wfn.org | Kirkpatrick elected Stated Clerk on first ballot

[PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org]

05-July-1996 
 
GA96109 
 
            Kirkpatrick elected Stated Clerk on first ballot 
 
ALBUQUERQUE--Citing a need to bring unity to the Presbyterian Church 
(U.S.A.), the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick easily won first-ballot election as 
Stated Clerk late Friday morning (July 5). 
 
    The 208th General Assembly gave Kirkpatrick 386 votes or 71 percent of 
the ballots cast. Closest runners up were the Rev. W. Clark Chamberlain 
with 63 votes and James B. Railing with 61 votes. John Matta received 27 
votes and Richard A. Dolin got five. 
 
    "It's rare for me to be speechless, but that's the way I feel now," 
said Kirkpatrick after being escorted to the stage by former General 
Assembly moderator the Rev. David Dobler. 
 
    Kirkpatrick, who has served since 1981 as director of the 
denomination's international ministries, will be installed Saturday morning 
as the chief ecclesiastical officer of the PCUSA. The stated clerk serves a 
six-year term, so his tenure should carry through the year 2000. 
 
    A 19-member Candidate Review committee submitted Kirkpatrick as the 
best qualified of the five candidates during its presentation Friday 
morning. While the committee's endorsement was not unanimous, it also noted 
that the five members who voted against the endorsement felt the Book of 
Order and the church's standing rules do not permit endorsement of one 
candidate. 
 
    After electing Kirkpatrick, the Assembly also approved the review 
committee's recommendation that the Committee on the Office of the General 
Assembly review the standing rules for electing a Stated Clerk. 
 
    During his pre-election speech to the Assembly, Kirkpatrick said he 
wanted to work to bring together the diverse factions in the Presbyterian 
Church. 
 
    "We can all agree that win-lose politics, turf battles, big egos, 
narrow self-interest groups, all of which are far too common in our church 
have no place in this vision of leadership," he said. "On other hand there 
is plenty of space for win-win approaches to conflict resolution, for 
carrying out our particular ministries in ways that also affirm others." 
 
    In response to a question about the potential loss of churches from the 
denomination, Kirkpatrick said it was his intention to start working 
immediately after the Assembly ends to do everything possible to convince 
churches that leaving the PCUSA is not the answer to their concerns. 
 
    He said that the church in which he grew up was now part of another 
Presbyterian denomination. Noting the pain such a decision puts upon a 
congregation and the need for unity in the church, he said he doesn't want 
to see it happen to other churches. 
 
    A native of Harlingen, Texas, Kirkpatrick holds a doctor of ministry 
degree from McCormick Theological Seminary and is a graduate of Davidson 
College. Prior to joining the PCUSA's national staff, he worked for 
ecumenical organizations in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. 
 
John Sniffen 

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