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Ralph Washington Sockman (October 1, 1889 – August 29, 1970) was the senior pastor of Christ Church (
United Methodist
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
) in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He gained considerable prominence in the U.S. as the featured speaker on the weekly
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
radio program, ''National Radio Pulpit'', which aired from 1928 to 1962, and as a writer of several best-selling books on the Christian life.
''Time Magazine'' reported in 1946 that Sockman's ''National Radio Pulpit'' program received 4,000 letters weekly, making him "the number one Protestant radio pastor of the U.S. ...rated by volume of fan mail". Fifteen years later in 1961, ''Time'' said that Sockman was "generally acknowledged as the best Protestant preacher in the U.S.".
Sockman became the director of the
Hall of Fame for Great Americans
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is an outdoor sculpture gallery located on the grounds of Bronx Community College (BCC) in the Bronx, New York City. It is the first such hall of fame in the United States. Built in 1901 as part of the U ...
in 1949.
In 1950, he was also appointed associate professor of practical theology at
Union Theological Seminary in New York.
''Time Magazine'' said of him at the time:
"Sunday morning at 10 E.S.T., from October through May, 60-year-old Dr. Sockman preaches on NBC's National Radio Pulpit to one of the biggest religious radio audiences in the U.S. Then, at his Byzantine-style church on Manhattan's Park Avenue, he holds a regular Sunday morning service (with enough ceremony and liturgy to jolt many a low-church Methodist). So many people come to hear him that at 5 in the afternoon he repeats his morning service".
He toured extensively for speaking engagements nationwide and often preached at the 6,000-seat
Ocean Grove Auditorium on
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
's seashore, which was packed on "Sockman Sundays", as those occasions were popularly called. Some of his sermons from those appearances were subsequently published in 1939 as ''Ways of the Christian Life – Sermons by the Sea''.
Early years
Raised on a farm in
Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County.
History
The community was platted in 1805, and named after Mo ...
, Ralph W. Sockman graduated from
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...
, where he earned a
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
key.
He studied for the ministry at
Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1916, he married Zellah Endly, the daughter of a Methodist minister, and became pastor of what was then called the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, the forerunner of Christ Church in New York City.
Writings
Sockman was a prolific writer, with some of his books still available and one, ''Now to Live!'', reprinted in July 2007.
Other books include:
* ''The Paradoxes of Jesus'' (1936)
* ''Live for Tomorrow'' (1943)
* ''Date With Destiny; A Preamble To Christian Culture'' (1944)
* ''The Lord's Prayer'' (1947)
* ''How to Believe, Answering the Questions that Challenge Man's Faith (1953)
Quotations
Ralph W. Sockman was especially noted for his memorable quips and sermon lines, such as:
* "The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority."
* "The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder."
* "Nothing is so strong as gentleness and nothing is so gentle as real strength" in which he was quoting
St. Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...
.
* "Our growth depends not on how many experiences we devour, but on how many we digest."
References
External links
Christ Church, New York – official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sockman, Ralph Washington
1889 births
1970 deaths
American radio personalities
People from Mount Vernon, Ohio
Methodist writers
American United Methodist clergy
Methodists from New York (state)
Methodists from Ohio