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| Rev. William Croft Wilson, 1931-1963 Haverford College, 1954; Yale Divinity School, 1957 Ordained June 30, 1957, Greenwich. CT Central Congregational Church, 1957-1963 Photograph courtesy of William H. Claflin |
A Pilgrim's Progress: Wilson at 30
"Strip us in our Praying, O God, of every false pretense and every vain self-deception, that we may be honest with ourselves and humble before Thee. For in our prayers as in our lives we would offer Thee ourselves in whatever faith we can muster, that they may be laid before Thy throne as gifts to be gained by their loss.
Almighty God, our Father, where the days have been spent in shoddy living, moments and hours lost in evil intent or futile struggling or shallow, restless frittering, there sweep us clean with Thy Holy Spirit.
Where the days have been spent under the burden of pain, or sorrow, or tension so that we have hardly had soul enough left to pray in the world, there grant release - or failing that - courage, hope, and love enough to turn our sadness into rejoicing.
Where the days have made us so deeply ashamed that we cannot even bring ourselves to face them, and where they have made us so deeply glad that we have been unable to express our joy, there help us to lift the time up in silent awe before Thee who alone canst touch it for healing and blessing.
Where the days have been spent chasing fleeting goals or passing shadows, there help us to see through the veils of material things to the presence of Thy Son in the things beyond, so that we who are often worn and weary in our striving may be rested and renewed for a deeper searching.
Where the days have pointed out the limitations in us, whether of body or circumstances or looks or mind, there help us to accept our lot and use whatever we have as well as we can. Teach us how to let go of the things we miss that others seem to enjoy, and to let them go without losing either our gladness or our love.
Where the days shall not be long for us, or where the days left are too many and too long so that there is no joy for us in their passing, teach us not to hold on to life either too carelessly or too tightly. Teach us how to take it as a gift, to celebrate it while we have it, and finally when the time comes to let it go with grace.
So lift up our souls, O God - out of darkness into light, out of doubt into faith, out of fear into trust, out of despair into hope, out of indifference into joy, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen."
From: William Croft Wilson, Pastoral Prayers (Providence: Central Congregational Church, 1964): 14-15.
A Pilgrim's Progress: Wilson at 20
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| Haverford Yearbook, class of 1954 |
Haverford classmates in the yearbook:
“Bill
Wilson (of Greenwich) would give anybody anything he has, and frequently does.
His plaintive query, "Has anybody seen my car?" can be heard at any
time of the day or night, and he has been known to go for a week at a time
without having the slightest idea of where it is. Hiding beneath his suave
exterior of unruffled calm lies both a heart ever willing to take on the concerns
of a troubled friend, and one of the most sarcastic tongues in captivity. A
staunch advocate of capitalism, Christianity and clear thinking, his
unshakeable conviction that the opposition is merely confused leads to many
unreconcilable arguments: ("Now, that isn't what you really mean. What you
mean is . . . "). At any rate, his slow smile and especially his genuine
friendship will not fade easily from our memory.”
A Pilgrim's Progress: Wilson as a child
"Bill was one of my
best childhood chums and a dear dear person. Bill had been born a blue baby, a
heart condition that is very curable today, but which was not curable back in
the fifties and early sixties. Bill was restricted. ... In addition to a very
fine mind, Bill had a tremendous amount of love and compassion for everyone. As
a matter of fact, of all the individuals I have ever known, William Croft
Wilson was truly more Christ-like than perhaps any other individual. He had
tremendous caring for the underdog, for the lonely, and the oppressed. He was,
in those days, a true Christian liberal. He was not an advocate for the liberal
cause, per se, but he cared deeply for his fellow man in the nonpolitical true
sense of the word.
From an early age, Bill read the Bible. He
encouraged me to do so. We started getting together and reading the Bible
before we went for a swim at his house, and the homes of others for a light
meal and reading followed by discussion. Within a short period of months, our
group had expanded to meaningful numbers. ...”
[Anon.?] A. B. See, Jr. Naked Before God (2011): 81.
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| William Croft Wilson was born in Greenwich, CT, the son of William Stavely Wilson (1894-1992), a Brooklyn-born stockbroker & Winifred Graham Croft Wilson (19031994), the daughter of a Pittsburgh industrialist. |
Bibliography:
Claflin, William H. "Chapel Committee." Central Congregational Church Annual Report, 1962-63.
Gibson, Raymond E. Ministry Recalled: The Central Years. (New Hampshire: Monadnock Press, 1992). [not online]
See, A.B., Jr. [anon.] Naked Before God, Out of Darkness Unto Light, p.81-87. [Bill Claflin has pointed out this book's Reston obituary reference is from Rev. Gibson's introduction to Pastoral Prayer, p7 where Gibson uses the reference to make a general point. "They say his heart failed. It may have stopped, but his heart never failed.]
Wilson, William Croft. Pastoral Prayers. (Providence: Central Congregational Church, 1964)Available from Amazon.com here.
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