 | The Reverend William Sloane Coffin Jr. |
The Divinity School has established an endowed scholarship fund in honor of the Reverend William Sloane Coffin Jr., the prominent anti-war and civil rights activist who was university chaplain from 1958 to 1975.
Formal announcement of The William Sloane Coffin Jr. Scholarship Fund was made at an April 28 dinner held at Yale Commons in celebration of Coffin's public witness and ministry over a half century.
Christopher Sawyer, an Atlanta attorney and chair of the Divinity School's board of advisers, told more than 400 friends of Coffin that the scholarship fund will help continue the chaplain's legacy, which has been marked by a style of ministry deeply engaged in the political and social questions of the day.
"Prophetic leadership," "passion for justice" and "critical theological interpretations of the contemporary social and political scene" are characteristics that will be sought in Yale Divinity School students who are named Coffin Scholars, noted Sawyer.
The fund has an endowment goal of $1 million and was initiated by former students who were deeply influenced by Coffin's ministry. Many of those students were among the guests present at the dinner and panel presentations that were part of the two-day celebration.
At the dinner gathering, the 80-year-old Coffin continued to throw down challenges to the religious community, as he has done throughout his ministry. He called on seminaries to offer instruction that will produce parish clergy with "a little more starch," who are trained for "difficult situations that lie ahead," and who are less "gumption-deficient."
Details about the scholarship fund and Coffin celebration, including streaming videos and the entire text of Coffin's speech, are available on the Divinity School web site at www.yale.edu/divinity/coffin/index.html.
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