In 1897 a partial thematic match with shared vocabulary appeared in “The Smith College Monthly” within the first verse of a work called ‘Hymn” by student Edith Theodora Ames. Thus, these three citations show that the earliest person known to have used the prayer was a student of Niebuhr’s, and she credited him with its creation.īelow are additional selected citations in chronological order. “O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other.” (Reinhold Niebuhr) She presented a close match for Serenity Prayer: 1940 Copyright, We Plan Our Own Worship Services: Business girls practice the act and the art of group worship by Winnifred Wygal, Chapter: The Essential Three-Point Outline, Quote, The … Continue reading Oh, God, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what can not be helped, and insight to know the one from the other.Īnother crucial piece of evidence occurred in Wygal’s 1940 book “We Plan Our Own Worship Services”. Shapiro in The Chronicle Review … Continue reading This instance appeared as an epigraph in the article without attribution: 1933 March, The Woman’s Press, On the Edge of Tomorrow by Winnifred Wygal (Epigraph), Quote, National Board of the Y.W.C.A. The third part of this formulation employed the phrase “insight to know”. She included the earliest instance known to QI of a match for the full tripartite structure. The following year in March 1933 Wygal published an article in “The Woman’s Press”, a periodical of the Y.W.C.A. The phrases “serenity to accept” and “courage to change” were present, but the phrase “wisdom to know” was absent. The above text contained two of the three elements in the tripartite structure of the Serenity Prayer. ‘The victorious man in the day of crisis is t he man who has the serenity to accept what he cannot help and the courage to change what must be altered.’ says that ‘moral will plus imagination are the two elements of which faith is compounded.’ Boldface added to excerpts by QI: Winnifred Wygal’s diary entry dated: OctoWygal’s diary is located at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study … Continue reading Wygal credited him with a statement that partially matched the prayer. Wygal studied with Reinhold Niebuhr at Union Theological Seminary, and in the following diary passage the initials R.N. Shapiro, Date on website: April 28, 2014, Website description: The Chronicle of Higher Education … Continue readingĪ crucial piece of evidence appeared in the diary of Winnifred Wygal within an entry dated October 31, 1932. Website: The Chronicle Review, Article title: Who Wrote the Serenity Prayer?, Article author: Fred R. He concluded with a “high degree of confidence” that prominent theologian Reinhold Niebuhr originated the Serenity Prayer. Shapiro who is the editor of “The Yale Book of Quotations”. The complex topic of provenance was examined by top quotation expert Fred R. Quote Investigator: There are many versions of the Serenity Prayer, and its phrasing has evolved over time which makes it difficult to trace. Would you please explore the provenance of this prayer? God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. ![]() God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference. ![]() ![]() Lenore Stone Meffley? Edith Theodora Ames? Bram Stoker? Anonymous?ĭear Quote Investigator: Here are two versions of the famous Serenity Prayer:
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