Please address any specific reforms that demand priority. But it's a fact: few of us are naturally profound. So if you want to know where God is in this or in anything, look for love., Your email address will not be published. Yes, but at least, "My God, my God"; and the psalm only begins that way, it doesn't end that way. 2023 Barbara Becker / All Beings Everywhere. 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." William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 - April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. 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." I do hope that many will learn what not to say to a grieving loved one. 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. 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. 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." 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. And the name died before the man. 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. I know, but I do not approve, and I am not resigned. 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. Additionally, a 301 Moved Permanently error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. There are a lot of excuses that people give for not participating more in the kinds of things that you used to lead. 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 . Q: Let me ask you to look back a little bit at some of the great movements you were part of. We all do what we know how to do, maybe. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the 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. Ralph Nader: With the majority of Americans in poll after poll turning against the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq and with many retired Generals, diplomats and intelligence officials opposed to the invasion in the first instance why is the organized opposition not greater? Q: We've been talking about a lot of big problems. You gave me what God gives all of us minimum protection, maximum support. I was first introduced to this sermon years agoin a college communications course, and I have thought of it with surprising regularityever since. Q: What's the essential connection for you between religious faith and justice? Q: What should we be mindful of when we make defense policy? Some of the very best, and easily the worst, knew their Bibles better than the human condition. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. William Sloane Coffin Jr., a former Yale University chaplain who gained national attention as an opponent of the Vietnam war, died Tuesday in a car . Refusing to cede the battlefield of morality to conservatives, he argues that "compassion demands . When parents die, as my mother did last month, they take with them a large portion of the past. Coffin questioned authority throughout his career, using civil . Instantly I was up and in hot pursuit, swarming all over her. Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave. But like God herself, Scripture is not around for anyones protection, just for everyones unending support. "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." Every sermon constitutes a powerful reminder of his legacy-challenging the conscience of a nation. But the things I learned from her 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. I mentioned the healing flood of letters. 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." 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 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. Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind; SERMON: Alex's Death, by William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Posted on October 6, 2013. MOYERS: Youre not supposed to outlive your children, are you? Read more. And I played all the hymns. The fleet foot on the sill of shade, William Sloane Coffin challenged the nation with his passionate calls for social justice. 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. 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. 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. And there are large accidents, like the one your dad was in. Download. The scripture reading for each sermon can be found below in PDF format. 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. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, "You blew it, buddy. And [a lot of people] think that emotional mediocrity is the good life. At Riverside, the profession of faith is "Jesus is Lord." As you look around the country today, I wonder whether you see an absence of commitment to great causes with great passion. Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead, This is the fifth year of the complete ten year collection of sermons. William Sloane Coffin. Unfortunately he left the building April 12th, 2006. BBC Northern Ireland presenter William Crawley discusses the often controversial political, religious and ethical issues of the day. And then, Im a preacher. 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. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. But its a fact: few of us are naturally profound. Didn't the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined?". Theres such wisdom in these words that Ive found it bears re-reading from time to time. I said. "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. ABERNETHY: Coffin rails at neglect of the poor and U.S. policies in Iraq. Fragrant is the blossom. What should churches be doing in the face of whats going on in our country right now? 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. It is self-interest. 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. Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible. 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? He became famous while at Yale in the 1960s for his opposition to the Vietnam War. 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.. William Sloane Coffin gave what would be his final sermon at Chautauqua. #Ignorance #Self #Violence. This website is the home of the William Sloane Coffin Sermon Archive Project. This is amazing. For all she had to say. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness. God does not spill milk. 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. That's the puzzlement of it all. 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. The document has moved here. And home we brought you shoulder-high. Ill say you dont, lady! I said. When sorrow walked with me. Crowned with lilies and Laurel they go; but I am not resigned. While the words of the Bible are true, grief renders them unreal. 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). William Sloane Coffin Compassion, Sentimental, Individual William Sloane Coffin (2004). No. 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.. Until one has personally experienced the loss of a loved one, one can not understand the feelings about the death both positive and negative. William Sloane Coffin Jr. preached these Sunday sermons from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City. 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. Coffin to his congregation at the Riverside Church in New York City. The time you won your town the race My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. That is what makes the valley of the shadow of death seem so incredibly dark and unending. So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind. COFFIN: No. I too have thought Gods heart is the first to break. #Power Of Love #Truth #Love. During WWII, Coffin joined the army and later served as a CIA agent after the outbreak of the Korean War. Contributions to support this project can always be made through PayPal (david@davidcoffin.com). William Sloane Coffin. For instance, the Christians persecuted the Jews for nearly two thousand years because as they said, they believed the Jews killed Jesus. This album is a collection of prayers from the end of the sermons; 1977-1979. This album is a collection of prayers from the end of the sermons; 1982-1983. 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