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Coors, D. Stanley
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CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCH
LANSING, MICHIGAN
BISHOP D. STAN LEY COORS
elf c:SE7JJiCE of 'J7-ib-utE to
c0u7- !BEfouEd (/)a:1to7WHO SERVED CENTRAL CHURCH
FAITHFULLY FROM JUNE 1938 T O JULY 13, 1952
[h~, ®rih~ r
BISHOP D. STAN LEY COORS
OUR PASTOROr. D. Sta nley Coors has been the pastor of C entra l Method ist Church for the past fo urree n
yea rs bein g appointed to this charge Jun e 1938 and con!:ccrated to th e c pi ~copacy. Jul y 13.
1952.
AUTOBfOGRAPH ICAL DATA Bo rn A ug ust I , 188 9 at P cnt\va ter, graduated from S helby High School in 1908. from A lbio n College in 19 14. entered the Methodist minis try in 1911. o rdained in 19 17. He holds
the deg ree o f Bachelor of Divinity from Drew Theologica l Seminary . Master of Arts from Co lumbia U ni versity, bo th of which were grantcJ in New Y o rk i n 191 7. H e won the honorary
degree of D octor of Divinity fro m A lbio n College.
PASTORATESHis first pastorate was at Ferr y. M ichi gan . aft er which he served in Roosevelt. New York.
H e was transfer red from the N ew York East Confe rence in 19 18 to Grand Rapids. where he
served two churches. Plainfield Avenue fo r f ive years and Burton H eights for two years befo re going to Ka lamazoo F irst Chu rch . H e was transfe rred to M uskegon Central Church in
1934. appoin ted to Lan sin g Central C hurch in 19'38 and served umil his consecration to th e
episcopacy Ju ly 13 , 1952 .
SERVED HIS C HURCH AND COMMUNITY FAITHFULLY H e has served Cent ra l C hurch conscienti o usly a nd who le- hearted ly as pa~tc r and fri e.:1d of his
peo ple. H e \\-'as President of the Michiga n Temperan ce Foundatio n. a nd in N o vember 19 50
elec ted as Vice-president of the National T emperance League. H e has been the pre:.ident o f the
Michigan Council of Churches. President of the Ingham Counry Mental H ygiene Society. appoin ted by the Gove rno r of M ichigan to serve o n the Sex D eviates Commissio n as cha irnun
of the Committee o n M o ral and Spiritual Va lues. H e held a positio n o n the Boards o f Lin col n Center and the Y . M.C.A . He is a past m em be r of th e Kiwa nis C lu b and :.lt present a
mem!Jer of th e Wran gler's C lub. He Ius se rv ed as P resident of t he Lansing Alu mni C hapter
of P hi Beta Kappa Society. H e is a Trustee of the Michi ga n Con ference of o ur M ethodist
C hurch an d of J\lbio n Co lle~e.
SERVED THE METHODIST CHURC H AT LARGE Bisho p Coors has bee n a delegate to six Genera l Con ference sessio ns and fo ur Ju risd ictional
Con ferences. H e was a de legate to the Unitin g Co nferen ce in 1939. He was selec ted as a delegate to the Ecu menica l Con fere nce sessions in 1947 at Costo n and in 19'5 1 at Oxford . Eng land.
A TR IBUTE TO THE F/\rvlfLYMrs. C ocrs has mea nt much to o ur Central C hu rch. Her sweet . quiet. s milin g spirit und erstood a nd appreciated t he rota! program of th e C hurch . H er ever ready w illi ngness to ass ist.
w henever it was possible for her to do so. h a~ bee n e rea tl y appreciated.
We extend o ur sin ce re co n grat ul at i on~ to Mr. and M rs. R e bert Stirling Coors of M il wa uk ee, Wisconsin . and their chi ldren. Sw:: an and
Ric hard Ala n
M r. and Mrs. Matthew Va n Ke uren of Sa n Diego. Ca lifo rni a. and the fam il y. J ulia . Marga ret and Da na
M r. and M rs. H arvey L y nn of Lansin g, a nd D avid. La w rence and Ma rtha
- the pa rsonage famil y.
TO GRANDP A COORS - The Reverend /\ugu~ t H. Coors. w ho lived amo ng us durin g
the past few winte r seasons. Central C hurch folk ex press si ncere felicitatio ns upo n this sig nal
ho no r w hich his wn has wo n. H is ge nu ine spirit o f w ho lesome goodness. has been a grac io us
benedicti o n to a ll w ho have bee n led by his praye rs. To his t wo dau ght ers. and sisters o f
the Bisho p. M rs. D. M. S nell of Lansin g a nd M rs. Burle y Lamb o f Colu mbus, O hio, we
ex tend o ur co ngratu latio ns.
c/f ~EVJicE
11f lHorship, ;£hd~ 11'-, 1952:
o{ 'J1d!ndE to !Biihoj2 ~- ~tanft:!J C!oo"Li
Central M et hodist Church o f Lansing. Michig ~n. desirous of recognizing the honor bestowed
upon it in the se!ection and comecration of its pastor. the R euerend D octor D. St anley Coors.
B isho p of the Methodist C hurch. joins in solemn dedicat ion of its membership to continued
seruice and loue fo r the building of Christ's Kingdom and prays f or the Diuine blessing o f God
upon the life and worh of it s bc!oued pastor. made bishop.
THE ORGAN PRELUDE
Dr. Cyril Barker. Detroit, organist
Beg ins h is se rv ice to Centra l C hurch as Minister o f i'vlusic. September I , 1952
THE PROCESS ION A L HYMN NO. 38 1: The Church's one founcbtio n
(T he congregation standin g and singi ng the last stanza )
THE CALL TO WORSH IP:
Dr. \Villiam Hclrigel, Superintendent
of Lansin g- Albio n Disrrict
THE IN VOCAT ION:
HYMN NO. 71:
Be still. my soul: the Lord is o n thy side
TH E RESPONSI VE R E ADING. Page 583:
C hrist ian U nit y (H ymnal)
TH E GLORIA PATR I
SOLO:
G reat P eace Have T hey
M iss Bett y R ideo u t. soloist
J . H . R ogers
THE R EA D ING OF THE SCR I PTURES: II P eter 1 :2- 1 I
The Re v. Ja mes \Vhi te hurst
Appoin ted to Ce ntral Metho dist as Minister o f E d ucat io n. A ugust i . 1952
TH E PAST ORAL PRAYER:
HYM N NO. 18 0:
Breathe on m e. Breat h of God
DEVOT IONAL MESSAGE:
The Met hodist C hurch
HYM N NO. 24 :
The Rev erend August H . Coors . The Bishop's F ather
Bishop Marsh all Ru ssell Reed . Bishop o f the Detroit A rea of
Jesus wher -c'er T h y peo pl e meet
T H E BENED fCT ION:
Bishop D. Sran ley Coo rs
TH E PROCESS IONAL
The people rema in in p raye rful medi ta ti o n u ntil af ter the procession a nd then a rc most co rd ia lly in vited to exte nd congra tulat ions to Bisho p and Mrs. Coors at a receptio n held in th e pa r lo rs o f rhe C hurch .
THE POSTLUDE
T H E BEAUT fFU L FLOWERS. placed by rh c Goodell fa mil y. are tn loving m emory of
''Ra lph" . a sta lwa rt fri end of o ur new Bisho p.
The National Temperance Le ague, Inc.
STATE OF MICHIGAN
The Nat ion.1l T emperance Leag ue I nc. se nds its h eHt icst congrat ubt ions upon the occasion of the election of
D r . D . S tanley C oors as a Bis hop of the Met h od ist Chu rch.
In add i tion t o a ll the ot h er hi g h q u.1lific.1 tions . we arc
g!J d to test ify to Bishop Coors' deep. acti\'C and co nt i n uin g in terest i n the cause of t em perance th ro ug h the yea rs.
Bishop C oo rs is a member of the Bo.ud of D i rectors
o f the Nat ion al Tem perance League Inc. .111d s ince 1950
h .1s bern its First Vier- Presiden t . I n this ca pac ity Bish o p
C n ors has rende red special service to the Nat ion.1l Le.1gue.
w hich incl udes hi s a ppea rance befo re the U.S. Senate
In t erstate a nd Foreign Com m e rce Co mm it t ee in .J.1 nttH)'
I C1j2 t o prc: ent the off ic ia l s tat ement of the League fav crin g a bw ban n in g beer an d l iquor a d \·erti sing.
The Nat ional Temperance League Inc. and its 45 affil i.1ted state o rg.1nizat io ns rejoice a t Bisho p Coors ' elect io n
Ex~cutitn:. <!Jf,ftc~
:! nC plrdgc hin1 o u r cooprr:tt io n .1nd our prayers th .H his
bbors nuy be f ru it f ul and t h at he m ay co ntinu e t o en joy God's ric h est b lessing a nd g uid.1nce in al l the yeHs
ahead.
CLAYTON M. \ Vt\LLt\CE. Actin!! Exccuciue Din·ctor
f..'l y dear Dr. Coors:
It is w ith s incere pleas ure t h at I extend to you bo th
the o f ficial a nd personal con grat ulations on your election
to a Met h odist Bisho pric.
O u r p le.1s urc that )'OU ha\'C been selected for this most
respons ible offi ce is somewhat tempered b y o ur regret in
ha \'i n g yo u lc,we o ur mids t.
. \ Vc arc m ost apprec i.Hi\'C of )'O ur man y years of ser vICe w G?d and fe llow men . You h.we ce rt.1in l y been a
COnSCI CnliOUS ser \',1n t of your people .
O n beh a lf of the people o f M ichipn. pa rtic ularl y those
m embers of your p.1stor.1tes i n Gr.1nd R.1pids. Kala mnoo.
Lansi ng a nd f.. l ns J..ego n. nu y I express our best wishes fo r
you i n the clays to co m e. May )'OUr ne\\' office re\\'a rcl
yo u w it h m.1ny rich s pi ritu.1 l experiences .
\Vit h kindest regards .
Sincerely.
G. M ENNEN \\' i LLii\\ I S. Gocwnor
C ITY OF LANSING
ALBION COLLEGE
Albion College is pro ud t o j o in in sin cere t ribu t e t o
Bishop Coors a t this high poi nt in his dist in gu ish ed c.ure r
as a Christian m in ister. He is a g rad uate of i\lbion . a
mem ber of its Bo.ud o f Trustees fo r the p.1st eigh teen
ye.us. and a loy.1l advocate fo r C h rist i.1n educat ion
throu g h out h is man y im po rta n t rela t ionships. H e br ings
to the episcopa l o f fice a rHe combi nati o n of ex per ience.
admi n ist rat ive ski ll . cour.1ge. unq uench able ent husi.1sm.
and w ithal a gentle humili t y.
\Vc congratulate Bisho p Coors o n t h e high h o nor t hat
Ius com e to him an d upo n th e eni .Hged oppo rtuni t y it
w ill .1 f ford him in the ser vice o f o u r grea t chu rch.
\V. \V. \ViiiTUIOUSE. /'r rsidrnt
The Michil] iJn Temperil nce Founrlation. Inc.
T he Michig.1n Tem perance Fou ncbti o n. In c. congr.1 l ulates Dr. D. Stan ley Coors upon his bei n g elected a
B ishop in the Met hodist Churc h. T he Foundation sh Hes
in this h onor as D r . Coors was pres ident of the Fou ncb ti o n fo r t hree ye.Hs. and h.1s been fr o m the beg in n in g o f
the F ou ndat ion .1 member of its Bo.Hd o f Directors .1n d
o n the [xe:ut i \•e Com mittee. \Ve will gre.Hly miss h is
br;,therly cooper.1 tion .1 nd wise coun cil which h.we so
la rgely contribute:! to the success of t he F o und.Hion. O ur
pr.1yers a nd hst wishes go w ith him in his exalted posi tion in the i'vled10di~t C h!!rch.
E. C. PRETTYMA:--J. Exrcutiue Secretary
JlTil·si
JHdhtl~ ist
(C.Imrdt
Among his bret hren in the mi nist ry h ere . Dr. Coors
has been o ur g rea t leade r. H is cooperat ion h as .11 w.1 ys
been complete. h1s sp1nt always \\.Hm. h 1s exa m ple alwa ys
a n insp iration. \Ve reg ret to lose his w o rJ..111g companion sh i p . but rejo ice at his eln•at ion to l h e episcopacy because
we kn ow he wi ll be t he f inest kind of a b i hop for o ur
g re.H C hurc h.
\V i i.Lii\\1 1\. J3L ,\ ND!i':G
r or I lw AIinist rrs of I hr C it,,
Y. M.C.A., Lansing, Michigan
h a,·c kn ow n and worked \\'ith Bishop Coo rs fnr 1-1
ye.Hs - in the t'vl inistcrial t\ ss ocia tion . Sen·ice C luh.
T'rmprranrc progr.1m . comm u ni t>r anivitics . :tnd as .1 loy:t l
su p porter o f the Y .M.C. 1\. Hi s great con,·iction. le.Hier sh ip abi l ity . loya lt y and hum bleness i n ' crvil'e . inspires
co nfidence in h im .1ml the cause he r epn·~e nt s. Till· I ,111 si n g Y.M.C. t\ . l ose~ .1n i r re p laccahle friend and worker
to g reater servi ce in his bellll'ed C h urc h . Congratul a tions
to bo th Bis ho p Coors .uHI 1he i'vl et h od i s t~ .
E. 13 . BRLI I II ,\L' PT . Grnrral Se<reltlf''J
T he people o f o ur community will deepl y m1ss the
co n tin ua nce o f the good civic serv ice t o w hich R everend
Coo rs h as ascribed in add it ion to his m any acti\'e ye.us
of ministry .1t Ce nt r.d Met hodist Church . His fo rthcom i ng aclv.111ced p osition in spirit ual encle.wor is but a \\'ell
earned re\l' arcl fo r ou t -g rowing the duty and opportu nit y
of t he t.1sk a t han d.
Si nce rely.
RALI' II \\' . CREGO. Alal)or
Michigan Council of Churches
It is a pri\'ilege t o send cong rat u lat io ns f ro m the Mi ch iga n Cou nc il o f C h u rch es t o yo n and to Dr. D. S t anley
Coors o n the o cc .1sion of his consec rat io n as Bish o p.
\Vc .trc gr.Hcf ul for his yc.us o f co ncern for the Mich ig.H1 Co u ncil of C hurc hes and t he Ecum t· nical Mo\'em ent.
lie w.1s .111 cffecti \•e President. a stea d y f r iend o f t he en tire sta ff. .1nd p.uti cul.ul y of t h e Executi,·e Sec retary. an d
one who had ,111 unfai ling conce rn fo r the wel fare o f t he
1'vl i<hig.1n Counci l of Chu rches. \Ve ha\'C a lre.1d y con gra t u1.1tcd the 1'vlinneso t.1 Counci l o f C h urches on the new
Methodist Bishop.
Our e11t ire suff joins m e i n wishi ng Dr. and M rs. Coo rs
Godspeed o n t hei r ne\\' \'entu re.
.J. B u tn B OUW\I i\N . Execuciur S ecretan1
.J ARVIS
,\ ND
M cCU NE
D r . Stan ley Coors h as been a member of t he \V ra nglers
C lub for m a n y ye.Hs. a gro u p co mposed o f profession al
men who meet once a mon t h for the purpose of d isc ussi n ~ cu nlrovcrsi:ll issues.
br. Coo rs h.1s .1l w.1ys entered into the di sc ussio n in a
spirit of good fellows h ip .1nd h .1s at a ll times cont r ibu ted
S<)I11Ct hin g of \'alue o n wh.1tC\'er t o pic m ay h ave been un der co nside ra1ion. H is com ments h.wc reflected his sc hol.u l y mind an d the res ult of carefu l and a na lytica l tbinJ..in g.
Ii i~ dc.1 r rc.1son in g .1 nd good hu mor h.1\'l' been inst r u nll·n t.1l in buildi n g ,1 lasting r.1pport .1mong it s members.
Dr. Coo rs will be si ncerely m issed and le.1ves with t h e
bes t wis hes of t he \\'r.1n g lcrs C lub o n h i~ new encle.n·o rs .
JOlt:-.: J. M CC U NE. Srcretan1- Treasurer
ot the \\' ra;J~Iers C lub
...Cinco!n c~nh<, ..£,uuin:J' c 1 (ichi:Jull
It 's ex tremely d i ffi <tllt fo r o ur <ity .111cl co mm un it y t o
lose a pe rso n of D r. C o ors st a ture w uh o ut experienc in g a
feding of tk cp ,,,.l m·ss . l 'or hi s na m e is l in ked sec urel y
wi1h Oll r p ru~ n.:ss : n1orcovcr. we w ho personall y know
him w i ll miss h is wise lt-adc rshi p in t he rel igio us. ci vic
mc n t.l l hcalt h fields.
i'vi ORRISON
L . Rm t ·R. [.,·,nllll'e- /Jir.-,c or
C ~ors
Bisho p D. S t a nle y
B ~rn
c ~~rs,
at Pen t wa t er, tf. ichie a n/ His fath er , Re v. Aup ust
be gan his
Ge rman, but
(1889-1960)
m i n ist~y
j~in ed
B is h ~p
t he
i n the Ge r man
f~i ic h i P' an
C~ nfer G nc e
and pre a c hed i n
in 1888.
C ~nf er e n c e
Coors r e ceiv e d his A. B. Degr ee from Albion College,
his B. D. from Dr e w The olog ical Seminary, and his M. A Degree from
Columbia Un iv er sity.
His pastorates i nclu ded: Ferry, Mich., 1911; Roose velt,
N. Y., 1916-18 ; Plainfield AVe., Gr a nd Rapid s,
Heig hts ,
~ rand rRa p ids,
1923- 25 ;
Kalamaz~o
1 ~ 18-23;
Burton
Girs t, 192 5- 34 ; Muskegon
Centr a l, 1934-38; La nsing Central, 1938- 52 .
~ lected
Genera l Conf ere nc e s, he headed his confer ence
to six
d e le gati~n
five
times .
He was e l e cted t o the
~ p i sc~pacy
in 1952; assi gned to
the S t . Pa ul, Minne sota Area , he ser ved until his dea th, March 6,
1960. Hi s rem embered traits includ e d a
books , a
c ~mes
g ~~ d
l ~v e
f~r
music and the be st
pr eacher b Od understa nding pastor , th e coura ge which
fro m deep
co nv icti~n s ,
a
~r acious
fai th-ex perience and s ocial - mora l
bala nce
pr ~bl e ms.
bet ~ e e n
pe r s~nal
BISHOP STANLEY
COORS DIES
Hi : pastorates incluae : F el'l'y, Mich.,
1911·
Roos evelt, New York, 1916-18 ;
Pla i~field Avenue Cnurch, Grand Rapids,
Mich., 1918-2:1 ; Burton Heights, Grand
Rapids, 1923-25; F irst Chu rch, Kalamazoo, 1925-34; Cent ra l Church, Muskegon,
1934-38 ; and Cent ra l Church, L ansing ,
1938-52.
He is survived by his wife, the former
Margaret Havens, and a son and two
daughters: Robert S., Milwaukee, Wis.;
Winifred (Mrs. Matthew S. Van Keuren),
La Mesa, Calif.; and Lucile Marie (Mrs.
Harvey W. Lynn) of Lansing.
Su1-viving a lso are the bishop's two
s ist ers - Mrs. B. F. Lamb of Columbus,
Ohio, and Mrs. D. M. Snell of East
Lansing.
Funeral Services Were
Held Last Week in
SL Paul and Lansing
St. Paul, Minn. - Bishop D. Stanley
Coors, head of The Met hodist Church's
Minnesota Area since 1952, died March
6 in his St. Paul home.
He had been in poor health for some
tim e, but seemed to be gaining strength
Bishop D. Stanley C~
I SHOP D. Stanley Coors of St.dfaiU
Minnesota, died March 6, .after a
long illness. A funeral set'Vlee was
held in· St. Paul on March 9, with four
bishops participating. Bishop Edwin E.
Voigt, Dakotas Area, was tn charge,
assis ted by Bishop Cha rles W. Brasbares,
Illinois Area, and pres ident of the
North Centr al Jurisdiction College of
Bis hops ; Bishop E . Gerald Ens ley of the
Iowa Area; and Bishop H. Clifford
Nort hcutt, Wisconsin Area . The set-vice was attended by some 200 mi nisters.
The s econd service was held March
11, at Cent ral Methodist Church, Lans ing, where Bishop Coors had .served f~r
fourteen year s as pastor, pnor to h1s
election t o the episcopacy in 1952.
Bishop Marshall R. Reed, im intimate
friend and college classm ate, was in
charge. Bishop Richard C. Raines of
t he Indiana Area spoke in behalf of the
Council of Bis hops ; Dr. William W.
Whitehouse, s poke in behalf of Albion
College, where Bishop Coors was both an
alumnus and served a s t rustee for many
years. Dr. William H. Helrigel, pastor
at Hastings, s poke in behalf of the members of the Michigan Conference. Bishop
Reed paid his own tt·ibute to his longtime fr iend a nd colleague. The scripture lesson was read by Rev. Russell R.
King of Petoskey and Dr. Paul Morrison,
Lans ing Central, offered the prayer.
There were over 100 ministers present. They sang "Hark, H ark My Soul,"
as a processional h ymn, fi lling the choir
~ eats in the cha ncel a nd the fr on t seat s
of t he sanctuary. The congregation and
minis ters sang "For All the Saints
Vlho From Th eir Labors Rest." Mrs .
Mary Toy Yard rendered the solo, "I
Know That My Redeemet· Livet h." Dr.
Cy ril Barker, m inister of music, presided at t he organ. Bu r ial was in the
fam il y plot at E vergreen Cemetery,
Lansing.
Bishop Hazen G. Werner of the Ohio
Area was unable to attend. A complete obituary appea r ed in the March
.l7 issue, page 9.
B
and had resumed s ome of his normal
duti es after suffering a recurrence of
a serious systematic blood ailment in
December.
Had he lived until July, the 70-yearold bis hop would have retired at the
North Central Jurisdictional Conference
in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his native
state, where he served 35 years as a
Methodis t pastor before his election to
the epis copacy in 1952.
Funeral services were held March 9 in
Hamline Chut·ch, S t . Paul, a nd on March
11 in Lansing, Michigan, where fo r 14
years he wa s minis ter of Central Churcl1.
As an outstanding pastor in Michigan,
he was elected to s ix Genentl Conferences, heading his conference delegation fi ve times. He was also a delegate
to t he Uniting Confet'e'?ce, to fout· North
Central .Jurisdietiomtl Conferences and
to the Methodist EeuRatriical Conference
in Oxford, England, in 1951.
Bis hop Cool-s was vice-president of the
denomination's Board of Temperance
and a member of th e Boa rd of Missions
.f'romotlon ana
a nd the Commission
Cultivation.
H e w~ a past president of the National Temperance League of America
. a nd the Mi nnes ota Council of Churches.
He was a trustee of Hamlin e Univers ity
in St. Paul and other church-related
institutions.
Bom in P entwater, Michigan, Aug.
1 1889 Bfs hop Coors was graduated
f:·om A'lbion College in 1914 with Phi
Beta Kappa hono1·s. His alma mater
bestowed tie honorary doctorate in
divinity upon him in 1931. He earned
the bac helor of divinity degree at Drew
Theological Seminary, Madison, N.J.,
and t he mast er of a rts degr ee from
Columbia University, New York.
(
MICHIOP CHRISTIMf ADVOCATE
?t ...~~~~ ~IJ;6 c
1.---~---
(Continued from page a)
f or his elevation to the Episcopacy. His
ninety-two-year-old f at her offered the
pmyer. ~ t was a b eautif ul prayer in
w~
hi
e. t'aid, " 0 God Thou know est that
vb
J.irs t held th is boy in my arms I
de
l)im to you. Now I dedicate
1\J~
iJ)• fo r another mission in Thy
Oli
' He was dedicated to God by
hi s palleQ
nd later by his own delibera te choice. Iu all the ye(lrs that we
have been together and we discussed
everything fro m personal relig ion to its
social application I never saw him disclose a ny attitude or champion any idea
incons is tent with a complete commitment of his life to Christ. He could not
be labeled a liberal or a conservative. On
some issues he would take an amazing ly
liberal position and on others an equally
conservative position and in both took
the position he believed a Christian
s hould t ake.
H e was a str ong preacher and an
understandi ng pastor.
popula r pr eaclier in
convu lsed the members
tion with humor. He was
preacher who out of a
ing of the best that was
at·ea of religion gave his people a reasonable fai th. He preached with t he degree
of conviction that brough t others under
convict ion too. Long before counseling
was cons ider ed a necess ary part of the
minister's equipment he carried in his
mind and heart the cares and troubles
of the members of hi s congr egation.
He possessed many virtues among
which was courage. When t he press ann ounced his death a cit izen of L ansing
who was not of his church told me of
his great courage. When I ask ed him
what he meant h e re plied in the mann er
in which he faced the State L egislature
on certain mora l iss ues.
From his
Church across the ca mpus from t he
Ca pitol where State Legis la ture met he
exerted a powerful influence for r ighteousness upon t he members of that body.
He also had the bearing of nobility.
Although he was friendly and democr atic
towards a ll he stood out a nd above the
crowd. To be with him was to be stimnlated in thought and enriched in purpose. He was one of those tall m en
who lived above the fog in public duty
and private t hinking.
H e was a man of s ound faith. He be-
lieved in the essential fundamentals of
Cht·istianity but he knew all the puss
wot·ds to a modern appreciation and expres~:~ion of t he same.
In his earlier
ministry when t he war was raging between science and religion he publis hed
a pamphlet dealing with the cont1·oversy.
In later life he would have lau!fhed at
this early attem pt to defend t he fai th
but it illus t rated his life-long desire to
know and decla re the trut h. His brethren
believed in him as was evidenced by the
fa ct that he led t he General Conference
delegation from his confer ence each
Quadrennium from 1932 to 1952. Ther e
may have been some specu lation as to
whom the othe1· members of the delegation might be but there was no question
as to who would be firs t.
When I think of these and other virtues I res ist the intrusion into my mind
of the words of one of Shakespeare's
character s : "He was a man take him all
in a ll - I s hall not look upon his like
again."
Although at times he appear ed to bt·
vigorous many year s were a struggle for
health and life. In the early thirties a
virulent type of influenza swept over the
city of Kalamaz oo wher e he t hen preached. He contracted influenza-pneu monia
and hovered f or days between life anrl
death. The doctors and nurses said he
could not live but h e did a nd told me
later that t he only reason he could see
why he did was t he prayers of the
church people of t hat city.
More than three years ago I was
called at eleven o'clock at nig ht by a
hospital chapla in friend a t Rochester to
be told that the doctor s said Stanley
could not live until morning.
he
def ied the judg ment of t he
fessio n and r ecovered
t hen the strug g le
and painful until at las~
furth er.
The last t ime I saw' him
the
hospital at Grand Rapids after he hnd
experienced two severe opet·ations. Althoug h he had high :fever his hand clasp
was fit·m and his mind was clea r. However, after we had gone he said to Margaret: "Marshall has come and gone.
There were several questions I wa nted to
ask him but he was so evasive I could
g-et no answer s."
Does this not r emind ma ny of us of
t he closing words of Bishop l\IcConnell's
t l"ibute to Bishop Hughes in a memoria l
service like this? He sa id that he had
missed s eeing Bishop Hughes at t he las t
session of the Council of Bishops for
Bishop Hug hes had left early and he
came late. "I am sorry" he said, "to
have mi ssed him because there were
several things I wan ted to talk over
with him" and then afte r a significant
pause he concluded - "but they will
wait." So Bishop Cuor's questions will
wait for I expect to see him aga in when
we resume the journey of half a century,
the journey that will have no ending in
that land whose mar ker is God.
I will conclude this statement us I
concluded my expression of appreciation
for h is ministry at the service in Lans ing with a phrase he often used: " God
has been good to us." It might have
been after being toget her at a General
Confe rence or after a social meeting
with our wives he would say : "God has
been good to us." So we- say now "God
has been good to us" - good to Margaret
in giving her this companion acr oss the
years, good to a son and two daughters
in g iving th em such a father, good to
the churches he served as a real sheph erd
~:nd good to us in giving us such a colleague and f l"iend. Thanks be to God
for his life a nd in this hour thanks be
to God Who giveth us the victory
throug·h Our Lord Jesus Christ.
By Bishop
Marshall R. Reed
_Bishop D. Stanley Coors
. te>/ 8-/ {go
An address by Bishop Marshall R. R eed at the Memorial Service of
the Council of Bishops at Denver, April 21, 1960.
;
D. Stanley Coors was
BISHOP
born August 1, 1889, at
Pentwater, Michigan, and departed this life on Sunday afternoon March 6, 1960, at his home
in the Episcopal Residence at St.
Paul, Minnesota. A memorial
service was held on the following Vlednesday in St. Paul with
Bishops Voigt, Brashares, Ensley, and Northcutt assisting in
the service, and on Friday in
his former church and conference at Lansing w ith Bishop
Richard C. Raines and myself
participating in the service at
the church and conducting the
burial service at Evergreen
Cemetery in Lansing.
He was the son of Rev. August
and Julia Marie Coors. His
father began his ministry in the
G e r m a n Conference often
preaching in German but united
with the Michigan Conference
in 1888 where he held an effective relationship until his retirement in 1925.
Stanley always held his father
in high admiration, not only because of a natural respect for his
father but for his unusual ability in certain lines which he
passrAn to his son. One was a
love .music, his father having
written an oratorio at one time.
Whi le Stanley made no pretense
of being a musician he loved
music and sang well. Another
was his Jove for the best books
of his t ime which was also true
of his more distinguished son.
On February 26, 1955, I went
150 miles north on a bad winter's day to be at the funeral
service for his nintey-five-year old father: I went partly beJUNE 2, 1960
cause I had known the family
but especially because Stanley
and Margaret were on an Episcopal visitation in Europe and
could not be there.
Bishop Coors received his
A.B. Degr ee from Albion College, his B.D. Degree from Drew
Theological Seminary, and his
M.A. Degree from Columbia
University. He was a camp pastor at F ort Upton during World
War I and then returned to the
Michigan Conference where he
held an effective relationship
unt il his election to the Episcopacy in July 1952.
The members of this Council
know that this assignment is a
difficult one for me because of
my close relationship to Bishop
Coors for nearly half a century.
On the one hand I must resist
the temptation to indulge in an
extravagant eulogy which he
would not want and on the other
hand I would be untrue to this
long friendship which has meant
so much to me and to my ministry if I do not speak some
words of a ppreciation for him.
We met first as sophomores
in Albion College in 1911 and
graduated together three years
later. The September following
we started to seminary together
and a few years later our Alma
Mater honored us with doctorates at the same commencement.
There were two strong normal
colleges in our state at that time
and his ministry near the
campus of one was contemporary with my ministry near the
other. Later while he had a
fourteen-year ministry at our
great Central Church in Lansing
I hact a fourteen-year pastorate
in the Nardin Park Church in
Detl:oit. When I entered the
Episcopacy in 1948 our intimate
r elationship of responsibility
was slightly altered but during
that quadrennium he always
greeted me affectionately with
th e phrase "My Bishop." When
he came into this Council in
1952 we were happy to be reunited in the service to the
Church.
In 1932 we attended our first
General Conference, he as a delegate from the Michigan Conference and I from the Detroit
Conference. We have attended
together every General Conference since then, the Unitincr
Conference, and all the Jurisdic':
tiona! Conferences until now.
Naturally there have been innumerable ha ppy gatherings in
our homes across the years. It
is out of this blessed friendship
that I now bear my witness.
Stanley Coors was a dedicated
man. At his election as Bishop
in 1952 his congregation at
Central Church, Lansing, gave
a public service of r ecognition
Bishop Coors
(Continued on pag-e 20)
Coors, D. Stanley