LONDON (RNS) The Church of Scotland has approved a two-year moratorium on all issues related to openly gay clergy, but only after approving a gay man to serve as pastor of Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen.
The church’s General Assembly approved the appointment of the Rev. Stuart Rennie, a divorced father whose ex-wife has been supportive of his appointment, on Saturday (May 23).
On Monday, however, delegates approved a two-year moratorium on same-sex questions. The moratorium proposed to give breathing room to a nine-member commission that is to scheduled to study the issue and report back in 2011.
Rennie was elected minister of Queen’s Cross last June with the support of 86 percent of the congregation, which knew of his orientation and that he lived with a male partner. His appointment was supported by the local Aberdeen presbytery by a vote of 60 to 24 last January.
However, 12 of the 24 objectors to Rennie’s appointment appealed to the General Assembly, and after four hours of debate, the assembly voted 326 to 267 to approve the appointment.
Rennie’s opponents say his appointment is contrary to Scripture. The motion to form the nine-member commission replaced a proposal to ban from the ministry “anyone involved in a sexual relationship outside of faithful marriage between a man and a woman.”
