Plea for unity after Assembly approves appointment of gay minister

After an impassioned debate on the issue of allowing openly homosexual ministers to take clerical office, commissioners came down in favour of the Rev Scott Rennie, whose appointment to an Aberdeen church had threatened to cause a deep split in Kirk ranks.

But the Church's future policy on the ordination of gay ministers remained uncertain, with Rennie's supporters insisting his appointment did not set a precedent. A debate on a motion that would prevent gays and lesbians being ordained as a general Kirk rule was postponed until tomorrow.

Last night's vote followed a plea for unity from the Kirk's Moderator, William Hewitt, in an attempt to head off the biggest schism in the Church for more than a century. Some ministers had threatened to quit the Church of Scotland if Rennie's appointment to Queen's Cross Church was ratified.

Despite the rupture, the Assembly's commissioners, sitting as a civil court on spiritual matters at the Mound in Edinburgh, found Rennie, a gay man in a stable relationship, to be fit to serve. After four hours of legal and theological arguments and a stirring rendition of the hymn "Spirit of Truth and Grace Come to us in this Place," they voted in Rennie's favour by 326 votes to 267.

Some had feared such a decision would tear apart the Church, bringing the biggest split since the Great Disruption of 1843, when a third of its members left to form the Free Church of Scotland. Moderates, however, were late last night at pains to stress that the decision did not set a precedent.

After the vote, a delighted Rennie said: "I am humbled that the General Assembly has recognised God's call on my life, as well as the lives of the congregation of Queen's Cross in Aberdeen. I am grateful that the nature of the discussion tonight was measured and respectful of different views shared amongst us.

"In a broad and national church there is more than enough room for us all. I look forward to moving to Queen's Cross and to serving and caring for people in my new parish."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland said it was "delighted" with the result. Alyson Thomson, head of communications, said: "The Church of Scotland General Assembly has set out a clear stall – it is a modern church for a modern Scotland. The commission is delighted that the Church has, as Scott Rennie requested, taken an honest look at itself over the issue of sexuality and decided that the values of fairness, equality, dignity and respect are of more worth than those of ignorance and intolerance."

The Church has been split by the appointment of 36-year-old Rennie, who was married but is now in a relationship with another man. He was appointed minister of Brechin Cathedral, in Angus, ten years ago, before "coming out" as homosexual and planning the move to his new position. He won the overwhelming support of the Queen's Cross congregation and the local Aberdeen presbytery for his appointment.

Rennie, a divorced father of one, has said he was open with the congregation at Queen's Cross about being gay and living with his male partner.

However, a dozen members of the presbytery lodged an official complaint against the move, effectively accusing the Aberdeen group of trying to bounce the Kirk into a decision on gay ministers while it was officially undergoing a "period of prayerful reflection and dialogue" on the issue.

The Church has successfully avoided a devastating confrontation on the issue of gay ministers for more than a decade and a half. Its General Assembly in 2007 put the issue on the backburner in the interests of unity.

Following the vote, the Kirk would not officially comment on the decision, other than to confirm the outcome of the vote. About 900 elders and ministers took part in the session, which got under way at 6:30pm, but not everyone cast their electronic ballot.

During the debate, Ian Aitken, one of the objectors to Rennie's appointment and a North-east minister, told the General Assembly that the Aberdeen presbytery had "taken a decision that the General Assembly itself was unwilling to take just two years ago".

He added: "We ask you to uphold the complaint so the breathing space is once again found in this vital debate."

Aitken stressed there was "no witchhunt" against Rennie and said he regretted press coverage suggesting that the Church of Scotland was "homophobic and unwelcoming". "All," he stressed, "are welcome."

Aitken added that he understood the human dilemma facing Rennie. He said: "I personally would find it very, very difficult to choose between the person I love and my ministry.

"The last thing we want to do is bulldoze a decision. We believe our presbytery has stepped ahead of the rest of our Church."

The presbytery, defended by George Cowie, denied there had been any bid to dictate Church policy on the issue from Aberdeen. Instead, Cowie said, the presbytery had merely acted in the interests of "natural justice" and a decision against Rennie would have amounted to discrimination.

Cowie, however, also defended the rights of gay and lesbian Christians, saying: "It is extraordinary that we have struggled so much with this one issue.

"Are we to tell people that because of the way God made you, you must live alone and not have a life's companion?

"In the scriptures we find the overwhelming message that Jesus embraced those who were rejected by the religious authorities."

Cowie said that the Church had previously found ways of modernising and of changing its views on slavery, women and divorce.

He said the interpretations of scriptures could be changed. So too, he added, could the Church's understanding of homosexuality.

"It was once considered to be an illness, or a lifestyle choice. Many, many people now consider it part of an individual's make-up."

Other commissioners spoke up for Rennie the man. One friend, James Simpson, said Rennie had enjoyed a "wonderful ministry", before adding: "I hope we can go beyond the gay label attached to Scott Rennie to see the person I know and the members of Queen's Cross Church have begun to know."

Another minister, Jill Clancy of Glasgow, paid tribute to Rennie's "honesty" for confessing his homosexuality. She added: "If we get the opportunity to discuss homosexuality it will be a discussion that will go on for many years."

It was far from clear whether the decision would amount to the kind of precedent that would lead to a schism. Those speaking for Rennie said it wouldn't. Those against Rennie said it would. One commissioner, Derek Browning, sought some clarity by ensuring that a motion in Rennie's favour did not carry a rider that it did not amount to a new position for the Kirk.

He said: "God is calling people to break new ground and that is always a painful thing to do. It is time for a new reformation to take place within this church and churches around the world." Browning, however, withdrew his amendment.

Commissioners were also set to debate a separate motion, from the presbytery of Lochcarron-Skye, to prevent any more gay or lesbian ministers being ordained. But last night that was postponed until tomorrow. Some senior clerics are understood to be trying to find a way to defer any such decision and avoid a split.

A campaign against Rennie's appointment was led by a group of evangelicals called Forward Together. They gathered a petition that includes the names of some 400 ministers, about half of the total number in Scotland. Insiders warned that many of those traditionalists might leave the Kirk if Rennie's "calling" was confirmed by the General Assembly.

Earlier, groups of demonstrators, led by Pastor Jack Bell of Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow, gathered on separate sides of the street outside the building at The Mound.

He said: "We are protesting against the very real possibility of Scott Rennie having a majority tonight. We are absolutely opposed to that, on the basis of what God has to say about homosexuality in the Bible."

Reverend Lindsay Biddle of Affirmation Scotland, a group which supports gay and lesbian clergy, said she hoped Rennie would be accepted into the Church.

"We are praying that the General Assembly will affirm the call process and allow Scott into the Church," she added.

"There are many gay ministers in the Church of Scotland, there always have been and there will continue to be. The only difference is that people now know there is an openly gay minister in the Church."

She added: "Scripture does not address homosexuality, much less condemn it."