From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org
Five candidates nominated for Stated Clerk
From
George Conklin <gconklin@igc.apc.org>
Date
30 Jun 1996 21:57:25
30-June-1996
GA96014
Five candidates nominated for Stated Clerk
The election of the next stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) is now a five-way race.
Following the nomination of the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick by the Stated
Clerk Review/Nomination committee, four nominations were made from the
floor of the 208th General Assembly Saturday afternoon.
Those nominated from the floor were W. Clark Chamberlain, a Houston,
Texas, minister and attorney who serves as stated clerk of the Synod of the
Sun; Richard Dolin, a Louisville, Ky., attorney and minister who serves as
stated clerk of Louisville Presbytery; John D. Matta, attorney and stated
clerk of Pittsburgh Presbytery; and James B. Railing, a Scottsburg, Ind.,
attorney and elder.
Kirkpatrick is director of the Worldwide Ministries Division of the
General Assembly. His nomination followed an 11-month application, review
and interview process by the nine-member committee.
Speaking for the committee, its moderator, Brian D. Ellison, compared
the selection process to a pastor nominating committee (PNC), but added
that unlike a PNC, the committee's nominee might face competition. "Let's
be careful not to think of the Stated Clerk's election as simply an
additional moderator's election," he said. "... The Stated Clerk has a
long-term full-time job with the potential to set a tone for the whole life
of the church for years to come ... ."
After committee member Emily Spicer, an elder from Cincinnati, Ohio,
officially placed Kirkpatrick's name in nomination, there was a motion from
minister commissioner James F. Bernhardt (Great Rivers Presbytery) to close
the nomination process. The motion -- which would have needed a two-thirds
majority because it called for a suspension of the standing rules -- failed
by a 75-431 vote.
The other four candidates were then nominated by commissioners who had
five minutes each to speak to the Assembly. In response to a commissioner's
question, Ellison said all four had applied for the position, but were not
among the four finalists interviewed by his committee.
Chamberlain is no stranger to the Stated Clerk election process. In
1992 he was nominated from the floor of the 204th General Assembly in
Milwaukee, Wis., and defeated James Andrews, who had been nominated for
re-election by the search committee. Chamberlain later withdrew and
Andrews was re-elected.
Dolin, a parish associate at Harvey Browne Church in Louisville,
attended Louisville Theological Seminary and law school at the same time.
In addition to a 23-year career in law, he has also been a college
instructor and co-pastor of a congregation.
Matta, who was a senior counsel with PPG Industries, Inc., for 25
years, also has practiced law privately, served as administrative assistant
to a federal judge and worked as a newspaper reporter. An elder since 1971,
he has also served as chair of the Pittsburgh Presbytery council and as a
member of its board of trustees.
Railing serves as moderator of Ohio Valley Presbytery, where he is also
a member of the permanent judicial commission and serves on several
presbytery committees. He has been engaged in the general practice of law
since 1978. He was a founding member and is a past president of the United
Way of Scott County, Ind.
Moderator Marj Carpenter appointed 10 commissioners to serve on a
Candidate Review committee which will interview the five nominees. The
committee members are: ministers Isaac Butterworth, Janice Hilkerbaumer,
Ted Wardlaw, George Hardy and Myra Kazanjian; elders Ming Wang, Walter
McQuie, Howard Borgman, Etheletta Charles and Ruth Dixon. They will be
joined by the nine members of the nominating committee. Ellison will
moderate the review group and Wardlaw will be vice moderator.
The review committee, meeting at the same time as the other GA
committees, will assemble material on the candidates and publish it for
distribution to the commissioners and advisory delegates. The election of
the Stated Clerk will be the first item of business on Friday, July 5.
John Sniffen
------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
phone 502-569-5504 fax 502-569-8073
E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org Web page: http://www.pcusa.org
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