James T. Cleland - "On Saying 'Thank You'" (December 8, 1974)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(liturgical instrumental music) | 0:03 | |
- | Today is a joyous occasion as we gathered | 3:06 |
to commemorate the 50th anniversary | 3:09 | |
of the founding of this university. | 3:11 | |
It is a time of special inspiration | 3:14 | |
for all of us who are part of this living institution. | 3:17 | |
Our thoughts are of the founder of Washington Duke, | 3:22 | |
and Benjamin Duke who fashioned and shared dreams | 3:25 | |
as they work to strengthen Trinity College. | 3:29 | |
And have James Buchanan Duke who dedicated his wealth | 3:32 | |
to make these dreams become reality | 3:35 | |
and instill greater vision of a world center of learning | 3:39 | |
in his father's memory. | 3:42 | |
Duke University exists as the embodiment of those dreams, | 3:45 | |
a center of learning, | 3:51 | |
which has helped to light the darken paths | 3:53 | |
of human history in the turbulent half century just passed, | 3:56 | |
and stands ready to help illuminate the road ahead. | 4:01 | |
A center for preparing young men and women | 4:06 | |
for creative service in the ministry, and teaching, | 4:10 | |
in the practice of medicine and in the law. | 4:14 | |
And to prepare its students in all areas of knowledge, | 4:17 | |
for lives of moral strength and leadership. | 4:20 | |
A strong bond of continuity linking the present | 4:24 | |
with the past is symbolized in the continued service | 4:28 | |
of the Duke family to this university. | 4:32 | |
Their loyalty and devotion | 4:35 | |
are the cherished heritage of this institution. | 4:37 | |
Their interest in support represent an unbroken chain | 4:41 | |
of commitment to what James B. Duke called, | 4:44 | |
the most civilizing of institutions next to religion. | 4:48 | |
And so we are here today in the beauty | 4:52 | |
and in the quiet of this holy place | 4:56 | |
to rededicate ourselves to the vision | 4:59 | |
the founders held for this university. | 5:02 | |
We gratefully acknowledge their generosity. | 5:05 | |
We salute their foresight and we take inspiration | 5:08 | |
from their acts, and from the continued involvement | 5:12 | |
of the Duke family. | 5:15 | |
As we enter upon the second half century, | 5:17 | |
we pledge renewed efforts to strengthen | 5:21 | |
and enrich the Duke University of today | 5:24 | |
in order to help ensure the future | 5:27 | |
of this beloved institution | 5:30 | |
as memorial to these founders and this family. | 5:33 | |
- | Let us pray. | 5:45 |
Oh God, on this day of remembrance and celebration, | 5:49 | |
we give thanks to you for all those through whom | 5:56 | |
you have blessed our lives. | 5:59 | |
For all persons who have made us sensitive to others. | 6:03 | |
Those whose influence has been a healing grace. | 6:08 | |
For all dear friends and kindred of our homes | 6:13 | |
whose faces we see no more, | 6:15 | |
but whose love is ever with us. | 6:19 | |
For this university, for the lives and influence | 6:23 | |
and concern and gifts of the Duke family, past and present. | 6:28 | |
For those who first felt it important that religion | 6:36 | |
and learning should indissoluble be wed. | 6:39 | |
For those who wanted a great towering church | 6:44 | |
at the center of this university. | 6:46 | |
And placed rooms of study, learning, research, | 6:49 | |
and recreation around it. | 6:53 | |
For benefactors and trustees and administrators, | 6:57 | |
whose gifts of time, energy, money and ideas | 7:00 | |
have made of this university | 7:05 | |
a place of learning of devotion, | 7:08 | |
and of service to others. | 7:12 | |
For persons of daily labor who have kept this | 7:15 | |
a place of beauty. | 7:19 | |
For teachers who have sought and who have shared | 7:22 | |
their knowledge of the truth, | 7:24 | |
that truth, which frees the mind and motivates the will. | 7:26 | |
For students who have come to gain | 7:33 | |
and have left to give, and have both here | 7:35 | |
and abroad made this world a better place. | 7:39 | |
For all those, oh God | 7:44 | |
through whose sacrifices we now live. | 7:47 | |
May we hold them in continual remembrance and think of them | 7:51 | |
as with you in that city whose gates are not shut by day | 7:55 | |
and where there is no night. | 8:01 | |
May we be dedicated now to work | 8:05 | |
for a world where justice is the way of life, | 8:10 | |
where fear is dispelled, and where love is common to us all. | 8:14 | |
Oh Lord, save us your people, and bless your heritage to us | 8:21 | |
and to our children's children | 8:29 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. | 8:32 | |
(choir sings) | 11:06 | |
(liturgical instrumental music) | 12:32 | |
(choir sings) | 13:10 | |
Grace to you and peace from God our father, | 18:02 | |
and our Lord Jesus Christ. | 18:06 | |
I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, | 18:10 | |
"Father, I had sinned against heaven and before you, | 18:18 | |
and I'm no more worthy to be called your child." | 18:23 | |
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, | 18:29 | |
let each one of us now humbly confess his or her sins | 18:34 | |
in the presence of God, let us pray. | 18:38 | |
Our Lord, creator of all things, and source of all truth, | 18:45 | |
we ask your forgiveness for the sins of the mind, | 18:51 | |
the pride of thinking that we are masters | 18:55 | |
of all creation and history, | 18:58 | |
our slackness or compulsion, | 19:01 | |
and our work in this university, | 19:03 | |
our doubts about your power to make all things new. | 19:06 | |
We ask your forgiveness for our lack of a sense of history, | 19:11 | |
for thinking all the world begins and ends with us. | 19:16 | |
For our to ease the acceptance of our heritage. | 19:21 | |
For those who will suffer because of our unconcerned | 19:25 | |
about the future. | 19:28 | |
Help us as we worship you | 19:31 | |
to come to a truer knowledge of ourselves, | 19:33 | |
knowing that we cannot hide from you. | 19:37 | |
God be merciful to us, for we are sinners. | 19:40 | |
Let us continue with our personal prayers of confession. | 19:45 | |
This is the message we have heard from him | 20:06 | |
and proclaim to you. | 20:09 | |
That God is light, | 20:12 | |
and in him is no darkness at all. | 20:16 | |
If we walk into light, as he is in the light, | 20:21 | |
we have fellowship with one another. | 20:25 | |
And the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us | 20:28 | |
from all our sin. | 20:32 | |
In the name of Christ I declare | 20:36 | |
your sins are forgiven for his sake, amen. | 20:39 | |
(liturgical instrumental music) | 20:50 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 21:48 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 21:54 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 21:57 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:00 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:03 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 22:10 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:13 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:18 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 22:25 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:30 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:34 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:37 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:40 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:43 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:47 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:51 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 22:55 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:05 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 23:08 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:11 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:14 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:17 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:20 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:24 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:27 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:31 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:34 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:37 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:41 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:46 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 23:59 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:02 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:04 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:05 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:08 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:12 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:15 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:18 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:21 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:25 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:28 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:31 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:34 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:37 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:40 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:43 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:46 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:49 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:52 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:56 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 24:58 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:01 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:04 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:05 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:11 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:13 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:18 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:27 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:43 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 25:55 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 26:08 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 26:26 | |
- | Dr. Cleland asks that we make a change | 27:09 |
in the reading of the scripture. | 27:12 | |
Would you turn in your hymnal to acts of praise number 64. | 27:15 | |
And will you stand and remain standing afterwards | 27:28 | |
for the reading of the scripture. | 27:33 | |
Let us now praise famous men. | 27:44 | |
Congregation | And our fathers in their generations. | 27:47 |
- | The Lord apportioned to them great glory. | 27:50 |
Congregation | His majesty from the beginning. | 27:54 |
- | There were those who ruled in their kingdoms. | 27:57 |
Congregation | And were men renowned for their power. | 28:00 |
- | Giving counsel by their understanding. | 28:03 |
Congregation | And proclaiming prophecies. | 28:06 |
- | Leaders of the people in their deliberations. | 28:08 |
Congregation | Wise in their words of instruction. | 28:12 |
- | Those who composed musical tunes. | 28:15 |
Congregation | And set forth verses in writing. | 28:18 |
- | Rich men furnished with resources. | 28:20 |
Congregation | Living peaceably in their habitations. | 28:24 |
- | All these were honored in their generations. | 28:27 |
Congregation | And were the glory of their times. | 28:30 |
- | There are some of them who have left a name. | 28:33 |
Congregation | So that men declare their praise. | 28:36 |
- | And there are some who have no memorial. | 28:39 |
Congregation | who have perished | 28:42 |
as though they had not lived. | 28:43 | |
- | But these were men of mercy. | 28:45 |
Congregation | Whose righteous deeds | 28:47 |
have not been forgotten. | 28:49 | |
- | Their prosperity will remain with their descendants. | 28:50 |
Congregation | And their inheritance | 28:54 |
to their children's children. | 28:55 | |
- | Their posterity will continue for ever. | 28:57 |
Congregation | And their glory will not be blotted out. | 29:00 |
- | Their bodies were buried in peace. | 29:04 |
Congregation | And their name lives to all generations. | 29:06 |
- | Peoples will declare their wisdom. | 29:10 |
Congregation | And the congregation | 29:12 |
proclaims their praise. | 29:14 | |
- | On the way that he was passing along | 29:35 |
between Samaria and Galilee. | 29:37 | |
And as he entered the village he was met by 10 lepers | 29:41 | |
who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, | 29:44 | |
"Jesus master have mercy on us." | 29:48 | |
When he saw them, he said to them, | 29:52 | |
"Go and show yourself to the priest." | 29:54 | |
And as they went, they were cleansed. | 29:57 | |
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, | 30:00 | |
turned back, praising God with a loud voice. | 30:04 | |
And he fell on his feet as faith | 30:08 | |
at Jesus' feet giving him thanks. | 30:10 | |
Now he was the Samaritan. | 30:13 | |
Then said Jesus, "We're not 10 men, where are the nine? | 30:15 | |
Was no one found to return and give praise to God | 30:21 | |
except this foreigner." | 30:24 | |
And he said to him, "Rise and go your way. | 30:27 | |
Your faith has made you well." | 30:31 | |
Here in the reading of today. | 30:34 | |
(liturgical instrumental music) | 30:37 | |
(choir sings) | 30:46 | |
- | Together let us affirm our faith. | 31:18 |
Together | We are not alone. | 31:23 |
We live in God's world. | 31:25 | |
We believe in God who has created and is creating. | 31:28 | |
Who has come in the true man, Jesus. | 31:33 | |
Reconcile and make new, who works and others by his spirit, | 31:37 | |
we trust you. | 31:43 | |
He calls us to be his church, | 31:45 | |
to celebrate his presence for love and serve others. | 31:48 | |
To seek justice and resist evil. | 31:53 | |
To proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, | 31:57 | |
our judge and our hope | 32:00 | |
in life and death in life beyond death, | 32:03 | |
God is with us, we are not alone | 32:08 | |
Thanks be to God. | 32:12 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 32:15 |
Congregation | And with your spirit. | 32:16 |
- | Let us pray. | 32:18 |
Let us offer to God a prayer | 32:29 | |
of thanksgiving and intercession. | 32:31 | |
Almighty God, giver of all mercies, | 32:36 | |
we pause to give you most humble, and hearty thanks | 32:40 | |
for all your goodness and your loving kindness to us | 32:45 | |
and to all persons. | 32:47 | |
We thank you for our creation, our preservation, | 32:50 | |
and for all the good gifts of this life. | 32:55 | |
But above all of God in this holy season of advent, | 32:58 | |
we give thanks for your inestimable love | 33:02 | |
given to redeem us and all others | 33:05 | |
through our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. | 33:08 | |
We thank you for all the means of grace, | 33:13 | |
and for the hope of goodness and glory forever. | 33:17 | |
And now oh God this day we remember those students | 33:23 | |
and faculty in this university | 33:27 | |
who near the end of another term, | 33:29 | |
who need your special grace | 33:32 | |
in a time of testing and grading. | 33:34 | |
Be with the students, help them to do their very best. | 33:40 | |
Give them clear minds and honest will. | 33:46 | |
If there are things they do not know, | 33:50 | |
keep them from anxiety or fear. | 33:52 | |
And help them to use to the fullest those things | 33:55 | |
which they do know. | 33:58 | |
And may all those things for which they have worked hard | 34:01 | |
stand by them now. | 34:04 | |
If they must face the results of laziness, | 34:06 | |
let them then resolve to work better in the days ahead. | 34:10 | |
Help them to express all that they have learned. | 34:15 | |
May they have learned these past few weeks some things, | 34:19 | |
some things of real and significant and of lasting value. | 34:24 | |
And bless oh God each member of this university faculty. | 34:31 | |
May their tests and evaluations be clear and fair. | 34:39 | |
May their judgment be just and compassionate. | 34:44 | |
May they see learning not only in facts learned, | 34:48 | |
but also in persons whose minds and spirits have matured. | 34:51 | |
And oh God in this university may the search for truth | 34:58 | |
continue for all of us to be exciting and satisfying. | 35:04 | |
And now oh God hear each of us | 35:11 | |
as we whisper a prayer. | 35:16 | |
Here's a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession | 35:20 | |
that comes from the heart of each of us on this holy day. | 35:22 | |
And now oh God, come to us continually in your incarnation, | 35:34 | |
reveal majestically and powerfully in Jesus Christ. | 35:42 | |
And now we would ask that you would reveal to us this day, | 35:48 | |
that same joy and love that Christ brings | 35:51 | |
to open and receptive hearts. | 35:56 | |
We pray these our prayers through Jesus Christ, | 36:01 | |
our Lord, our savior who taught us to pray | 36:04 | |
as we pray together. | 36:08 | |
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name | 36:10 | |
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth | 36:16 | |
as it is in heaven. | 36:21 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 36:23 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 36:26 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 36:29 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 36:33 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 36:36 | |
For thine is the kingdom, | 36:38 | |
the power and the glory, forever, amen. | 36:40 | |
In the name of God may I welcome you | 36:53 | |
to this service of worship on founders day, | 36:57 | |
and on the second Sunday in advent. | 37:00 | |
A day in which in worship, | 37:03 | |
we celebrate the 50th anniversary | 37:05 | |
of the founding of Duke University. | 37:08 | |
And so to some of you, may I say welcome for the first time. | 37:12 | |
And for many of you, may I say welcome back home. | 37:15 | |
In the bulletin for today, you will find a special insert | 37:24 | |
calling attention to an opportunity | 37:30 | |
each of us has to share Christmas | 37:31 | |
with some others in this community. | 37:33 | |
And if you read this insert carefully, | 37:38 | |
it calls for a way in which each of us can share | 37:40 | |
either students or parents or anyone else, | 37:44 | |
so if you have gifts, toys, books, or clothing, | 37:48 | |
if you would like to share with some children | 37:54 | |
or young people in Edgemont in Durham this year, | 37:56 | |
please fill out the information so that those in Edgemont | 38:00 | |
may make plans for Christmas for these 200 or so children, | 38:03 | |
and then plan to bring your gifts to the chapel. | 38:08 | |
And I'm sure whatever you give it will bring blessing | 38:12 | |
and joy and happiness to some others. | 38:14 | |
Two performances of Messiah have already been given | 38:19 | |
Friday evening and yesterday afternoon, | 38:22 | |
both to standing room only crowd. | 38:25 | |
I've heard many comments about the beauty | 38:28 | |
of the performances this year. | 38:31 | |
And someone said to me as she was coming in to service, | 38:32 | |
it gets better every year. | 38:35 | |
And so to Ben Smith, the choir, | 38:38 | |
and the orchestra may I say a word | 38:40 | |
of congratulations and appreciation. | 38:42 | |
And say in case all of you do not know it this year, | 38:45 | |
Ben Smith in commemoration of the 50th anniversary | 38:49 | |
felt that it would be appropriate that the soloists, | 38:53 | |
all be Duke graduates. | 38:56 | |
So Francis Redding, Claudia Bray, Michael Best, | 38:58 | |
and Charles Smith, all are alumni of this university. | 39:02 | |
And they're doing a beautiful job. | 39:07 | |
But if you do not have tickets, | 39:10 | |
please do not come this afternoon. | 39:12 | |
It is filled already. | 39:15 | |
So we wish them well again, this afternoon. | 39:17 | |
The latest word I have is that Dr. Harold Bosley | 39:23 | |
is now out of intensive care, | 39:28 | |
and that his recovery from a heart attack | 39:31 | |
suffered last Friday morning, | 39:33 | |
a week ago last Friday now, | 39:36 | |
his recovery is progressing as well as could be expected. | 39:39 | |
I'm sure your thoughts and prayers for him | 39:44 | |
will be greatly appreciated. | 39:47 | |
The preacher on this occasion is another man beloved | 39:50 | |
in the Duke community, and by members of the Duke family. | 39:55 | |
One, whom we all look forward to hearing, | 40:00 | |
share the word of God with us this day, | 40:03 | |
the Reverend Dr. James T. Cleland, | 40:06 | |
Dean Emeritus of the chapel, | 40:09 | |
Professor Emeritus of Preaching of the Divinity School. | 40:11 | |
And so we welcome you back home also, Dr. Cleland. | 40:15 | |
And hear you gladly as you bring God's word to us | 40:19 | |
on this, the 50th anniversary founder's day | 40:22 | |
service of worship. | 40:26 | |
- | It is our loss that this very special service | 40:42 |
in the life of Duke University that Harold Bosley, | 40:46 | |
Former Dean of the Divinity School, | 40:52 | |
and preacher to the university cannot occupy the pulpit | 40:54 | |
as he had hoped. | 41:00 | |
He is a pulpiteer extraordinary. | 41:03 | |
Now I am not here as a pinch hitter | 41:09 | |
for that would assume that I can do a better job | 41:13 | |
than the one whose place I'm taking. | 41:17 | |
And that is not true. | 41:21 | |
I am here as a last minute substitute. | 41:25 | |
Just one who takes another place | 41:29 | |
in the case of the latter's absence. | 41:32 | |
It is good to know though that Dr. Bosley | 41:37 | |
is on the way to recovered health. | 41:40 | |
Now to have the sermon proper. | 41:46 | |
Once upon a time, all the best stories start that way. | 41:51 | |
A young boy in a Glasgow trolley car | 41:59 | |
rose and offered the dowager his seat. | 42:04 | |
She took it. | 42:09 | |
A minute later he said to her, | 42:11 | |
"I beg your pardon." | 42:14 | |
She replied, "I didn't say anything." | 42:17 | |
"Oh", he answered, "I thought you said, 'thank you.'" | 42:22 | |
Now he should probably be spanked, | 42:29 | |
but she was properly and publicly reprimanded. | 42:34 | |
There is one person who would have bet the youngster, | 42:42 | |
Jesus of Nazareth, judging from the story | 42:48 | |
of the cleansing of the 10 lepers, | 42:53 | |
which was read as our gospel lesson. | 42:56 | |
Jesus effected the cleansing of the 10, | 43:00 | |
but only one came back to say, thank you. | 43:06 | |
And he was a Samaritan, a foreigner, | 43:12 | |
Jesus only comment was, | 43:18 | |
"Were not all 10 cleansed? | 43:22 | |
The other nine, where are they?" | 43:28 | |
Even Jesus expected four to say thank you. | 43:33 | |
We are gathered here this morning to say thank you, | 43:40 | |
which could be one of the most common phrases | 43:45 | |
heard in a house of God. | 43:50 | |
And we're saying it too, | 43:53 | |
and because of James Buchanan Duke, | 43:56 | |
tobacco magnate, hydroelectric power entrepreneur | 44:01 | |
who in his New Jersey home on December 11th, 1924, | 44:08 | |
officially signed the papers | 44:16 | |
establishing the Duke Endowment. | 44:18 | |
That fact was announced by Charlotte paper on December 8th, | 44:24 | |
three days before that James B. Duke | 44:30 | |
was creating a charitable trust designed | 44:34 | |
to better the quality of life | 44:39 | |
in his native region, the Carolina. | 44:43 | |
But interestingly enough today, another December 8th, | 44:48 | |
is an important date in the life of Duke University, | 44:53 | |
especially for undergraduates. | 44:57 | |
On that day in 1884, | 45:02 | |
Angier Buchanan Duke was born, | 45:06 | |
son of Benjamin Newton Duke and nephew of J.B. Duke | 45:11 | |
today would be his 90th birthday. | 45:17 | |
However, he was drowned in a boating accident in 1923, | 45:23 | |
and his father established the Angier B. Duke Memorial, | 45:30 | |
our invaluable scholarship fund for undergraduate | 45:38 | |
in his son's memory. | 45:44 | |
So today we of the academic community say thank you twice, | 45:47 | |
once to J.B. Duke, and once to Benjamin N. Duke, | 45:52 | |
who remembered his son by assisting distinguished | 45:59 | |
high school seniors who needed financial help | 46:04 | |
to pursue an education of quality. | 46:10 | |
Now how does one do justice to the many faceted character | 46:16 | |
of J.B. Duke in one point of a single sermon. | 46:21 | |
He grew up on the farm, in what's now Durham County, | 46:28 | |
prosperous 300 acres until the civil war | 46:33 | |
correct the economy. | 46:39 | |
But Washington Duke, J.B's father | 46:42 | |
saw that there was a future for tobacco. | 46:45 | |
He passed on his wisdom and his know how to his son | 46:51 | |
who surpassed it and became such a magnet | 46:55 | |
of the fragrant weed, | 47:01 | |
the vice that is so close to virtue. | 47:04 | |
especially if your smoke a pipe. | 47:12 | |
(congregation laughs) | 47:14 | |
He so dominated the manufacturer of cigarettes | 47:21 | |
that the Supreme court had to move in | 47:25 | |
an order the dissolution of the American Tobacco Company, | 47:29 | |
for which he was president. | 47:34 | |
I have been told that he was entrusted | 47:37 | |
with the job of dissolution because nobody understood | 47:41 | |
the situation as he did that. | 47:45 | |
That more or else ended his interest in tobacco, | 47:49 | |
except for his enjoyment of cigar, see his stature. | 47:54 | |
Dean Canon once shock the group of Methodist ministers | 48:03 | |
who wanted the cigar removed from the statute | 48:08 | |
by suggesting that it have a neon light at the end. | 48:11 | |
(congregation laughs) | 48:16 | |
And one senior class offered as its gift, | 48:19 | |
a steam pipe running light through it so it would puff. | 48:22 | |
(congregation laughing) | 48:26 | |
But the predecessors of Allen building turned that down. | 48:29 | |
So J.B. Duke turned to hydroelectric power | 48:34 | |
in the two Carolinas, | 48:37 | |
and thanks to his creating a whole new source of power | 48:40 | |
Vice President Juanita Kreps | 48:46 | |
was able to bring to sparkling light | 48:49 | |
our campus Christmas tree last Friday evening. | 48:53 | |
But J.B. Duke was not satisfied. | 48:59 | |
Though he had given the Carolinas | 49:03 | |
the chance to develop and diversify industry, | 49:04 | |
perhaps he was influenced by the life | 49:09 | |
and action of Andrew Carnegie, | 49:12 | |
the immigrant Scott who made a fortune in steel. | 49:17 | |
But who refused to become a citizen | 49:24 | |
because a naturalized citizen could not become president. | 49:28 | |
He once commented, and this may have influenced J.B. Duke | 49:36 | |
"No rich man should go to his grave | 49:42 | |
with all his riches." | 49:48 | |
And so J.B. Duke established the Duke Endowment | 49:53 | |
from which we benefit. | 50:01 | |
Yet our university does not bear his name. | 50:04 | |
It is named after his father | 50:13 | |
whom he admired and loved. | 50:17 | |
James Buchanan Duke died less than a year | 50:22 | |
after the creation of the Duke Endowment | 50:25 | |
on October 10th, 1925. | 50:28 | |
And the bodies of the father and his two sons | 50:32 | |
are at rest in the Memorial Chapel, | 50:36 | |
which was built by donations from his friends. | 50:42 | |
Now what was J.B. Duke's aim in setting up the endowment. | 50:49 | |
He answered the question in one sentence when he was asked, | 50:55 | |
what was the most important thing he had done with his life? | 51:00 | |
A tobacco empire and the reorganization of that empire? No. | 51:07 | |
The stimulus given to industry in the Carolinas, | 51:16 | |
by the development of hydroelectric power? | 51:20 | |
No, his answer was the creation of the Duke Endowment | 51:24 | |
for through it I made men. | 51:33 | |
Now women's libbers don't be upset by this. | 51:39 | |
After all back in 1896, his father, Washington Duke | 51:47 | |
said he would give $100,000 for endowment | 51:55 | |
if Trinity College would admit women 1896. | 52:04 | |
And when J.B Duke talked of making men, | 52:15 | |
he meant men embracing women, if I may put it that way. | 52:20 | |
(congregation laughs) | 52:26 | |
You know the areas of the endowments interests. | 52:32 | |
First higher education, not merely Duke, | 52:37 | |
but Davidson and Furman and Johnson C. Ross | 52:43 | |
representing Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and blacks. | 52:50 | |
And these four schools receive 46% | 52:58 | |
of the income of the endowment. | 53:05 | |
Second and third, hospitals in both Carolinas, | 53:09 | |
including child care, care of orphan, | 53:15 | |
they received 32%. | 53:21 | |
For the Methodist church for the building of rural churches | 53:24 | |
and retirement benefits for preachers | 53:31 | |
and their families 12%. | 53:34 | |
Together these four areas of interest still receive 90% | 53:39 | |
of the income of the Duke Endowment, | 53:46 | |
which during the first 50 years, | 53:50 | |
that is what they received, | 53:54 | |
Duke Endowment has given to them $378,400,698. | 53:57 | |
Let me share with you what this means | 54:13 | |
to one of the academic institutions. | 54:15 | |
I should leave Duke to Dr. Paul Gross, | 54:18 | |
who on Wednesday of this week at 4:00 PM | 54:22 | |
in the auditorium of the chemical laboratory, | 54:27 | |
so rightly named after him, | 54:32 | |
will speak on 50 years of Duke, and the Duke Endowment. | 54:36 | |
I'm personally beholden to Dr. Gross, | 54:44 | |
who has given and still gives to Duke | 54:48 | |
of his wide ranging wisdom | 54:50 | |
and his uncomfortable common sense. | 54:54 | |
He persuaded me to stay at Duke | 54:59 | |
when I thought I'll be leaving | 55:02 | |
for Union Theological Seminary in New York. | 55:03 | |
But that's another story. | 55:07 | |
Come and hear him on Wednesday afternoon. | 55:09 | |
Let me rather tell what the endowment | 55:14 | |
has meant to one of other school. | 55:17 | |
When I taught at Amherst College in the '30s | 55:23 | |
and early '40s, up there in Massachusetts | 55:25 | |
we knew of three academic institutions in North Carolina. | 55:30 | |
The university because of its president, | 55:38 | |
the late and great Frank Graham. | 55:43 | |
Second Davidson because of its academic prowess | 55:48 | |
as attested by the number of roads colors. | 55:55 | |
And third Duke because of its football coach Wallace Wade. | 56:00 | |
(congregation laughs) | 56:06 | |
I happen to have a non errand degree from Davidson. | 56:11 | |
So let me quote or paraphrase some sentences | 56:15 | |
from a recent article by president Samuel Spencer | 56:18 | |
entitled "Duke Endowment Aids Davidson for 50 years". | 56:23 | |
Creation of the Duke Endowment | 56:31 | |
was the biggest financial event | 56:33 | |
in the history of the college. | 56:35 | |
A welcome surprise, an important turning point. | 56:37 | |
In December, 1924 Davidson was in the grips | 56:43 | |
of its own private depression. | 56:46 | |
It had lost its academics central building, | 56:50 | |
and a dorm by fire just when its student body | 56:54 | |
was tenderly rising, more than doubling | 56:59 | |
between 1918 and 1924. | 57:03 | |
The endowment kept Davidson from making cuts in salary | 57:08 | |
and staff with the 1930 depression. | 57:13 | |
And it aided in similar fashion in 1940 | 57:18 | |
when World War II began for America. | 57:22 | |
and the student body was reduced to 200. | 57:25 | |
The endowment has not only given Davidson | 57:30 | |
over $14 million since 1924, | 57:32 | |
it has added special appropriations for its library, | 57:37 | |
it's humanities course, it's honors college. | 57:42 | |
it's South Asian studies. | 57:46 | |
The endowment has been both bread and butter support | 57:50 | |
and a strong incentive to new projects and facilities. | 57:55 | |
Now Furman can say amen to such statement. | 58:01 | |
So can Johnson Ross. | 58:07 | |
So can Duke. | 58:09 | |
Why does the chronicle say so little, | 58:12 | |
if anything in the spirit, why? | 58:16 | |
Today I say it, in wondering gratitude. | 58:22 | |
Now the glad tidings for us and for the generations to come | 58:28 | |
is that the Duke Endowment is an ongoing affair, | 58:32 | |
a continuing concern dependent on two groups of persons. | 58:37 | |
One is the trustee, and the good news about them | 58:43 | |
is that so many of them live in the Carolinas. | 58:47 | |
Charlotte, like New York is one of the headquarters | 58:53 | |
of the Duke Endowment. | 58:58 | |
The trustees can and do see it firsthand | 59:00 | |
the varying communities, which the endowment serves, | 59:05 | |
and to them we say thank you. | 59:09 | |
And behind them not seen so often by us, | 59:12 | |
is the professional staff | 59:16 | |
who implement the decisions of the board. | 59:19 | |
Two of them I know well, | 59:23 | |
and I have discovered with joy that the professional staff | 59:27 | |
individually and collectively believe | 59:31 | |
in James Buchanan Duke's vision, | 59:35 | |
so embracing and so diverse, | 59:39 | |
so necessary for the enlarging of wisdom and help | 59:44 | |
and the spiritual help welfare. | 59:48 | |
They have not war the vision, | 59:50 | |
not tampered with it's intent. | 59:53 | |
In dedication they seek to perpetuate its validity. | 59:56 | |
And we recognize and thank them. | 1:00:03 | |
You know that it was Mr. Duke's desire, | 1:00:08 | |
that a towering chapel be at the heart of the university. | 1:00:10 | |
He was a man of faith, of great faith, of genuine faith | 1:00:15 | |
with a solemn belief in the eternal. | 1:00:20 | |
A strong confidence in the Christian religion | 1:00:24 | |
and in the Methodist church. | 1:00:28 | |
He would be pleased with two statistics, | 1:00:31 | |
which I shall share with you. | 1:00:34 | |
You've heard about the mob scene for the Messiah. | 1:00:37 | |
And here ere two more to add, last Easter Sunday, | 1:00:42 | |
between 1800 and 2000 people turned up | 1:00:46 | |
in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens for the 7:00 AM service. | 1:00:51 | |
They were 1,000 at the 9:00 AM service in the chapel. | 1:00:56 | |
And 2000 at the 11:00 AM service. | 1:01:01 | |
That evening there were 1800 right here | 1:01:06 | |
when the North Carolina Symphony | 1:01:11 | |
joined the Duke choir in a glorious rendition | 1:01:14 | |
of Mahler's resurrection symphony. | 1:01:18 | |
Does this happen at any other university chapel, | 1:01:22 | |
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford? | 1:01:26 | |
Oh maybe at Bob Jones and Oral Roberts. | 1:01:34 | |
(congregation laughs) | 1:01:37 | |
But with a different emphasis, | 1:01:45 | |
let's just to be fair about that. | 1:01:46 | |
Moreover, on Christmas eve this year at 11:00 PM, | 1:01:48 | |
if these year is like the previous three, | 1:01:56 | |
there will be 1700 folk in this chapel | 1:01:59 | |
for a service of carols and blessings and prayer. | 1:02:03 | |
That service is the brain child of Ben Smith, | 1:02:11 | |
our noted and beloved choirmaster. | 1:02:17 | |
Now remember this 1700 people despite the fact | 1:02:21 | |
that there are almost no students | 1:02:27 | |
in residence on Christmas eve. | 1:02:29 | |
And I seem to be the contemporary patron saint | 1:02:36 | |
junior varsity of lost causes in the chapel. | 1:02:40 | |
(congregation laughs) | 1:02:45 | |
Look the face of Jesus | 1:02:47 | |
in the central panel on the rear door, | 1:02:50 | |
it's still in shadow. | 1:02:54 | |
I have been asking that it be illuminated | 1:02:59 | |
ever since I came in 1945. | 1:03:01 | |
That's why I'm the patron saint of lost projects. | 1:03:08 | |
I'm gonna make one more suggestion. | 1:03:12 | |
since J.B. Duke thought the chapel | 1:03:16 | |
to be so essentially central in the university | 1:03:18 | |
why does he stand with his back to it? | 1:03:23 | |
(congregation chattering) | 1:03:27 | |
I suggest that the statue will be moved to the green sward | 1:03:34 | |
between Allen building and Cleland house, | 1:03:38 | |
and turned around. | 1:03:42 | |
When he has gazed at the chapel to his heart's content, | 1:03:46 | |
he can turn a wary eye on the second floor | 1:03:51 | |
of Allen building. | 1:03:55 | |
(congregation laughs) | 1:03:56 | |
Or a delighted and approving eye | 1:04:02 | |
on the lessees of Cleland house. | 1:04:05 | |
(congregation laughs) | 1:04:08 | |
You know it may come to pass, | 1:04:11 | |
but I should probably be dead before it's done. | 1:04:14 | |
So substituting for Dr. Bosley, | 1:04:18 | |
I've tried and behalf of you in this gathered community | 1:04:22 | |
to express our facts for what James Buchanan Duke | 1:04:26 | |
has done for so many people, | 1:04:29 | |
and especially for our university. | 1:04:32 | |
He believed in the motto of Trinity College. | 1:04:36 | |
He kept it for the university. | 1:04:40 | |
He wanted eruditio er religio, | 1:04:44 | |
learning and reverence to go hand in hand, | 1:04:49 | |
neither one without fear. | 1:04:56 | |
So let it be. | 1:05:02 | |
And let us pray. | 1:05:06 | |
Almighty God we do now praise famous men, | 1:05:10 | |
our academic parents who begot and nourished us | 1:05:15 | |
remembering especially on this day of anniversary, | 1:05:20 | |
James Buchanan Duke, one of thy surprising saints | 1:05:24 | |
who himself would be surprised to be so dumb. | 1:05:32 | |
For him and to thee, we say, thank you, amen. | 1:05:38 | |
- | Would you join with me, | 1:06:14 |
in the responsive litany of commemoration, let us pray. | 1:06:17 | |
Almighty and eternal God in whom our fathers trusted | 1:06:24 | |
we, their children on this day of remembrance | 1:06:28 | |
offer unto you our litany of commemoration. | 1:06:31 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:06:35 | |
- | For the men and women of this state Methodists and Quakers | 1:06:38 |
farmers and merchant persons, teachers and administrators, | 1:06:41 | |
who believed in education and may their belief prevail. | 1:06:46 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:06:50 | |
- | For the embodiment of their dream | 1:06:53 |
private school, academy, college and university | 1:06:55 | |
founded in hope continued with perseverance, | 1:06:59 | |
growing in outreach, established and assurance. | 1:07:02 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:07:07 | |
- | For educators whose vision was matched by their courage, | 1:07:10 |
whose patience was tempered by their indignation, | 1:07:14 | |
whose idealism was moderated by their awareness of sin. | 1:07:17 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:07:22 | |
- | For the Duke family, father, sons, and their wives, | 1:07:24 |
grandchildren in continuing and present generations | 1:07:31 | |
who with wonder and surprise, bewilderment and tenacity | 1:07:36 | |
laid a good foundation, built a worthy school, | 1:07:41 | |
and provided for exciting growth | 1:07:45 | |
beyond their can in years unseen. | 1:07:47 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:07:51 | |
- | For the continuance of good ideas, | 1:07:56 |
the union of proof and reverence, | 1:07:58 | |
the freedom of responsible and academic thought | 1:08:02 | |
and the right of public concern, | 1:08:05 | |
the joint care of the body and the spirit, | 1:08:07 | |
the linking of science and humanities, | 1:08:11 | |
the realization that the old order changes | 1:08:15 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:08:20 | |
- | For the future of this, our university, | 1:08:23 |
established to your glory, | 1:08:26 | |
and for the relief of the human condition. | 1:08:29 | |
For the consecration of the discontent of the young. | 1:08:32 | |
For wisdom and the conservatism of the middle-aged. | 1:08:36 | |
For resiliency and the obstinacy of the old. | 1:08:40 | |
For understanding cooperation and the sense of humor | 1:08:44 | |
within our community. | 1:08:48 | |
(congregation recites) | 1:08:51 | |
- | And to you we shall ascribe as is most due | 1:08:54 |
all praise and glory world without end. | 1:08:59 | |
Together | Amen. | 1:09:04 |
(liturgical instrumental music) | 1:09:11 | |
(choir sings) | 1:09:47 | |
(liturgical instrumental music) | 1:12:01 | |
(choir sings) | 1:12:54 |
(harmonizing church choir) | 0:04 | |
(church organ music) | 0:28 | |
(harmonizing church choir continues) | 0:48 | |
(church organ music continues) | 1:11 | |
(church organ music continues) | 1:44 | |
(church organ music continues) | 2:11 | |
- | The Lord bless you and keep you. | 2:51 |
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, | 2:57 | |
and be gracious unto you. | 3:00 | |
The Lord, lift up the light | 3:04 | |
of his countenance upon you, | 3:05 | |
and give you peace. | 3:08 | |
(church choir harmonizing resumes) | 3:15 | |
(church choir harmonizing continues) | 3:34 | |
(church bell ringing) | 3:41 | |
(church organ music resumes) | 3:54 | |
(church organ music continues) | 4:18 |
Item Info
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