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." Reprinted with permission of theWilliam Sloane Coffin Sermon Archive Project. I know. Q: It must make you terribly frustrated to see all the things you think are wrong and not being righted, and not be able to play the part in leading those movements that you once did. RN: What do you think should be done strategically and tactically by the peace movement? Thursday, February 15, 2007. He was 81.. But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died to understand those is a piece of cake. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. These sermons were delivered from the pulpit at Riverside Church, N.Y.C. So why the grief, self pity? We have to be forced down. Coffin on defense issues from the Center for Defense Information; Read Coffin's eulogy for his son Alex; Relive the past with Rev. In the fascinating documentary movie Mondo Cane' which was released in 1962, among the strange and seemingly depraved (to Western eyes) behavior is one segment about old people in China who wait around in the upper floor of a house to die while their families are downstairs at a party celebrating their deaths. The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love. "A spiritual person tries less to be godly than to be deeply . He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. What should churches be doing in the face of whats going on in our country right now? The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Something I wrestle with is the balance between pastoral presence and prophetic witness as a minister. So while trite, its true: I walked a mile with Pleasure, I'm puzzled by all of this. Then, as I began to re-read it, I noticed that the guy's name is William Sloane Coffin. Reverend William Sloane Coffin was an outspoken minister, long-time civil rights advocate, and international peace movement activist. We see acuter quite Theres something in the flight That clarifies the sight And decks the rays. William Sloane Coffin served as chaplain of Yale University and Williams College, was senior minister of Riverside Church, and is President Emeritus of SANE/FREEZE: Campaign for Global Security. This is the first year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. 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 Ive 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. William Sloane Coffin Compassion, Sentimental, Individual William Sloane Coffin (2004). Your email address will not be published. And that's what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Coffin questioned authority throughout his career, using civil . 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. Interview with Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. 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. " 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. Click the cart icon next to a sermon in the player below to add a sermon to your cart. Ten days after Alex's death, he delivered this extraordinary sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church in New York City. 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 the folks in Riverside Church had to know whether or not they still had a pastor. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness. As for the theological issues, I agree with William on the need for respectful silence. There are a lot of excuses that people give for not participating more in the kinds of things that you used to lead. 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. Rev. very good question Anne. I swear to you, I wouldn't be standing here were I not upheld. 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? There are many kinds of silence, and one of them is a humbled, respectful, listening silence. A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew, William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Justice is at the heart of religious faith. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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. This is the fourth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Its presence in my mind has been so frequent, especially recently after the loss of a dear friend, that I finally decided to share it here. He liked it here. It remains a heartfelt classic in homiletics. http://dlvr.it/Ng3r8d. "Human unity is not something we are called on to create only something we are called on to recognize." 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.. Well, so I wanted them to know, they had a pastor. The Theology of William Sloane Coffin. 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. Because there are no rankling unanswered questions, and because Alex and I simply adored each other, the wound for me is deep, but clean. Receive small business resources and advice about entrepreneurial info, home based business, business franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs. Q: Let me ask you to look back a little bit at some of the great movements you were part of. 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. 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. All rights reserved. The scripture reading for each sermon can be found below in PDF format. _______________ Reprinted with permission of theWilliam Sloane Coffin Sermon Archive Project. 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. W. & J. Sloane was a furniture and rug store in New York City that catered to the wealthy. Rev. Click the cart icon next to a prayer in the player below to add a prayer to your cart. Ive read and re-read this passage many times: I told them, It was an accident. Runners whom renown outran 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. So why were they angry? Practicing wholesale justice Interview with Bob Abernathy August 27, 204 The Rev. Read more. What an interesting article William Today's Times asks the inevitable question following the tragic death of at least 26 Polish pilgrims in the French Alps: What kind of God would allow something like this to happen? Read more. 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 Ive 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. Well compared to heaven isn't all of life suffering? Some will even argue that God has a purpose in allowing the accident and will use this tragedy to provoke moral growth in the world (though one hopes that this explanation will not be offered in the hearing of any grieving family members). Individual prayers and sermons can be purchased by clicking the cart icon next to each prayer or sermon title. What do you think it is? The title of the sermon is "Alex's Death" and it comes on the heals of Rev. tragic death of at least 26 Polish pilgrims, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Jonathan Merritt and the ethics of "outing". I walked a mile with Sorrow The woman most in need of liberation is the woman in every man and the man in every woman. And find unwithered on its curls 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? It seems to me for those believers who grieve, their religion brings them little more comfort than those who don't. 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's 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. The Art of Manliness participates in affiliate marketing programs, which means we get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links. When a person dies, there are many things that can be said, and there is at least one thing that should never be said. An Eulogy for Alex I know how lucky I am! Last year Union Theological Seminary in New York gave him its highest medal. and Yale Divinity School. Yes, but at least, "My God, my God"; and the psalm only begins that way, it doesn't end that way. God did not bash the truck into your fathers car. Download. The Blessing of Grace by The Rev. Please address any specific reforms that demand priority. I know how lucky I am! ABERNETHY: As he conducts what he calls his lover's quarrel with his country, Coffin acknowledges that he has to be careful not to become self-righteous himself -- perhaps especially when he is honored, as he is often. When she saw me, she shook her head, then headed for the kitchen, saying sadly over her shoulder, I just dont understand the will of God. Instantly I was up and in hot pursuit, swarming all over her. The time you won your town the race Just click the play button. 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, Gods heart was the first of all our hearts to break. This is amazing. Love without criticism is a kind of betrayal. That makes two of us. 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 Houseman, To an Athlete Dying Young. And I wept and I wept. That's 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." Only reverance can restrain violence - reverance for human life and the environment.". 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. When sorrow walked with me. 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William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. 54 quotes from William Sloane Coffin: 'Love measures our stature: the more we love, the bigger we are. But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died to understand those is a piece of cake. Didnt the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined?. How does a true Christian operate in a pluralistic world? But the point is this. These days, campuses are very concerned with religious pluralism. Embed. Why are they unhappy if they think he is in paradise with 72 virgins or are they just feeling sorry for themselves? Yale University's chaplain, the Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr. offers one more complicated blessing. 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. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" William Crawley | 12:42 UK time, Friday, 27 July 2007. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. Unfortunately he left the building April 12th, 2006. "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. SERMON: Alex's Death, by William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Posted on October 6, 2013. While the words of the Bible are true, grief renders them unreal. Q: After September 11 there was a surge of patriotism. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. The reality of grief is the absence of God "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Every sermon constitutes a powerful reminder of his legacy-challenging the conscience of a nation. There is no god!! That clarifies the sight As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, "You blew it, buddy. The cause of violence is not ignorance. Of late there have been a few deaths of former classmates or their spouses and what has struck me is how often God is at the helm of these deaths. For all she had to say. But I also, couldnt think of anything else for the moment, but about Alex, and his death. Coffin's son, Alex, tragic death in an automobile accident. April 12, 2006 / 7:32 PM / AP. Violence - reverance for human life and the environment. & quot ; can... With permission of theWilliam Sloane Coffin Archive Project true: I walked a mile with Pleasure, 'm. Lot of excuses that people give for not participating more in the United of... He delivered this extraordinary sermon to his congregation at Riverside Church had to know whether not! Passage many times: I walked a mile with Pleasure, I 'm puzzled by all of this spent! Entrepreneurial info, home based business, business franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs a! He left the building April 12th, 2006 / 7:32 PM / AP for anything but love pulpit Riverside! 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