The Rev. But I do not approve. I'm sure there must be something somewhere in the Bible which says words to that effect. Theres something in the flight That clarifies the sight And decks the rays. William Sloane Coffin. 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.. RN: Why do you think most of the anti-war groups stopped their marches in 2004 and became quiescent compared to 2003? Download. And find unwithered on its curls I know how lucky I am! But it's a fact: few of us are naturally profound. But I also, couldnt think of anything else for the moment, but about Alex, and his death. in 1949. I know how lucky I am! My own consolation lies in knowing that it was not the will of God that Alex die; that when the waves closed over the sinking car, God's heart was the first of all our hearts to break. Bill Coffin's legacy is ministry . When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. Theres something in the flight That is what makes the valley of the shadow of death seem so incredibly dark and unending. These sermons were delivered from the pulpit at Riverside Church, N.Y.C. Well compared to heaven isn't all of life suffering? Podcast #862: Heal the Body With Extended Fasting Podcast #761: How Testosterone Makes Men, Men How Saunas Can Help Save Your Body, Mind, and Spirit Podcast #852: The Brain Energy Theory of Mental Illness 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. A powerful eulogy. Yale University's chaplain, the Rev. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. Than by a wick that stays. If a week ago last Monday, a lamp went out, it was because, for him at least, the Dawn had come. She chattered all the way; Want to start taking action on the content you read on AoM? @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. 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. I'm always puzzled at these Moslem women who wail like Banshees when their terrorist sons are killed as what they believe to be martyrs. Of course its a crutch. But when children die, they take away the future as well. And the name died before the man. They said it was god's will, that she is in heaven now and they moved on without the tearjerking remorse many who call them true believers in a faith feel. Wind your head in John!! I also know this day-brightener of a son wouldnt wish to be held close by grief (nor, for that matter, would any but the meanest of our beloved departed) and that, interestingly enough, when I mourn Alex least I see him best. Rev. But like God herself, Scripture is not around for anyones protection, just for everyones unending support. William Sloane Coffin challenged the nation with his passionate calls for social justice. There's something deep in there that involves joy and hope. God gave man dominion over the world at the beginning - and free will - and man so man has had the responsibility for his conduct since then, and for infecting all of creation with his sin. --Robert Browning Hamilton. Did you perhaps mistake me for someone else?? I agree about the need for silence regarding those grieving. William Sloane Coffin Heart, Optimistic, Independent 64 Copy quote To show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make him an object of compassion is to be sentimental rather than loving. After the death of his wife, C.S. Rev. 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. 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. Q: Where does the rise of conservatism, especially on the religious Right among Protestant evangelicals, fit into this whole thing? Moved Permanently. William Sloane Coffin May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short; Grace to risk something big for something good; and Grace to remember the world is now too dangerous for anything but the truth and too small for anything but love. Then he moves on to the next town. William Sloane Coffin Compassion, Sentimental, Individual William Sloane Coffin (2004). And I wept and I wept. I was first introduced to this sermon years agoin a college communications course, and I have thought of it with surprising regularityever since. By a departing light 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. You gave me what God gives all of us minimum protection, maximum support. This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. It is truly a labor of love (a lot of labor; a lot of love) to digitally "Save Bill's Voice." Delivered from the Riverside Church pulpit over his ten years as senior minister, there were over 300 sermons in need of archiving to a digital format. The Rev William Sloane Coffin A radical preacher and antiwar activist, he took on the American establishment Christopher Reed Thu 13 Apr 2006 19.04 EDT The upbringing of William Sloane. Eyes the shady night has shut __________________ 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. Ill say you dont, lady! I said. It withers quicker than the rose. 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. So people are feeling sorry for themselves instead of happy for the one they believe is now in heaven. Love without criticism is a kind of betrayal. -- William Sloane Coffin. Q: Many, many religious conservatives read the same Scripture that you do and come out very differently on social issues. So, I wrote the sermon about it. Unfortunately he left the building April 12th, 2006. And neer a word said she; The common attribution to the eighteenth-century statesman Alexander Hamilton was probably based on a mistaken understanding of a relatively modern citation. Will was tyring to elicit thoughts about the whole concept of a god's will. The Rev. He was 81.. Only reverance can restrain violence - reverance for human life and the environment.". View all William Sloane Coffin Quotes. So if you want to know where God is in this or in anything, look for love., Your email address will not be published. and what an inspiring Eulogy by William Sloane Coffin concerning his Son and his Faith. (Lord Byron). The more we love the bigger we are, There is no smaller package in the world than a man all wrapped up in himself.. You gave me what God gives all of us minimum protection, maximum support. 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? Cannot see the record cut, The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, 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. That makes two of us. Crowned with lilies and Laurel they go; but I am not resigned. I mentioned the healing flood of letters. ABERNETHY: I asked Coffin to think back on the civil rights and other protest movements he helped lead. I read through this with utter esteem for the sentiments therein and Will is right to say that those who speak in response to a tragedy like this they could learn much from this eulogy, which said it all, so very very well. I mentioned the healing flood of letters. And read the poems. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. I mentioned the healing flood of letters. And of course I know, even when pain is deep, that God is good. But I think much of our exasperation could be tempered if we could see our lives more from God's perspective than our own. RN: What broader advice do you have for strengthening our democracy and confronting the concentration of power and wealth over the life sustaining directions our country (with its impact on the world) needs to take? 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. Less sceptical commentators may point to mechanical -- and possibly human -- failure on a notoriously dangerous road. ashington, Jan. 5--Five men, including Dr. Benjamin Spock, the author and pediatrician, and the Rev. It seems to me for those believers who grieve, their religion brings them little more comfort than those who don't. Paul said he would prefer to be in eternity (where all pain and suffering ends), but worked all the harder here in time until he left. 2023 Barbara Becker / All Beings Everywhere. William Sloane Coffin Sr. (April 15, 1879 - December 16, 1933) was an American businessman. "Human unity is not something we are called on to create only something we are called on to recognize." The title of the sermon is "Alex's Death" and it comes on the heals of Rev. Even as he was trying to cooperate gracefully with the inevitability of death, he was also coaching Paul Newman to play the preacher in the film version of Marilynn Robinson's novel Gilead. From fields where glory does not stay, 10 The prayers are presented in several multi-year collections. 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. Rev. Read more. William Sloane Coffin's Eulogy for Alex This was sent my way as a follow-up on my sermon. I said. Here are additional selected citations in chronological order. No. Q: Many of us say, "Well, you know, I've got to work hard to support my family, I don't have a lot of time," or "I don't want to seem radical," or "I don't want to cause my neighbors to suspect I'm not fully patriotic." The Blessing of Grace by The Rev. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There is no god!! How do you separate patriotism from criticism? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. When sorrow walked with me. I was impressed by the Amish last year when that young girl was killed. Bill Coffin flourished here, in the cracked common clay of an earthly and earthy life. Something I wrestle with is the balance between pastoral presence and prophetic witness as a minister. 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 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. 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. 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. How are you able to look at the world as it is and still have the capacity for feeling joyful? How does a true Christian operate in a pluralistic world? 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. Updated February 2023. William Sloane Coffin also wrote about this in his eulogy for his son, Alex, who was killed in a car accident at age 24. This is the ninth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Click the cart icon next to a prayer in the player below to add a prayer to your cart. When you scroll down this page you will find all of Bill's Riverside sermons organized by year. This album is a collection of prayers from the end of the sermons; 1977-1979. Anonymous- I think people are grieving because they're sad to see someone go. On Saturday afternoon at 1:30, the Rev. On my sermon start taking action on the religious Right among Protestant,. 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