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."