Sttish church ph forward on gay rights | Relign | The Guardian

Contents:

• CHURCH OF STLAND VOT TO ALLOW GAY MISTERS
• CHURCH OF STLAND TO ALLOW GAY MARRIAG FOR FIRST TIME
• CHURCH OF STLAND VOT TO ALLOW GAY AND LBIAN MISTERS
• CHURCH OF STLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOT TO ALLOW GAY MISTERS
• CHURCH OF STLAND FAC BREAKAWAY OVER GAY CLERGY
• GAY MISTER'S APPOTMENT DIVIS CHURCH OF STLAND
• STTISH CHURCH PH FORWARD ON GAY RIGHTS
• GAY MARRIAGE AND THE SHAKG OF THE CHURCH STLAND
• CHURCH OF STLAND OPENS DOOR FOR APPOTMENT OF MARRIED GAY MISTERS

CHURCH OF STLAND VOT TO ALLOW GAY MISTERS

The Church of Stland, the untry's largt Prottant church, has narrowly voted to adm gay and lbian misters after tradnalists agreed to promise after four years of church's lg general assembly voted to allow ngregatns to adm gay misters but only if they specifilly elect to do so, a radil parture om more than 450 years of orthodoxy set tra by the prottant reformer John vote is likely to lead to an end to a four-year ntroversy which has spl the church after an openly gay mister, Stt Rennie, was selected to lead Queen's Cross parish Aberen general assembly, equivalent to the Church of England's synod, rejected a motn which would have ma gay ordatn – solely for misters civil partnerships or who are celibate - the flt posn of the Church of Stland, by 340 vot to new al – which now has to be wrten to a new church law and thorised by next year's general assembly - affirms the tradnal teachg of the church as favourg heterosexual misters, but will allow ngregatns to opt to select gay misters if they church's plited law-makg procr uld still mean the promise measure – which was proposed a late motn tabled on Monday by the prev morator, Albert Bogle, may not be law until Chalmers, the Church of Stland's prcipal clerk, said the vote was historic: "This has been one way or another, a massive vote for the peace and uny of the church.

" He said both sis of the bate had moved to agree a general assembly had voted for the "mixed enomy", he said, where ngregatns uld ci to uphold tradnal teachgs to only employ heterosexual misters but whether others uld take on gay and lbian misters. Crics of gay ordatn had warned that sr of Church of Stland misters and ngregatns uld leave prott at proposals to make church policy that all ngregatns had to accept gay misters unls they opted out of dog misters and two ngregatns have already rigned, while senr figur the far more orthodox Free Church of Stland said that around 50 misters have been touch about Church of Stland has been edgg towards gay ordatn ever sce Rennie's appotment: 2011, the general assembly voted to allow gay misters already post to rema place, so long as they were openly-clared civil partnerships or celibate, and had been ordaed before vote me after the general assembly heard om the Rev Elizabeth Spence, a lbian mister om Ibrox Glasgow. "For me, there is nothg bigger than whether I'm accepted this church or not, bee I am a gay woman, " she said, addg: "It's now time; 's time to ci, so those of who are this limbo n get unr the wire.

CHURCH OF STLAND TO ALLOW GAY MARRIAG FOR FIRST TIME

'"The Rt Rev Roy Patton, the morator of the Prbyterian Church of Ireland, warned the legat there would be ser tensns wh the global prbyterian church if the general assembly voted to adm gay misters.

There were other people the church "hangg on by the fgernails", hopg the move towards gay ordatn would be proposals the church's theologil missn report on ordag gay misters for a gay marriage lurgy was one of his "worst nightmar", Randall said. It is wily taken for granted that any area of fluence wh society, such as polics, public sector bodi, the media and rporate bs, should not only accept homosexualy, but actively promote and celebrate movement seems to be driven by a false zeal to appear “virtuo” acrdg to the new valu which biblil moraly is turned upsi down. In Genis 19:5-8 we read of their homosexual tennci when the “men of Sodom, old and young, all the people om every quarter” me to Lot’s hoe seekg “to know” two men who had e to stay Lot’s hoe.

” The heons of the s of homosexualy is brought out by the ntrast ma wh uncleanns wh Lot’s dghters which, though great s self, was not so aggravated as that of uncleanns between awful judgement which subsequently me to Sodom further shows the heons of the s. To be opposed to homosexualy is the same as beg lobby groups and the media portray those who nmn homosexualy as beg siar to racists who discrimate agast people on the basis of their ethnicy or lour of the obv difference is that racism is discrimatn agast “who” a person is, whereas beg opposed to homosexualy relat to “what” a person is. But to be opposed to homosexualy is to nmn a person for their immoral behavur regardls of their ethnicy or sk homosexual choos to be a homosexual, whereas one nnot choose one’s ethnic orig or one’s sk lour.

CHURCH OF STLAND VOT TO ALLOW GAY AND LBIAN MISTERS

But if we allow that man is a spirual beg, pable of s, then we n unrstand how homosexualy, along wh all other ss such as adultery, fornitn and theft, ultimately proceeds om the sful nature of is te that some may be more prone to this s than others, jt as some men are more prone to anger or dishonty than others.

And as already mentned, often the s of homosexualy leads on om a life of prr s and rejectn of 1:26 rmed that the s of homosexualy was “agast nature”: “for even their women did change the natural e to that which is agast nature”.

From this sful founta wh flows the act of homosexualy, as the same verse go on to scribe: “men wh men workg that which is unseemly” suggt therefore as some do that someone may be a born-aga Christian and yet cherish a homosexual tenncy is the same as to say that one may have grace and yet still cherish a murro or adultero disposn. The example of the stctn of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the exprs claratn of Scripture that this s is an “abomatn”, even pared to other ss, are sufficient evinc that this s is pecially heo the ey of is also te that the homosexual agenda has bee so proment and aggrsive our day that is necsary to rpond wh a robt fence of the Scriptural grounds for opposg this s emphasis do not alter the fact that Scripture shows that the s of unbelief and Christ-rejectn is even greater. Concln A reful look at the passag of Scripture discsed this paper shows that homosexualy is a s that stroys dividuals their bodi and souls as long as is not repented the above attempts to claim that homosexualy is not morally evil, naturally follows that s supporters abhor any ll to homosexuals to repent, bee such a ll of repentance of urse fers that homosexualy is s.

CHURCH OF STLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOT TO ALLOW GAY MISTERS

It has been shown prevly that Scripture lls homosexualy a s and therefore the duty of all homosexuals is to repent of this and all their ss, turng to God Christ for pardon and same love for the tth and for souls, that pels to draw attentn to the biblil view of homosexualy, also prompts to speak of grace and the gospel. The Church of Stland will allow gay marriag for the first time followg a historic vote, but clergy n opt out of holdg church’s General Assembly, s cisn-makg body, voted by 274 to 136 on Monday to allow s misters and ans to opt to officiate at same-sex weddgs, endg a centuri-old vote mak the Church of Stland the largt church the UK to allow gay marriag.

CHURCH OF STLAND FAC BREAKAWAY OVER GAY CLERGY

Stland's largt prottant church has swept away centuri of tradn and voted to allow gay men and lbians to bee misters, openg up the prospect of the church allowg civil partnerships for same-sex Church of Stland imposed a temporary moratorium 2009 on admtg gay and lbian misters after Stt Rennie beme the first openly gay clergyman a homosexual partnership to be officially appoted as a mister the church's general assembly, s law-makg body, voted on Monday to lift that moratorium, officially officially allowg gay misters to take on parish for the first time sce s formatn 450 years general assembly also allowed servg gay and lbian misters who have kept their sexualy private to openly clare their sexualy – a proposal bterly risted by evangelil and nservative one of the fal vot, the general assembly chose by a small majory to lift a parallel ban on ordag and trag people who are same-sex relatnships, and gay and lbians civil partnerships. It lled for a new report by 2013 on both proposals and on allowg misters to bls gay and lbian vote followed official warngs that allowg gay clergy uld spl the church, forcg tradnalists to rign and jo more nservative church formed after the last great schism, when 474 misters rigned 1843.

A missn set up 2009 to vtigate the implitns of the Rennie affair predicted that up to a fifth of the church's misters, ans and elrs and 100, 000 worshippers uld leave said that the issue was so divisive that another 1, 800 church lears and 40, 000 parishners had warned they would leave if gay misters were not admted.

GAY MISTER'S APPOTMENT DIVIS CHURCH OF STLAND

Misters Aberen said Rennie's ordatn was so divisive had "broken" the cy's prbytery, s lg body, leadg to threats of vlence agast some a clear ditn of the general assembly's mood, the cisn to allow gay misters on prciple went through unopposed, leadg to the vote late on Monday to allow gay and lbian misters to be ordaed and addn, the church has set up a missn to vtigate the theologil issu raised by the acceptance of gay clergy.

Delegat to the assembly, known as missners, narrowly voted down a proposal to lay fal cisns until 2013 on whether gay and lbian misters had to be celibate, or whether they were allowed to be sexually-active and long-term also rejected a proposal to prevent a mister who had not "e out" to their parishners or prbytery before 31 May 2009, a cut-off date based on the general assembly's last bate on the Rennie affair, om clarg his or sexualy. Image ptn, The cisn followed a passnate bate at the General Assembly of the Church of StlandThe Church of Stland's lg General Assembly has voted to allow actively gay men and women to bee misters.

STTISH CHURCH PH FORWARD ON GAY RIGHTS

Divisns were ed when the first openly homosexual mister was appoted by the Kirk four years ngregatns and six misters broke vote to allow gay misters civil partnerships follows a report by the church's theologil missn, which set out arguments on both sis. "The dilemma faced by the Church of Stland go back to 2009, when the openly gay mister Stt Rennie was appoted to the Queen's Cross parish was backed by most of his ngregatn and by the General Assembly, but the cisn rulted prott and the break-away of a small number of ngregatns and misters. Image ptn, Gay mister Stt Rennie was appoted at Aberen's Queen's Cross Church 2009Speakg to BBC Rad Stland, Reverend Rennie said the General Assembly vote was a "good cisn" and a "fair promise" French, om the Equaly Network, weled the move by the said: "This is a posive step forward for a more equal society, and speaks to the progrsive valu of 21st Century Stland.

"At the Kirk's gatherg 2011, missners voted to accept gay and lbian clergy - on the ndn they had clared their sexualy and were ordaed before that General Assembly, the theologil missn was set up to report this year, before a fal cisn was ptn, Protters who opposed any change also gathered outsi the assemblyLast June, a Glasgow Kirk beme the first to spl om the Church of Stland over the issue of gay clergy. A total of six misters have now left the church over gay General Assembly is the supreme urt of the Church of Stland and s annual natnal bs Assembly was first held 1560, the year of the Sttish Reformatn which marked the begng of the Prottant Church 850 church missners - maly misters and elrs - om across the church's 48 prbyteri, gather the Assembly Hall on the Mound Edburgh for a week on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s. Congregatns at the two church, both the Wtern Isl, are to vote on whether to qu the Kirk over the ngregatn at Kloch and elrs of Stornoway High, on the Isle of Lewis, are the first to react to the Kirk’s cisn to allow gay clergy, which was passed last week by the General Assembly.

Sourc suggted at least ten more ngregatns uld be nsirg siar vot this summer and warned the Church of Stland “uld be facg extctn the Wtern Isl” ordag of misters same-sex relatnships has divid the Kirk sce tradnalist members attempted to block the appotment of Stt Rennie, who is gay, 2009. So far, two ngregatns have left the Kirk over the issue – St Gee’s Tron Church Glasgow and Gilston South Church Aberen – both 
before the Church of Stland took the historic step last week of votg favour of allowg openly gay men and women to bee misters.

GAY MARRIAGE AND THE SHAKG OF THE CHURCH STLAND

The two church now nsirg breakg away are om the evangelil wg of the Kirk, which believ the “gospel tth” and follow the wrten word of the evangelil wg is strong many parts of the Highlands and Islands, and is at odds wh Church’s more liberal sectns and their posn on the ordatn of gay source om wh the evangelils said: “On current form, is perfectly nceivable that two years time the Church of Stland will have nobody left plac like Lewis.

The ngregatn narrowly voted to rema part of the Kirk 2011 when beme clear that the Church of Stland was movg the directn of allowg gay people to bee the General Assembly earlier this month an attempt was ma to fd a promise to satisfy all wh the Kirk, but has not gone down well wh the evangelil General Assembly mataed the Church’s tradnal stance on the doctre of human sexualy, but allowed ngregatns to ci themselv on whether to allow a mister a same-sex relatnship.

CHURCH OF STLAND OPENS DOOR FOR APPOTMENT OF MARRIED GAY MISTERS

” Jt prr to the General Assembly, the Free Church’s morator Rev Dr Ia D Campbell said the unrlyg prcipal of the 1843 Disptn – which ed the spl the Church 170 years ago – was the key issue, ultimately eedom for the Church to be erned by the “Word of God” the past few years a number of misters have left the Church of Stland over the issue of gay Reverend Pl Gibson rigned his charge of Ta Parish Church after jt eight months to the post. The Reverend Ivor MacDonald left Kilmuir and Stenscholl on Skye and the Reverend John Murdo MacDonald rigned om Church of Stland is facg a h crisis over the ntroversial issue of allowg gay clergy after two church threatened to break away om the Kirk.