Victor Neil Wyrick Jr. (September 23, 1928 in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

-December 17, 2017) was a minister in the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

, and is perhaps best known for the annual Easter pageant held in Miami's Orange Bowl during the 1960s, and for his extensive writing.

Life

Wyrick was born in

on September 23, 1928. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1950, and from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Virginia in 1954. He was ordained in 1954. His first pastorate included four rural congregations in Virginia. From 1955 until 1967 Wyrick served as the pastor of a fast-growing Palmetto Presbyterian Church in Miami, Florida. In 1968, he began devoting himself full-time to the evangelistic work of the Presbyterian Churches of Miami, focusing mostly on the Pageantry, Inc, which he founded. In 1994 he began serving the Sunrise Presbyterian Church of Miami, Florida, serving as Associate Pastor until he became the interim pastor of the

First Presbyterian Church of Miami First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in 2000. His appointment coincided with about half the congregation leaving, and was meant to turn away from the outreach to African-Americans and Hispanics and introduction of drums and guitars of his predecessor Michael Girolimon. Sunday worship under Girolimon had been an average of 160, it fell to 44 under Wyrick as of 2004. Wyrick authored hundreds of articles for national magazines such as the

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

, American Home, Every Woman's Family Circle and others. For several years he had a newspaper column entitled Hints for the Hearthstone and for 20 years a column entitled The Why of it All. He also had a newspaper column entitled Senior Snippets. He was a talk show host for the CBS affiliate in Miami, Florida, (''Family Line'' and ''Rap Around''). He wrote a nationally syndicated radio show, ''A Boy Called Dysmas''. Wryick wrote, produced and acted in a number of one-man dramas, portraying characters from American history, church history and the Bible.

Written works

Wyrick's books include: *"One-A-Day, Your Spiritual Vitamins" 1962 *"Boundaries Unlimited" 1965 *"I AM" 1966 *"Poor Richard's Almanack for the 20th Century" 1984 *"Rust on My Soul" 1985 *"Letters To America" 1992 *"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln" 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyrick. Victor Neil, Jr. 1928 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American Presbyterian ministers Christian novelists Hampden–Sydney College alumni People from Miami Presbyterian Church (USA) teaching elders Union Presbyterian Seminary alumni