Donald Soper, Baron Soper

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Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper (born January 31, 1903 in Wandsworth , London , † December 22, 1998 in London) was a clergyman of the Methodist Church of Great Britain , best known for his decades of public sermons on Tower Hill and in Hyde Park and became a member of the House of Lords in 1965 as Life Peer under the Life Peerages Act 1958 .

Life

Study, clergyman and public sermons

Soper began after visiting the Aske's School studying in Hatcham theology at St Catharine's College of the University of Cambridge , which he in 1926 with a Bachelor of Arts graduated (BA). He was then pastor of the South London Mission of the Methodist Church between 1926 and 1929 and continued his studies at St Catharine's College. During this time, he also began giving public sermons on Tower Hill , London , a tradition he maintained for 65 years. After earning a Master of Arts (MA) from St Catharine's College in 1928 , he completed another postgraduate degree at the London School of Economics (LSE) and completed this in 1929 with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) .

In 1929 Soper took a position as pastor in the Central London Mission before he became pastor of Kingsway Hall , the main church of the West London Mission , in 1936 . He held this pastorate for over forty years until 1978. In the following years he became known in particular for his sermons at Speakers 'Corner in Hyde Park , which he held for decades at Speakers' Corner since 1942 and which he conducted alongside the sermons on Tower Hill. In it he turned against alcoholism , gambling , poverty , war , apartheid and capitalism . On the other hand, Soper, who was the father of four daughters, campaigned in his sermons for controversial topics such as the rights of homosexuals and the ordination of women.

During the Second World War he became vice chairman of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), which he had supported since 1937. Other well-known persons such as Bertrand Russell , Vera Brittain , George Lansbury , Aldous Huxley , Charles E. Raven , Siegfried Sassoon and George MacLeod were also involved in this peace movement, which was founded by the priest Dick Sheppard in 1934 .

House of Lords and Social Commitment

By a letters patent dated May 12, 1965, Soper, who was elected President of the Methodist Conference in 1953 , was elevated to the nobility as a life peer with the title Baron Soper , of Kingsway in the London Borough of Camden, under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and was a member of the House of Lords until his death. In the following years he was involved from 1974 to 1978 as chairman of Shelter , a charity to fight homelessness . In 1981 Baron Soper was honored with the Methodist Peace Prize by the World Council of Methodist Churches .

In 1988 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology (Hon. Doctor of Divinity) from the University of Cambridge . He also became president of The League Against Cruel Sports in 1988 , which campaigned against the conduct of brutal and dangerous sports. Even in old age Baron Soper participated in debates in television programs such as a 94-year-old when he shoplifting not necessarily as marked wrong because "the capitalist is based system theft" (, the capitalist system is based on stealing ').

Baron Soper was an uncle of animal film director Tony Soper .

Publications

  • Question time on Tower Hill , 1935
  • The advocacy of the Gospel , 1961
  • On to the second century , co-authors Sven Elmgren and Mark HC Hayler, 1968

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biographical information in the Encyclopædia Britannica (online version, excerpt)
personal data
SURNAME Soper, Donald, Baron Soper
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Soper, Donald Oliver, Baron Soper (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Methodist clergyman and politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Wandsworth , London
DATE OF DEATH December 22, 1998
Place of death London