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Writers Guild honors N.Y. Times reporter Gustav Niebuhr


From PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>
Date 29 Jun 2000 16:09:08

Note #6065 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

29-June-2000
GA00119

	Writers Guild honors N.Y. Times reporter Gustav Niebuhr

	by Eva Stimson

LONG BEACH, June 29--Words matter, even in a world that is often described
as a "post-literate" culture.  This was the message brought to members of
the Presbyterian Writers Guild Thursday by Gustav Niebuhr, religion reporter
for the "New York Times."

	Niebuhr received the Guild's 2000 Distinguished Writer Award.  Introduced
as the grandson of esteemed theologian H. Richard Niebuhr, he attends First
Presbyterian Church in New York City.

	"Words frame our experiences and shape our understanding of the events in
which we participate," Niebuhr said.  "The printed word is embedded in our
culture as a vital part of our history."

	Neibuhr cited the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address as
examples of texts that make great national events accessible to today's
citizens.  The texts, he contended, convey the events much more powerfully
than existing photos or other visual images.

	He also noted that the "Jesus" miniseries on CBS this spring contained many
compelling visual images and special effects, but added, "I thought the real
power of the series was in the words of Jesus."

	Preachers and writers are particularly aware of the "living power of words
across time," Neibuhr said.  He noted that in books and sermons sometimes
"there are words and sentences that stick with us for years."

	At its annual General Assembly luncheon, the Writers Guild honored several
other Presbyterian writers.  The Angell Award, recognizing the best first
book by a Presbyterian, went to the Rev. James Chatham, pastor of Highland
Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky., for his book "Sundays Down South," a
collection of stories about people in the churches he has served.

	"The best stories," Chatham said, "come not from the rich, not from the
famous, not from the glamorous, but from the people next door."

	The Rev. Dale Robb, a retired pastor from Urbana, Ill., and one of the
founders of the Guild, received a lifetime service award.

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