the church of scotland

[Daisy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8065563.stm

 

the church of scotland has voted to accept a gay clergyman in an aberdeen church. I don't quite know the history of the scottish church, but he says he was open about it while he was in his last post at a cathedral. must be that some people who didn't like it caught on this time.

 

anyway, he lives with his partner and his new congregation support him. and now he has got the official ok by the general assembly. despite protest.

[Graeme]

That seems to reflect what's happening in the Uniting Church here in Australia. They couldn't get consensus at either of their last two assemblies (held every three years), so the current position is that it is up to the congregation to decide if they'll accept a gay minister with no official position as to whether this is doctrinally correct. The upshot was the formation of a 'lobby group' within the Church that is pressing to have the decision overturned and to ban practising gay ministers.

 

Please note the word "practising" in that above statement. Celibate gay ministers have been accepted in the Uniting Church since the 80s.

[Red_A]

the Church of scotland "The Kirk" is a Presbyterian church and has no bishops. The indivual congregations or parshes have the ultimate authority to do as they want. Although the General Assembly is a court of law, unless the congregation concern had broken the rules, it could only ban all homosexuals form the church and even then the appoint could not be rescinded. Banning all homosexuals would be a huge step and may run against the laws of the country. It would take a very strong assembly to do that.

 

However, it has damaged the gay minister, and he may have to ly low. The other thing is that there were according to the BBC Scotland a large number of non Kirk people (Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow) protesting against the appointment .