beautiful, and I highly recommend it to all who are seeking answers. If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find our beginner's guide to RSS useful. It is self-interest. what do you say? Why would someone grieve for a loved one who is in heaven or in paradise. Ill say you dont, lady! I said. c a m p u s l i f e ; m e s s a g e Q: How about your own death? 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. Tony Campolo retells an incident involving William Sloane Coffin following the death of his son, Alexander. As you look around the country today, I wonder whether you see an absence of commitment to great causes with great passion. So if you want to know where God is in this or in anything, look for love., Your email address will not be published. By a departing light We see acuter quite Than by a wick that stays. 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. All too often we speak when we should be listening And find unwithered on its curls Bill Coffin's legacy is ministry . Additionally, a 301 Moved Permanently error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. Either it is god's will or there is no god! The Rev. In your prayer life do you tend to direct your prayer life to Jesus or God? In my email signature, I have this quote by him: The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.. The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is "It is the will of God." Rev. Click the cart icon next to a prayer in the player below to add a prayer to your cart. An Eulogy for Alex The recipient of the Coffin award will be someone who shares Coffin's passionate and prophetic witness, a courageous devotion to the dignity and worth of . RN: What about the Educational system as it relates to democracy? You gave me what God gives all of us minimum protection, maximum support. William Sloane Coffin, a former Yale University chaplain known for his peace activism during the Vietnam War and his continuing work for social justice . These days, campuses are very concerned with religious pluralism. The Theology of William Sloane Coffin Thursday, February 15, 2007 Moral lassitude Interview with Religion & Ethics Newsweekly August 27, 2004 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. Thanks for posting this. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. And home we brought you shoulder-high. Read more. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave. When sorrow walked with me. You can stay up to date with Will & Testament via these feeds. And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Another consolation, of course, will be the learning which better be good, given the price. Not because our diverse readership will agree with all of its theological underpinnings, but because I think it offers wise advice on what to say (and not say) when someone dies tragically, a poignant window on the human experience, and a lesson in the art of effective rhetoric(hence why we were discussing it in a communications class). Q: Where does the rise of conservatism, especially on the religious Right among Protestant evangelicals, fit into this whole thing? Read more. so if God doesnt will these things to happen, why does he let them happen? From fields where glory does not stay, 10 So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind. They are gone. For some reason, nothing so infuriates me as the incapacity of seemingly intelligent people to get it through their heads that God doesn't go around this world with his fingers on triggers, his fists around knives, his hands on steering wheels. This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Itsjust one of those things I think is worth a read by all. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 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. He attended Deerfield Academy and Phillips Academy Andover before beginning his studies at Yale University in 1942. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. Hello Select your address Bill Coffin flourished here, in the cracked common clay of an earthly and earthy life. Rev. How much suffering? Receive small business resources and advice about entrepreneurial info, home based business, business franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs. William Sloane Coffin challenged the nation with his passionate calls for social justice. Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death, Joan Halifax, Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs and Communicatoins of the Dying, How Can I Help? I was moved to tears, to be perfectly honest. 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. No longer updated grief renders them unreal God, why hast thou forsaken me best, and highly. Of an earthly and earthy life Phillips Academy Andover before beginning his studies at University. Archived and is no God concerned with religious pluralism been archived and is God. 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william sloane coffin eulogy for alex