Former Chaplain William Sloane Coffin Dies
By DAVID GRAM, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago
MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, a former Yale
University chaplain known for his peace activism during the Vietnam War
and his continuing work for social justice, died Wednesday at his home
in rural Strafford. He was 81.
Coffin had been suffering from congestive heart failure and had been
under the care of a hospice, said his daughter, Amy Coffin.
"He was out in the sun. Everybody was talking and then he was gone,"
Amy Coffin said. "Physically he was pretty debilitated but spiritually
he was not."
William Sloane Coffin was immortalized as the "Rev. Sloane" character
in the Doonesbury comic strip created by fellow Yale graduate Garry
Trudeau.
Coffin gained prominence in the 1960s as an outspoken advocate for
civil rights and against the Vietnam War. He joined a group of civil
rights activists known as the freedom riders and was arrested several
times at demonstrations against segregation. He became a leader of the
group Clergy and Laity Concerned About Vietnam, which engaged in civil
disobedience including offering sanctuary in churches and synagogues to
draft resisters.
He often spoke of having a lifelong "lover's quarrel" with America.
In awarding Coffin an honorary doctorate in 2002, Yale praised its
former chaplain, saying, "You changed the shape of college chaplaincy
and inspired a generation of young people to challenge injustice.
"You urged, in the civil rights and anti-war movements, adherence to
the highest moral principles."
He continued his activism after leaving Yale in 1976 and moving on to
become minister of the Riverside Church in New York City. There he
broadened his agenda to working on issues of peace, nuclear
disarmament, poverty, homelessness and protecting the environment. But
he was criticized by some in the congregation as too attentive to his
social agenda, at the expense of pastoral work and management of the
church.
He retired from Riverside in 1987 to Vermont, but continued traveling
the country lecturing on issues.
--
King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
heard occasionally at http://www.radio4all.net
http://www.myspace.com/kingdaevid
"You can live in your dreams, but only if you are worthy of them."
HARLAN ELLISON
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
By DAVID GRAM, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago
MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, a former Yale
University chaplain known for his peace activism during the Vietnam War
and his continuing work for social justice, died Wednesday at his home
in rural Strafford. He was 81.
Coffin had been suffering from congestive heart failure and had been
under the care of a hospice, said his daughter, Amy Coffin.
"He was out in the sun. Everybody was talking and then he was gone,"
Amy Coffin said. "Physically he was pretty debilitated but spiritually
he was not."
William Sloane Coffin was immortalized as the "Rev. Sloane" character
in the Doonesbury comic strip created by fellow Yale graduate Garry
Trudeau.
Coffin gained prominence in the 1960s as an outspoken advocate for
civil rights and against the Vietnam War. He joined a group of civil
rights activists known as the freedom riders and was arrested several
times at demonstrations against segregation. He became a leader of the
group Clergy and Laity Concerned About Vietnam, which engaged in civil
disobedience including offering sanctuary in churches and synagogues to
draft resisters.
He often spoke of having a lifelong "lover's quarrel" with America.
In awarding Coffin an honorary doctorate in 2002, Yale praised its
former chaplain, saying, "You changed the shape of college chaplaincy
and inspired a generation of young people to challenge injustice.
"You urged, in the civil rights and anti-war movements, adherence to
the highest moral principles."
He continued his activism after leaving Yale in 1976 and moving on to
become minister of the Riverside Church in New York City. There he
broadened his agenda to working on issues of peace, nuclear
disarmament, poverty, homelessness and protecting the environment. But
he was criticized by some in the congregation as too attentive to his
social agenda, at the expense of pastoral work and management of the
church.
He retired from Riverside in 1987 to Vermont, but continued traveling
the country lecturing on issues.
--
King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
heard occasionally at http://www.radio4all.net
http://www.myspace.com/kingdaevid
"You can live in your dreams, but only if you are worthy of them."
HARLAN ELLISON
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
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