Church congregation to vote over breakaway 5/11/13
Worshippers at Stornoway’s High Church are being asked to vote breaking away from the Church of Scotland over the controversy about gay ministers.
The Church of Scotland (CoS) handling of the ordination of same-sex pastors in recent years has upset many within the Matheson Road congregation.
In June, all 200 plus members and adherents present at an informal ballot at a congregational meeting stood in the pews to vote that it was now time to “disengage“ with the Church of Scotland.
The kirk session has now taken the next step towards a split by conducting a formal consultation amongst the 460-strong congregation.
At the same time the Church of Scotland’s Presbytery of Lewis - which governs CoS churches on the island - has posted voting forms to all people attending the High Church.
Presbytery said it had sought legal advice over procedures from the principal clerk of the Assembly and the denomination’s solicitor.
It has also sent the entire High Church congregation a set of “frequently asked questions with answers’ plus a voting form.
According to presbytery, the consultation documents outlines the church’s position that “it continues to be inappropriate or contrary to church law to ordain ministers in a same sex relationship.”
Presbytery clerk, Rev Thomas S Sinclair, said: “The Presbytery of Lewis has a duty of pastoral care towards all the congregations within its bounds.
“While respecting the right of individuals and congregations to review their relationship with the Church of Scotland, Presbytery feels it would be premature for individuals to leave the Church of Scotland at present when the church has still to establish its position.
“Through this consultation, we aim to determine what proportion of the congregation intends to remain within the Church of Scotland and to ensure that suitable pastoral provision continues in place for them.”
The Church of Scotland has appointed Rev J Colin Caskie, retired minister of Rhu and Shandon and clerk to the Presbytery of Dumbarton, as an independent observer of the presbytery ballot process
Mr Caskie will be present in Stornoway High Church Hall next Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss concerns with anyone over the current situation.
After a lengthy debate at its General Assembly in May, the Church of Scotland voted to permit individual congregations to call a gay or lesbian minister.
It paves the way towards the Church of Scotland relaxing its ban against practising homosexuals holding the office of minister, elder or deacon.
The motion would not require the Church of Scotland to abandon its traditional position but allows individual congregations - through decisions of their Kirk Sessions – to depart from the Church’s traditional position against gay office bearers.
The matter returns for further consideration to the General Assembly in May 2014.
Two island ministers have already quit the CoS in protest over the row. Rev Andrew Coghill moved to the Free Church while Rev Andrew Downie departed his Benbecula pulpit this summer.
The Stornoway High would consider joining any new denomination which may arises out of the chaos. It will explore leasing the church building from the CoS to allow the congregation to continue to worship as one body.
In the Western Isles, one option for a congregation moving out of the Church of Scotland is to go under the wing of the Free Church.