Scottish Presbyterians to Bless Gay Unions
The General Assembly of the has voted, by 372 votes to 240, to permit individual ministers to follow their own conscience in deciding whether to bless . This will make the Church of John Knox the first mainline UK denomination to bless gay unions. The decision has been referred to the denomination's 46 presbyteries for consideration and comment. If a majority of presbyteries disagree, the decision will be re-considered at next year's Assembly. In the interim, the Assembly has declared that ministers and deacons may legally officiate at blessing ceremonies for couples who have entered a civil partnership.
The proposal was brought to the Assembly by the Legal Questions Committee (see section 15 of their Report, and Appendix G, ).
During the debate, the Rev Tom Gordon, a chaplain for Marie Curie Cancer, told the Assembly that he had already blessed a lesbian couple, one of whom was terminally ill, and declared that he would continue to exercise that pastorial role whatever the General Assembly decided about the matter.
The Church of Scotland is the mother church of the . The Irish Moderator, Dr Harry Uprichard is present at this week's Scottish Assembly in Edinburgh, and will welcome his Scottish counterpart, the Revd Alan McDonald, to the Belfast Assembly in June. Notwithstanding the historical connections between the two denominations, this move by the Edinburgh Assembly is yet more proof that the theological distance between the two churches is far wider than the Irish Sea. Will the Irish Presbyterians feel compelled to chide their mother in the faith for its perceived liberalism?
While they are considering that one, they may also give some thought to another significant development in Scotland this week: the launch of , and , new campaign groups made up of gay and straight ministers, elders and church members from the Church of Scotland which aim to work for the of gay and lesbian people within the Kirk.
Comments
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to act generously and humanely in response to gay people.
Dont assume that all Scottish presbyterians are happy about this decision. Its unbiblical and it will divide this church fundamentally. I can see a break-away evangelical church of scotland being created in the near future.
Will Irish Presbyterians even manage to recognise part time ministry when they consider the matter in two weeks time?
(Something that is a legal provision for other employees in society, but is not being offered to those employed by God.)
It's clearly a matter of relativity, folks. While Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church thinks PCI is liberal, PCI will balk at the liberalism of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland is probably glad not to be as liberal as the Church of England, and the Free Pees think they're ALL goin' to hell.
That said, there may likely be a time coming when the default position on the gay issue is the liberal, rather than the conservative one - in which case new relativity will make the old liberal position the new conservative one!
And what will the new liberal position on sexuality be then? :-)
As written in my last blog in May 15, 2006:
While Homosexuality is being debated as sinful or not, it is being seen as an Anglo-Saxon Ideology forcibly imposed on the rest of the world. Now the rest of the world has been judging Europe and North America and they do not like what they see.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is sooooooooooooo far behind the rest of the Presbyterian world when it comes to human rights issues and the pastoral care of gay and lesbian people. Just look at the progress made in the United Church of Australia which voted to allow practising gay ministers to be ordained THREE years ago. I hope the Church of Scotland will take that important step next; but I'm not holding my breath waiting for any signs of progress in the Irish Presbyterian Church.
How can a church NOT bless the love that exists between two people? God is love. Where true love is present, God is truly present. Even the Bible needs to be read with that in mind - so don't allow some ancient verses attacking same-sex love to define our response, any more ancient mysogenistic texts should define our response to women's issues.
It's 2007 for Gods Sake! And we are still allowing out of date ideas to limit peoples freedom. This is what religion does across the world . . . it messes up peoples lives.
Now lets see the presbyetrians in ireland show that they are part of the 21st century too. treat gay couples like members of our society.
Gotch is a year ahead of the rest of us. Perhaps I need another year to agree with what he/she says.
Maybe it's people that mess up religion... I think we bring our opinions on social issues into church with us.
Allen: How do you know God is love? Because the Bible says so. How do I know homosexual behaviour is wrong? Because the Bible says so.
Anyone cite an example of a homosexual couple being 'blessed' in either the OT or NT Church? People who choose to practise homosexual behaviour ought to be honest enough to recognise that Bible-believing Christians reject their behaviour on Biblical-moral grounds - so don't shoot the messengers because the messege is not to your liking!
There is no such thing as 'private' morality. What individuals do defines a community - before other men/women & God. How long will the homosexual community show themselves to be so INtolerant of those who hold legitimate (opposing) positions? Surely, censorship is not their aim?
As for the C of S - it's sadly unsurprising that a Church that has lost its bearings on so many issues, can do nothing more than mirror society's confusion. Still, as always, God will keep a faithful remnant - who will show TRUE LOVE to all men & women by not telling them what they wish to hear, but that GOD can deliver them from ALL their sins (as he has me), whatever their nature, utterly.
#7 God is love, but love is NOT God. Love is defined by God, as is marriage. Let Gos speak for Himself through the Scriptures. If you don't like - be honest enough to say just that!