Gay minister 'battered' by Kirk row

A GAY minister whose appointment is opposed by thousands of members of the Church of Scotland said he feels "battered" by the controversy surrounding his private life.

But Scott Rennie, the minister at Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen, said the views of the opponents had "strengthened my faith" and sense of vocation.

The minister's comments came as it was revealed that more than a fifth of all Church of Scotland ministers have signed an online petition against his appointment.

Speaking in an interview in the spring edition of OneKirk Journal, the Rev Rennie said the past few months had been "hugely stressful and distressing" and that he felt "both strong and at the same time battered" by his ordeal.

"Battered by weeks of speculation about my private life which no other minister would have – or should be expected – to endure," he said.

"On the other hand, and for the greater part, I feel hugely strengthened and supported by the hundreds of messages I have received from people both inside and outside the Kirk."

The minister pinpointed the moment following the break-up of his marriage and his mother's death when he knew he had to face up to his sexuality.

"I remember listening to Radio Four one morning after my marriage broke down.

"I felt a sense of despair – that all of life had collapsed in on me ... wondering where God was in all of this ... and a woman said on the radio: 'The things you run away from in life are the very things that run your life', and I realised that day I couldn't sweep my sexuality under the carpet any longer." He said that among the hundreds of messages he had received were ones from other gay people within the ministry who said they felt caught in a dilemma.

"On the one hand they feel the church does not understand or appreciate them as gay people. And on the other, they are treated with suspicion within the gay community because of their Christian faith – no doubt because of the negative treatment of gay people by the church throughout history.

"Although the present discussion centres around my own response to God's call, all the correspondence over the last few months has reminded me that there is a large body of people, like me, in a similar situation, in the Kirk."

The Rev Rennie paid tribute to his partner David for standing by him saying "not everyone would have been prepared to stay and be supportive in these circumstances. It says a lot about him, his character, and his own strong Christian faith."

The petition, set up by an organisation called an organisation called The Fellowship of Confessing Churches, has been signed by more than 270 Kirk ministers, almost 2,000 Church of Scotland members and more than 3,000 other church members around the world.

The petition reads:

"We urge the Assembly to support the position of those who stood to defend Christian orthodoxy in Aberdeen Presbytery, and ensure instead that the Church will apply and assert in practice its clear doctrinal position on all matters of marriage and human sexuality, by refusing to condone homosexual practice in general, and among its leaders in particular."

The church's General Assembly will rule on the case later this month. The Rev Steven Reid, the minister for Crossford and Kirkfieldbank church in Lanarkshire and one of the petition's organisers, said he would remain inside the Kirk whatever the outcome, but he was concerned the issue could lead to a major schism.