Doug Koop’s Twenty-five Years of Service Honoured

Tribute to Doug Koop, read at a gathering of celebration and reflection in Winnipeg on January 28, 2012. Doug left his position as Editorial Director of ChristianWeek newspaper after 25 years of service.

On behalf of The Word Guild, a national association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian, we extend our sincere thanks and congratulations to Doug Koop—an exemplary writer and editor we’re proud to count among our 400 members.

Our Christian writing community is stronger because of Doug's work and influence. Over the past 25 years, he has mentored many writers through relationships with staff members, correspondents and freelancers. Doug has modeled reason, fairness, moderation, thoughtful commentary and careful reporting. He’s been committed to communicating the truth and to adhering to quality journalistic standards. He has demonstrated courage in his willingness to cover contentious issues and restraint in refraining from sensationalism.

Most of all, through covering thousands of stories, Doug has helped to increase communication and understanding, find ways to equip and encourage and build bridges among denominations, organizations and people. Following the example set by the newspaper's founder Harold Jantz, Doug has provided steady leadership to steer ChristianWeek through many changes and publishing challenges.

When Doug was mid-way through his career, we presented him with the Leslie K. Tarr Award in the year 2000 to honour a major career contribution to Christian writing and publishing in Canada. His significant accomplishments in the intervening years have cemented his reputation for excellence.

Doug has a rich reservoir of knowledge and experience to draw from as he continues to write, as well as a keen interest in the arts and we all look forward to seeing how his many gifts find expression in the future as he uses them to the glory of God.

Wendy E. Nelles, Co-Founder, The Word Guild