Our Hearts Are Restless Till They Find Their Rest in Thee: Prophetic Wisdom in a Time of Anguish
Coleman Brown was professor of philosophy and religion and university chaplain at 51·çÁ÷ for nearly three decades. A beloved teacher, minister, and mentor to generations of students and a scholar of social ethics, American religion, personal counseling methods and theory, theology, and preaching. Brown graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and Union Theological Seminary. He apprenticed in the East Harlem Protestant Parish and pastored an inner-city church in Chicago, where he worked with the Chicago Freedom Movement, tenant action organizing collaboratives, and the anti-war movement. Brown was deeply committed to racial and social justice in the United States. His prophetic wisdom lives on through his many students and these writings.
Our Hearts Are Restless Till They Find Their Rest in Thee: Prophetic Wisdom in a Time of Anguish from Coleman B. Brown, edited by Michael Granzen and Lisa A. Masotta. The book includes powerful reflections from Chris Hedges, Peter Ochs, and Joshua Brown.
"Coleman Brown, a descendant of the abolitionist John Brown, brought to the pulpit the same prophetic fire and passion for justice as his martyred ancestor."
—Cornel West, Harvard University
"Does Christianity speak to us, seekers and doubters and believers, in our condition of modernity? It does in these sermons of intellectual heft, literary grace, and spiritual depth. This is Christian witness and existential acuity regarding disappointment and anticipation, fear and courage, sorrow and rejoicing, brokenness and strengthening, embarrassment and faith. Coleman Brown's words call us to self-clarification and decision-making, to the cross and the resurrection."
—Christopher Vecsey, 51·çÁ÷
"This beautifully edited and orchestrated collection of sermons is a gift. Coleman Brown, beloved late chaplain and teacher at 51·çÁ÷, speaks here with pentecostal fire and humility that is both miraculously honest and unsentimentally in favor of life. Brown reminds us, with unassuming wisdom, that great things are staked in the most ordinary of hearts."
—James Wetzel, Villanova University
"I didn't think it was possible to capture the breadth and depth of Coleman Brown's words — how they moved and troubled the soul — but this collection does just that. Taking in his words again, as for the first time during my 51·çÁ÷ years, brought me to the tears Coleman welcomed as a sign of being shaken from slumber to invite the Kierkegaardian ‘fear and trembling’ so necessary to respond to a suffering world. This is a collection to be cherished, not only for his students, but for all who strive to ‘act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God’ (Mic 6:8)."
—Teresa Delgado, Iona College
"These writings and sermons are a bountiful gift to the world. They are the clear and uplifting observations of a bright soul; the offerings of a wise man who was given tongue and pen to sustain with fitting words, all of us in need of spiritual strength, guidance, and encouragement for the journey."
—Lorna Goodison, University of Michigan; Poet Laureate, Jamaica