The Legacy of William Sloane Coffin | Sojourners

The Legacy of William Sloane Coffin

Sunday, I preached from the old pulpit of William Sloane Coffin at Yale University. He served as chaplain there from 1958-1976, and to this day, so I am told, alumni return to the chapel with fond memories of this larger than life man.

While looking at pictures of Yale's chaplains over the past century, I remembered a story that Bill Moyers told about his time as Press Secretary in the White House during the Vietnam War. On a phone interview with a reporter from the recently created Religion News Service, Moyers was asked whether or not the war was a "just" one. Moyers argued that it met all the criteria and was ready to move on when the reporter pushed back saying, "But, the Reverend William Sloane Coffin at Yale says