Itsjust one of those things I think is worth a read by all. When she saw me, she shook her head, then headed for the kitchen, saying sadly over her shoulder, "I just don't understand the will of God." And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. Smart lad, to slip betimes away You blew it." After the death of his wife, C.S. But I also, couldnt think of anything else for the moment, but about Alex, and his death. Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind; 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. Q: How about your own death? When a person dies, there are many things that can be said, and there is at least one thing that should never be said. You will also find a collection of his prayers that concluded many of his sermons. Q: Let me ask you to look back a little bit at some of the great movements you were part of. The scripture reading for each sermon can be found below in PDF format. I was first introduced to this sermon years agoin a college communications course, and I have thought of it with surprising regularityever since. Rev. #Hope #Passion. "I'll say you don't, lady!" 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. That's the puzzlement of it all. The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is "It is the will of God." But like God herself, Scripture is not around for anyone's protection, just for everyone's unending support. History The company was founded as a rug importer and seller on March 2, 1843 by William Sloane who had just emigrated from Kilmarnock, Scotland, a town famous for weaving fine carpets and rugs. 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. "A spiritual person tries less to be godly than to be deeply . Realist- I'm struggling to understand how what you said relates to anything I posted above whatsoever. 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 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. By a departing light We see acuter quite Than by a wick that stays. That is what makes the valley of the shadow of death seem so incredibly dark and unending. But you seem to be able to deal with these problems in a way that recalls some deep confidence. That clarifies the sight And thats what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. what do you say? No. 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. Protestant preacher William Sloane Coffin after the death of his college-age son in an accident confesses to blowing up at a neighbor. 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." January 6, 1968 Spock and Coffin Indicted For Activity Against Draft By FRED P. GRAHAM . The fact you find that puzzling makes me glad not to be in your family! 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). When you scroll down this page you will find all of Bill's Riverside sermons organized by year. 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. 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. Embed. Something I wrestle with is the balance between pastoral presence and prophetic witness as a minister. 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. They accepted that it was god's will. Do you think about that? 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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. Justice is at the heart of religious faith. Than by a wick that stays. 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.". But the point is this. Q: Why do you think that is, in the country as a whole? A good question, Suzy. And the folks in Riverside Church had to know whether or not they still had a pastor. Itsjust one of those things I think is worth a read by all. 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. But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died to understand those is a piece of cake. The use of Gods will or God has chosen to take whatever the phrase has always made me uncomfortable. And find unwithered on its curls And of course I know, even when pain is deep, that God is good. If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find our beginner's guide to RSS useful. Coffin delivered his sermon "Eulogy for Alex" at Riversid e Church. I swear to you, I wouldnt be standing here were I not upheld. 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 world's army of the bereaved. The garland briefer than a girls. Q: What's the essential connection for you between religious faith and justice? Why are they unhappy if they think he is in paradise with 72 virgins or are they just feeling sorry for themselves? Stories and Reflections on Service, Ram Dass and Paul Gorman, Knocking on Heavens Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death, Katy Butler, Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche. Nationalism at the expense of another nation, is just as wicked as racism at the expense of another race. 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. But its a fact: few of us are naturally profound. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. I think it will serve as a reminder of many stupid things we all have said to people who are grieving the main one probably being I'm not a believer but at least I appreciate when people demonstrate that they actually believe in what they say they do. Have a think about the bigger picture!! And there are large accidents, like the one your dad was in. Because there are no rankling unanswered questions, and because Alex and I simply adored each other, the wound for me is deep, but clean. is the blossom. This website is the home of the William Sloane Coffin Sermon Archive Project. And [a lot of people] think that emotional mediocrity is the good life. Additionally, a 301 Moved Permanently error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. 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: You have, in the course of your life, participated in a good many great causes and have done so with a lot of passion. Contributions to support this project can always be made through PayPal (david@davidcoffin.com). tragic death of at least 26 Polish pilgrims, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Jonathan Merritt and the ethics of "outing". 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. I also know this day-brightener of a son wouldn't 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. ABERNETHY: I spoke with Coffin about growing old. The Rev. But left me none the wiser So why the grief, self pity? #Power Of Love #Truth #Love. He was 81.. Details are given further below. So set, before its echoes fade, William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. William Sloane Coffin challenged the nation with his passionate calls for social justice. 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). After the death of his wife, C.S. An Eulogy for Alex When sorrow walked with me. 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. For the latest updates across BBC blogs, visit the Blogs homepage. Robert Browning Hamilton Or, in Emily Dickinsons verse: By a departing light We see acuter quite Than by a wick that stays. 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. 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). So. Why? Thanks for posting this. And silence sounds no worse than cheers 15 A different man named Alex Hamilton who was a British broadcaster used the saying in 1978. William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 - April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. So what is the role of the university chaplain? He attended Deerfield Academy and Phillips Academy Andover before beginning his studies at Yale University in 1942. 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 . ABERNETHY: Coffin became the leader of the U.S. campaign against nuclear weapons. "Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible.". 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. Lewis wrote, "They say 'the coward dies many times'; so does the beloved. William Sloane Coffin Jr. offers one more complicated blessing. Then, as I began to re-read it, I noticed that the guy's name is William Sloane Coffin. Would it be abhorrent to find that intensely funny? And decks the rays. Robert Browning Hamilton. William Sloane Coffin. 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. very good question Anne. We see acuter quite William Sloane Coffin, a United Church of Christ Minister known globally for his peace and justice advocacy, died April 12, 2006, at his home in rural Strafford, Vt. Welcome to the sermons and prayers download page. The Rev. Q: Where does the rise of conservatism, especially on the religious Right among Protestant evangelicals, fit into this whole thing? How do you separate patriotism from criticism? 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.. Then he moves on to the next town. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness. They have gone to feed the roses. William Sloane Coffin also wrote about this in his eulogy for his son, Alex, who was killed in a car accident at age 24. William Sloane Coffin Jr., chaplain of Yale University, were indicted today on charges of conspiring to counsel young men to violate the draft laws. Theres something in the flight That clarifies the sight And decks the rays. For all she had to say. "The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love." --- William Sloane Coffin. And that's what hundreds of you understood so beautifully. This is the seventh year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. Rev. BBC Northern Ireland presenter William Crawley discusses the often controversial political, religious and ethical issues of the day. Why aren't people in the streets today the way they were in the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement? William Sloane Coffin. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was born to considerable wealth and social position on June 1, 1924, in New York City. The time you won your town the race 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. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, "You blew it, buddy. The older I get, the more I accept that death is the inevitable consequence of life, why can't believers? 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. And, in spite of all of this, God is wherever love can be found. Just click the play button. Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. 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 someone whose heart is breaking. For. And home we brought you shoulder-high. 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. 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. 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. 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