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Note #8408 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Kirkpatrick re-elected as stated clerk
GA04113
July 2, 2004

Kirkpatrick re-elected as stated clerk

Defeats three evangelical challengers, garners 66 percent of vote

by Jerry Van Marter

RICHMOND, July 2  3/4 The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the General Assembly
stated clerk, easily won re-election to a third four-year term Friday morning
in a first-ballot victory over three evangelical challengers.

Kirkpatrick received 349 votes, nearly 66 percent.

The Rev. Robert "Bob" Davis, a pastor from Escondido, CA, who is also
executive director of the conservative renewal organization, the Presbyterian
Forum, finished second with 137 votes. The Rev. Linn "Rus" Howard, a pastor
from Venetia, PA, finished third, with 25, and Elder Alex Metherell, of  St.
Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, CA, trailed with 19.

Kirkpatrick said he has "tried in all I've done to work for renewal and
reconciliation" in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and knows, after eight
years in office, "that there's more work I have yet to do."

He said he has "found more tension and stress than I believe God ever
intended," but also has seen "that God is at work in ways that bring hope to
people all over the world, and that is one of my great rewards."

Much of the tension and stress relates to a spate of judicial cases alleging
"defiance" of the constitution that are now making their way through the
church courts. Two of Kirkpatrick's challengers sharply criticized his
handling of those cases.

Howard, a career-long pastor, charged that Kirkpatrick "has enabled defiance,
misrepresented the constitution and hastened the decline of the Presbyterian
Church (USA)."

Metherell - who tried and failed to force a special meeting of the 214th
General Assembly to deal with alleged defiance of the constitution - was even
more strident in his criticism, accusing Kirkpatrick of "illegally thwarting
the will of that Assembly" and "actively participating in defiance."

Davis took a more positive tack, calling for greater use of PC(USA) governing
bodies' powers of administrative review. Noting that the church courts have
no enforcement powers, Davis said it would "better serve us in keeping order
in the church" to pay more attention to dealing with cases of defiance
administratively.

Kirkpatrick, who said "the first call of the stated clerk is to preserve and
defend the constitution," ticked off a list of resources his office has made
available to Presbyterians and governing bodies - widely distributing the
Book of Order and Book of Confessions in several languages, training
presbytery and synod stated clerks, consulting with prospective ministers
through consultations with seminaries, and developing a new
"missional-polity" curriculum, Common Faith, Common Mission.

"We have said over and over that dissent is to be honored, but defiance is
not," Kirkpatrick said, adding, "We will not take powers away from governing
bodies or courts, but we will always lift up the constitution."

Contentiousness in the denomination over a number of issues led one Youth
Advisory Delegate to ask during the question-and-answer portion of the
election what advice each candidate had for "youth who are discouraged by all
the bickering."

Kirkpatrick pleaded with young people "to look deeper - Jesus Christ is alive
and well in this church," and urged them "to get involved in mission - it
will change your life and the world."

Davis praised the church's polity as "a gift that enables us to take on hard
subjects and wrestle with them and discuss them, trying to discern the will
of God." Howard said that, if Presbyterians will simply "hold to the Bible as
the infallible word of God, the bickering will disappear." Metherell's advice
was "to find a nice, good local church and focus your energy there, where the
real work of the church is happening."

Another way of dealing with the conflict plaguing the PC(USA) is the
Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church. Asked
about his expectations of the group, which is scheduled to bring its final
report to the next General Assembly in 2006, Kirkpatrick said he "expects the
Holy Spirit will use (it)as one route to renewal of the PC(USA)."

He said the 20-member task force, which he described as "a very diverse
group," has modeled that renewal. "They are not of one mind," he said, "but
they're of one heart and one conviction that Jesus Christ is our peace, unity
and purity."

Davis said he worries about unreasonable expectations that the task force
will "solve" the conflicts in the church, when that must be done by
Presbyterians themselves. "We cannot wait for someone else somewhere else to
do something else for the rest of the church," he said. "It has to be the
people of the church doing the hard work of the church."

Metherell and Howard, who have been publicly dismissive of the task force,
reiterated their skepticism. "I don't know why we're so enamored of
diversity," Metherell said. "We just end up with compromise - the Bible and
the Book of Confessions have already told us what we believe, so in the words
of California young people, 'Duh!'" Howard said he hopes the task force is
successful in its work, and he believes it should "simply remind us that
peace, unity and purity comes when ... we simply state that Jesus Christ is
the only Savior, and (that) the Bible is the inspired, authoritative and
infallible word of God."

Recalling his granddaughter's Baptism last year, Kirkpatrick said, "I made a
pledge to God at that moment that I would continue to try and build up the
church today and do my best as stated clerk to lay the foundation for future
generations. I give thanks to God for the gift of this job."

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

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