The Art of Making…A Coffin
I’m fascinated by the process of making things: making art, making bread, making a guitar or a violin. You name it, and I’m probably curious about how it came into being. Part of that is simply an interest with how things work and, even more, where they came from. Part of it is a fascination with the creative process. And part of it – maybe the biggest part – is that I’m interested not simply in the mechanics – the how – of making something, but in the who – that is, who has brought this thing into being, why, and what does it mean to them.
All of this is to say that whenever I come across a story or video about how people make something, I’m intrigued. And so when I stumbled across this video about the making of a coffin – and, of course, the person who takes such care in making a coffin – I was delighted. What struck me was the sense of calling this craftsman has for the coffins he builds and for the important service it renders for people at vulnerable times in their lives.
I love that. I love when we can help each other find something that matches their gifts to the needs of others. We call that “vocation” – responding to God’s calling to care for the world – and it happens all the time, whether we know it or not, among Christians and those who aren’t, whether we use that language or not.
The video is just under four minutes. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.
The Coffinmaker from Dan McComb on Vimeo.
Note: If you are receiving this post as an email, you may need to click here to watch the video.
An absolutely real and beautiful story. Thank you.
Wow. I’m going to need to watch this a few times. Growing up, my favorite segment of Mister Rogers was when he would visit workers and workspaces. I was particularly invested in the crayon factory episode! The Coffinmaker is a bit more powerful. I’m going to take this with me into the week (and share it with others!) Thank you for posting it here.