Church of Scotland Votes to Allow Gay Ministers
THE GUARDIAN: General assembly votes to allow congregations to admit gay ministers but only if they specifically elect to do so

The Church of Scotland, the country's largest Protestant church, has narrowly voted to admit gay and lesbian ministers after traditionalists agreed to compromise after four years of division.

The church's ruling general assembly voted to allow congregations to admit gay ministers but only if they specifically elect to do so, in a radical departure from more than 450 years of orthodoxy set in train by the protestant reformer John Knox.

The vote is likely to lead to an end to a four-year controversy which has split the church after an openly gay minister, Scott Rennie, was selected to lead Queen's Cross parish in Aberdeen in 2009.

The general assembly, equivalent to the Church of England's synod, rejected a motion which would have made gay ordination – solely for ministers in civil partnerships or who are celibate - the default position of the Church of Scotland, by 340 votes to 282.

The new deal – which now has to be written into a new church law and authorised by next year's general assembly - affirms the traditional teaching of the church as favouring heterosexual ministers, but will allow congregations to opt in to select gay ministers if they wish. » | Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent | Monday, May 20, 2013

Church of Scotland Rejects Proposals to Legalise Gay Marriage

THE GUARDIAN: Church responds to Scottish government's reform plan by saying same-sex marriage undermines society

The Church of Scotland has rejected proposals to legalise marriage for gay men and lesbians, claiming the Scottish government's proposals undermine society and the meaning of marriage.

The church, the most influential within Scotland, has added its weight to a growing backlash against same-sex marriage by religious groups. It claimed that allowing gay marriages contradicted the fundamental and historical basis of the institution.

Its intervention is a further blow to Alex Salmond's government, and follows the launch on Wednesday outside the Scottish parliament of a new multi-faith campaign against the reform called Scotland for Marriage led by Scotland's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, and a senior Church of Scotland figure, Ann Allen.

The Catholic church, many senior Muslim figures and evangelical churches have now formally opposed the proposal, while a grouping of smaller churches, including liberal Jewish groups, Quakers, the Pagan Federation and Unitarians, have supported the measure.

Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister and Scottish health secretary, said, however, that her government was likely to press on with the reforms. She said ministers still "tended towards their initial view" that the changes were needed.

The Scottish National party attempted to placate its critics by again insisting that no church or minister would be forced by law to conduct a gay marriage against their will or conscience. » | Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent | Thursday, December 01, 2011

Church Selects Openly Gay Man to Train as a Minister Despite Ban
TIMES ONLINE: The Church of Scotland faces a fresh crisis over its attitude towards homosexuality after an openly gay man was selected by one of the country’s largest and most influential presbyteries to train as a minister.

The decision comes less than six months after the appointment of a gay minister in Aberdeen almost split the Kirk. The selection of Scott Rennie, a divorced father, who now lives with his male partner, horrified traditionalists, some of whom threatened to leave the Church. In an attempt to defuse the increasingly bitter row, the Kirk approved a two-year ban on the induction and ordination of homosexual ministers.

During that time, a special commission will examine the issue before reporting to the Kirk’s General Assembly in 2011 in order to determine the Church’s position, based on the findings of the report.

However, despite the ban, Hamilton Presbytery, the third biggest in Scotland, voted last Tuesday to nominate a man in a civil partnership for training. >>> Charlene Sweeney | Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Protest Staged over Gay Minister
The protesters are against the appointment of a gay minister. Photo credit: BBC
BBC: About 20 people have staged a demonstration outside the General Assembly meeting which is due to debate the appointment of a gay minister.

The protest, at The Mound in Edinburgh, was led by Pastor Jack Bell of the Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow.

The Reverend Scott Rennie was backed by a majority of the congregation and the local presbytery as the new minister at Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen.

But some have since said they were unaware of Mr Rennie's sexuality.

The matter was referred to the General Assembly, the church's supreme court and will be debated on Saturday evening.

Mr Rennie, a 36-year-old divorced father-of-one, was previously a minister at Brechin Cathedral.

He has said he was open with the congregation at Queen's Cross about being gay and living with his male partner.

But more than 400 Kirk ministers and almost 5,000 Church of Scotland members are said to have signed an online petition opposing the appointment. >>> | Saturday, May 23, 2009

Listen to BBC audio: Reverends Ewen Gilchrist and David Randall discuss opposition to gay minister Scott Rennie’s appointment: The Church of Scotland is to decide whether gay minister Scott Rennie will be allowed to take up his post following a petition opposing his appointment from evangelical church members. The Reverend Ewen Gilchrist, who has been standing in for Mr Rennie ahead of his appointment, discusses the case with The Reverend David Randall. >>>

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Church of Scotland Votes to Appoint Gay Minister

LONDON — The Church of Scotland has voted in favor of appointing an openly gay minister — the latest case involving sexuality to create a division in the Anglican Communion.

The church's ruling body voted 326 to 267 Saturday to support the appointment of the Rev. Scott Rennie, 37, who was previously married to a woman and is now in a relationship with a man.

Rennie was first appointed as a minister 10 years ago, but has faced opposition from some critics since he moved to a church in Aberdeen, Scotland, last year.

Protesters had lobbied the Kirk — the Church of Scotland's ruling executive — over Rennie's case, saying his appointment was not consistent with the teachings of the Bible.

"We are absolutely opposed to that on the basis of what God has to say about homosexuality in the Bible," one opponent, Pastor Jack Bell of the Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow, Scotland, said.

The case has divided Scottish religious leaders and follows tensions within the worldwide 77 million-member Anglican Communion. About 900 elders and ministers took part in a debate on Rennie's case, but many chose to abstain from casting a vote. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press | Sunday, May 24, 2009

Anti-gay Minister the Rev Ian Watson in ‘Nazi Battle’ Outrage
TIMESONLINE: The Church of Scotland is moving towards a schism after one of its ministers compared an increasingly determined campaign against gay clergymen to the war against the Nazis.

The Rev Ian Watson railed against homosexual lifestyles, declaring that such people would not “inherit the kingdom of God” in a sermon that religious leaders and politicians condemned as deeply disturbing.

Mr Watson is a prominent opponent of Scott Rennie, an openly gay minister whose appointment to a parish church last year has caused divisions. Mr Rennie, a divorced father of one, lives with his partner, David, and has the support of his Aberdeen Presbytery. The Church of Scotland is due to debate his appointment at its General Assembly next week after a petition was signed by almost a third of ministers pushing for all gays to be banned from the pulpit.

A motion has been lodged urging the Church not to “train, ordain, admit, readmit, induct or introduce to any ministry of the church anyone involved in a sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and woman”. >>> Mike Wade | Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Church of Scotland Backs Sharia Courts!
SCOTSMAN: THE Church of Scotland last night welcomed the possibility of introducing sharia law courts in Scotland.

Rev Ian Galloway, convener of the Church and Society Council, said sharia courts had been unfairly portrayed following the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments in February that it "seems unavoidable" that parts of Islamic sharia law would be adopted in the UK. Church of Scotland Backs Islamic Sharia Law Courts >>> | October 10, 2008

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