Minister set to 'marry' gay couple in bar

The couple will be joined by family and friends for the ceremony in Broughton Street’s Phoenix bar.

The blessing is to be carried out by Rev Iain Whyte, who has admitted many church members will be unhappy with his involvement.

Mr Whyte agreed to hold the religious service for former Royal Scots serviceman Robert Wicksted, who is suffering from leukaemia.

Doctors have told him that he may only have one year to live.

Mr Wicksted, 43, wanted to celebrate the blessing with his partner of 18 months, Alex Valentine, 37, a former computer designer for IBM.

They will join only a handful of same-sex couples who have received a blessing from a Church of Scotland minister.

Although the church has "no official ceremony" for such an occasion, a spokesman said ministers had the "freedom in pastoral matters" to carry one out.

The couple, who live in central Edinburgh, will be blessed at the Phoenix tomorrow, when around 70 guests are expected to attend.

Mr Wicksted was serving in the Royal Scots regiment until he was diagnosed with cancer around four years ago and retired on medical grounds.

"I knew Alex as a friend for about nine years before our relationship," he said. "We became a couple after my former partner passed away.

"We both want this blessing, which will have vows and an exchange of rings. I also want Alex to be taken care of financially after I am gone. My will is already made out.

"The Government is currently considering the legal rights of gay couples. Hopefully, this might put more pressure on them."

A Bill being considered at Westminster would permit civil registrars to record same-sex relationships and grant them the same legal benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

"We spoke to another minister who suggested that Rev Whyte might be willing to conduct the blessing," added Mr Wicksted.

"Neither of us are particularly religious and we’re quite surprised that someone from the Church of Scotland would agree."

Mr Whyte, a chaplain with the Edinburgh Community Mental Health Chaplaincy based at George IV Bridge, defended his decision to take part in the event.

"I am here to serve the spiritual needs of people as they come up. Chaplains don’t need permission from the presbytery to carry out what I see as a pastoral task. We have a greater degree of freedom than ministers who also answer to their congregation."

He confirmed that the blessing would be of a religious nature with "material that I think is appropriate to the occasion".

Mr Whyte added: "It goes without saying that some people in the church will find this controversial but I have very firm beliefs.

"I believe in the providence of God and the will of God in bringing gay couples together."

A Church of Scotland spokesman said the involvement of one of its ministers in a gay blessing was "certainly unusual".

He added: "The Church of Scotland has no official ceremony for such an event and it is left to the minister’s own judgement as to what is appropriate pastorally.

"When a move was made some years ago at the General Assembly to instruct ministers not to provide such a blessing, it was felt that the church had a good record of allowing its ministers freedom in pastoral matters and the Assembly declined to forbid such a blessing."

Rev Margaret Forrester of St Michael’s, Slateford, sparked protest in the early 1990s when it was revealed she had blessed a lesbian relationship for two women in her congregation. The ceremony was later shown as part of a TV documentary and helped scupper her bid to become the first female Moderator of the Church of Scotland.