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Note #8318 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Folks line up to greet new moderator
GA04027
June 27, 2004

Folks line up to greet new moderator

Presbyterians say they're excited about his youth and mission spirit

by Evan Silverstein

RICHMOND, June 27 - The line stretched around the second level of the
Richmond Convention Center Sunday as members of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
queued up to shake the hand of the new moderator of the General Assembly.

Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, a 40-year-old border mission worker from Southside
Presbyterian Church in Tucson, AZ, was elected Saturday night. He will be the
first PC(USA) moderator to serve a two-year term.

Some of the Presbyterians who attended the moderator's reception had their
pictures snapped with Ufford-Chase and his wife of 12 years, Kitty Ufford.
Others simply hugged him or offered congratulations.

"Exhilarating. It's incredible," Ufford-Chase said of his first day in his
new post. "There's an energetic spirit alive in the church. I'm getting
people from across the church who are giving me a hug and saying, 'Let's do
it together.' And that's what this is all about. It's been great."

Many who noshed on finger sandwiches and cookies and sipped red punch while
advancing through the long line said they were excited by Ufford-Chase's
youth, his enthusiasm for mission work and his progressive ideas.

"He's young. I'm excited," said 80-year-old Sara Payne of Greenville, SC.
"Maybe this will bring some young people into the church. Maybe they will see
that the Presbyterian Church appeals to all people, young and old - and I'm
quite old, and I like him."

Payne, an elder and former session member at Greenville's Westminster
Presbyterian Church, described Ufford-Chase as articulate and impressive.

She said she also likes the idea of the two-year tour of duty, which is
related to the decision of the 214th GA's decision in 2002 to shift to
every-other-year Assemblies.

"We should have done this a long time ago, have a two-year session," Payne
said.

Ufford-Chase founded BorderLinks, a bi-national organization that tries to
connect and educate people of faith on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
He has served BorderLinks for 17 years.

Commissioner Lorraine Petrigliano of Long Island, NY, said she believes
Ufford-Chase is a good role model for other Presbyterians, showing that it is
possible to be a young church leader while raising a family.

"I give him so much credit, for not only understanding that you can do it,
but inspiring, I think, other people, as he says to 'get in the boat,'" said
Petrigliano, who said she voted for Ufford-Chase. "I think that's what he's
going to do. I think he's going to be a tremendous positive for our church."

Bill Bottomley, an elder commissioner from John Calvin Presbyterian Church in
Metairie, LA, said many commissioners liked Ufford-Chase's
mission-mindedness.

"I think that from what I have heard people saying ... in the aftermath of
the election, it seemed that Rick was a very attractive candidate because
he's a person who has been out there doing, not just talking about things,"
Bottomley said. "It was kind of hard to ignore somebody who has those
qualifications."

Matt Black, 26, who is starting his second year at McCormick Theological
Seminary in Chicago, said he considers himself a "progressive" and likes
Ufford-Chase's perspectives.

"It gives me great hope for the denomination," he said. "I think Rick is
wonderful. I don't think I could abandon the denomination, but I feel much
more confident in being a Presbyterian. ... I think the Holy Spirit was with
the General Assembly last night in their election of Rick."

This story and many others may have photos, media, video clips that can be
found at http://www.pcusa.org/ga216.htm.

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