A Church of Scotland minister
has announced his decision to resign after last week’s vote in the
General Assembly to move towards the ordination of gay clergy.
The Rev Andrew Coghill has ministered at Leurbost Church in Lochs, Lewis, for nearly 20 years.
He was outspoken about his opposition to gay clergy during the
General Assembly debate last week.
The six-and-a-half-hour debate ended
with a vote in favour of the establishment of a theological commission
to prepare the way for gay ordinations.
Mr Coghill announced his intention to step down from his post at
Leurbost on Sunday, telling the congregation that his decision had been
made with the “utmost sorrow and heartfelt grief”.
“The Cross is not simply to be preached, it is to be lived,” he was quoted as saying by the Scotsman.
Mr Coghill said he was not encouraging others to follow suit as he is
uncertain about his own future beyond the Church of Scotland.
“I do not know the direction of my own future,” he said.
“I know only that whilst many good, godly and devout Christian men
and women will continue within the fold of the Church of Scotland, I
personally cannot continue to serve a Church which as an institution,
has chosen its own gods, and departed from the God of the Bible,
whatever words may be used to contrary. I have taken you as far as the Lord has allowed me to do.”
He follows the Rev Roddy MacRae, minister of Glenelg and Kintail, who
last week announced his intention to leave the Church of Scotland
following the vote.
Homosexuality became an issue of contention in the Church after the
appointment of the openly gay minister, Scott Rennie, to Queen’s Cross
Church in Aberdeen two years ago.
The Church of Scotland has allowed gay priests ordained before 2009
to preach in its churches, but it will be another two years before the
Church debates the ordination of gay ministers.