Division after New Kirk Moderator Promises Fight for Gay Blessings

The Presbytery of Lewis has given a firm thumbsdown to the promise of the new Church of Scotland Moderator to fight for blessings for gay unions when she takes over next May.

The Rev Sheilagh Kesting revealed her intentions in The Sunday Times earlier in the month, saying she believed "the time was right" for the church to allow its ministers to bless same sex partnerships for the first time.

"I would personally have no problem blessing [civil partnerships]," she said.

Conservatives in the church, however, remain hostile to blessings for same sex partnerships.

Rev Andrew W.F. Coghill, a Church of Scotland minister in Lochs (Crossbost) on the western Scottish island of Lewis insisted in Stornoway Today that the Moderator-Designate's views were "not representative" of Lewis Church, adding that the Lewis Presbytery was 100 per cent against civil partnerships.

Rev Coghill said that Rev Kesting's personal views "come as no surprise to anyone".

The Church of Scotland narrowly voted in favour of same sex blessings at its General Assembly last year but is currently undergoing a process of ratification within all of its 46 presbyteries.

Rev Coghill continued: "That they [Rev Kesting's comments] are in no way representative of Lewis Church of Scotland opinion is demonstrated by the fact that as the presbyteries are casting their votes for or against civil partnerships, the Lewis presbytery is so far the only presbytery with 100 per cent of votes against and none for."

Mr Coghill said he had "no doubt" that Miss Kesting was sincere in regretting the way the vote had gone at the last General Assembly after she admitted she "didn't think that was necessary".

"I expect all the 'leadership figures' in the Kirk were similarly disappointed, having obviously hoped and intended to bounce this controversial legislation through the Assembly without consulting the presbyteries. The way the voting appears to be going so far, strongly suggests that it absolutely was necessary to send it down to presbyteries," said Mr Coghill.

He stated: "All Church of Scotland ministers take vows at their ordination to which they reply in the affirmative to questions which include the following: 'Do you believe the Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old & New Testaments to be the supreme rule of faith & life?' and 'Do you promise to seek the unity & peace of this church?'

"I think most evangelicals find it hard to understand how liberals in the Kirk, who are set on denying so many of the doctrines of the Word of God, can reconcile these vows with their own [liberal] position, and certainly as the issue of civil partnerships is the most divisive issue in the Kirk for years, it is hard to see how a moderator can be seeking the unity and peace of the Kirk, by promoting such a visibly divisive issue," said Rev Coghill.