Kirk must apologise to gay Christians
● Issue of allowing same-sex marriages sent to legal committee for consideration
The Church of Scotland General Assembly has agreed that the Kirk should apologise for its failure to recognise the Christian vocation of gay people.
It also backed a report which could lead to samesex marriages in church.
The Very Reverend Iain Torrance told the Assembly there was no theological reason to oppose the change. But Prof Torrance, who convenes the church’s Theological Forum, said that it should not prejudice the position of ministers who are opposed to equal marriage.
The Assembly accepted the forum’s recommendations and a detailed plan will now be drawn up.
The 2017 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland last night agreed that the Kirk should apologise individually and corporately for failing to recognise the Christian vocation of gay people.
It also took a step closer to allowing church ministers to carry out same-sex marriages.
The General Assembly agreed to remit the question of ministers conducting same-sex marriages to its legal questions committee, to examine what issues needed to be explored, with a report being compiled for next year’s gathering. Right Rev Professor Iain Torrance, a former Moderator and convener of the Kirk’s influential theological forum, had presented a report saying there were no longer grounds for refusing to carry out such marriages.
Following yesterday’s decisions, Rev Scott Rennie, min- ister of Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen, whose appointment as the Kirk’s first openly gay minister in 2009 caused fierce debate within the Kirk, said he was “absolutely delighted” with the outcome.
“I actually thought they would be more reluctant than they turned out to be. But every year for the past ten years the Kirk has been moving forward. We first started talking about blessing civil partnerships in 2006.
“You can have theological discussions in abstract but we’re talking about people’s lives,” said Rev Rennie who spoke about his husband Dave during the debate.
Rev Michael Goss, from the presbytery of Angus, who opposed the move, said: “It’s frustrating, the debate became more polarised than it needed to be. We’re not in greatly dif- ferent position than we were before. But I’m quite happy with the apology decision.”
Earlier, during the debate Rev Steven Reid, minister of Crossford and Kirkfieldbank in Lanark, took objection to the report and said: “I read this report with a heavy heart. I question the balance of this report … surely we need to listen to the one who is King and head of our church?”
But Rev Peter Johnston, from the presbytery of Aberdeen, spoke of the “excruciating” position he in as a Kirk minister regarding “inclusiveness” and his wish to officiate at the weddings of his four children.
He said: “My 17-year-old daughter is proudly lesbian. She wears a T-shirt which says ‘Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not’. What particularly drives me is the excruciating position I’m place in as a minister and a father.
“I could say to my three youngest children who’ve asked me to officiate at their weddings, ‘I’d be delighted to do so’. I’d have no issue officiating at my oldest’s wedding, but would have to say, ‘sorry the Church forbids me’.”
Last year the Assembly voted to allow people in same-sex marriages to become ministers. In 2015 it agreed people in same-sex civil partnerships could become ministers.
To the outside observer, the process must seem painfully slow, but it is encouraging to see the Church of Scotland move a significant step closer to allowing its ministers to carry out same-sex marriages.
The Kirk is not quite there yet. The matter has been placed in the hands of its legal questions committee, which will report back to the General Assembly next year. But this year’s Assembly has all but sealed the approval of a report saying there are no longer grounds for refusing to conduct such marriages.
The Kirk’s previous position was unsustainable, as demonstrated yesterday by Rev Peter Johnston, who outlined the impossible position he is in as a father where he could officiate at the wedding of three of his children, but not the fourth, his lesbian daughter.
But arguably even more significant yesterday was the decision to apologise for failing to recognise the Christian vocation of gay people. In many cases, the apology will come too late, but to move forward, the Kirk had to take responsibility for mistakes of the past. If the Christian faith is to be inclusive, it must practice as well as preach equality.