Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is Rev. Scott Rennie FRSA, a Scottish theologian, and minister in the Church of Scotland.

Rennie was born on March 31, 1972 in Aberdeen,Scotland where he was also raised. He attended university in Aberdeen as well studying Geography at the University of Aberdeen, and then Divinity at Christ's College, Aberdeen, following his call for ministry.

Brought up in the conservative Church of Scotland (Presbyterian Church in the US) he was torn between his faith and his sexuality.

"As a young man growing up in a conservative church, it felt impossible to deal with issues around my own sexuality. It did not feel like a safe environment, and certainly not one in which I could have found support and understanding. So, I came to believe that I had to ignore it and do what I thought was the right thing at the time: live a heterosexual life."

Rennie did what he thought he was the right thing, live a heterosexual life, settling down and getting married. The marriage lasted five years before they separated and divorced. Rennie and his ex-wife have a daughter.
He served as Assistant Minister at Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen, and came to United States for a Masters in Sacred Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City on fellowship. He was the minister of Brechin Cathedral in the Church of Scotland from November 1999 until July 2009. He now serves as the minister of Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen. But getting there was not easy.
In November 2008, Rev. Rennie preached as the sole nominee for the pastor of the Queen's Cross Church, disclosing to the congregation about his sexual orientation as a part of the process of interviewing with the church. At the conclusion of the service, following a secret ballot, he was duly declared Minister Elect by 140 votes to 28. Subsequent to this, the pastoral call was signed by 246 yeahs to 13 nays by the voting church members on the church's roll. And from being a candidate receiving a call to a pulpit, changed the Church of Scotland.
The call from Queen's Cross Church was upheld by the Presbytery of Aberdeen(the governing body over that area of Church of Scotland churches) on January 6, 2009 by 60 votes to 24. This was the first time that both congregation and presbytery had voted to extend the call for a openly homosexual minister within the Church of Scotland. However, following the vote which allowed Rev. Rennie to proceed to Queen's Cross Parish Church's pastor, a group of 12 ministers and elders within the Presbytery, lead by the Rev Ian Aitken, dissented and formally complained to the Commission of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
That March, following a narrow majority of 1, Commission vote that the case be sent to the General Assembly, the Church's supreme court, for judgment. It was the first time that a presbytery's decision in the call of a minister had been challenged in the church's supreme court since 1843.

On the same evening that Rev. Rennie's case was heard, an motion was to be received from the Presbytery of Lochcarron-Skye which, in the light of Rev. Rennie's call to Queen's Cross, sought to prevent anyone in an extra-marital sexual relationship from working in the church. This was seen as move by some in the Church of Scotland of setting up the legal roadblock against Rev. Rennie's appointment.

"No court or agency of the Church may accept for training, ordain, admit, re-admit, induct or introduce to any ministry of the Church anyone involved in a sexual relationship outside of faithful marriage between a man and a woman."

The debate began not only within the church, but the public and the media. The members of Queens Cross church did not see why there would be a problem with the choice for the pastorate and stood by their decision.

Judith Pearson and Trevor Salmon, of Queen's Cross Church, wrote to The Herald newspaper, in Aberdeen, in support of Rev. Rennie, saying:

"The congregation were fully conversant with all relevant facts before they voted for and signed the call to Scott Rennie. Our call is based upon his gifts and our corresponding needs, and upon our real sense that he is the person best equipped to serve alongside us and to offer leadership to us."

The case against Rev. Rennie for the pastorate, going before the Assmebly was titled Aitken and Others versus the Presbytery of Aberdeen, was intended to answer the following question:

"What was the law of the Church at the time (6 January 2009) the Presbytery of Aberdeen made the decision that has been challenged; and was the Presbytery entitled to make the decision it made in the light of the legal position at that time?."

While having support from Queen's Cross, going to before the General Assembly was not without its opposition for Rev. Rennie from others within the the Church of Scotland.

The Rev Dr William J. U. Philip, the minister of St George's-Tron Church, Glasgow, and the group Forward Together, a founded an online petition in order to support this overture, which received 12,555 signatures, including 481 Church of Scotland Ministers and 33 Kirk Sessions, and also to express their opposition to the appointment of Rev. Rennie.

Forward Together is organization, representing 600 ministers and members within the Church of Scotland which acts as a pressure group on a variety of issues. It supports traditional biblical values on all issues including civil partnerships, same-sex blessings and embryonic stem cell research. In 2007 is was successful in securing the rejection of same-sex blessings in the Church 36 to 9.

On the opening day of the General Assembly, an attempt was made to change the order of business by hearing the Locharran-Skye overture before the Rennie case, against the legal advice of the Overture and Appeals Committee.The attempt to change the order of business was seen by some as being designed to strengthen the cause of those opposed to Rev. Rennie's appointment. Defending the motion, Rev. Peter Parks argued that it would be illogical to decide a specific case without having already established the principle against which by the case would be tested. The General Assembly was unconvinced and defeated Rev. Parks's motion by a wide margin.

On the day of Rev. Rennie's hearing on May 23rd, a protest against the appointment was held outside the General Assembly Hall by around twenty members of Glasgow's Zion Baptist Church. The American group, Westboro Baptist Church, under Rev. Fred Phelps had announced its intention to picket the meeting of the General Assembly on 23rd and Queen's Cross Church the following day May. Thankful Phelps group did not show up. A counter-protest was held by a number of groups, including Liberal Youth Scotland, the Scottish youth wing of the Liberal Democrats, which attracted around eighty demonstrators.

On May 23rd, the General Assembly voted 326 to 267 to uphold the nomination of Rev. Rennie as pastor for Queens Cross Church, Aberdeen. There were 121 members of the chuch who formally dissented in writing against the decision.

The debate on the case set to be used to defeat Rennie's appointment, Lochcarron-Skye sent into committee with a two-year Special Commission on the issue reporting in 2011.
The work is not over, for now a moratorium on the induction and ordination of openly gay ministers was passed until that time of review, and a ban on making public statements concerning the induction and ordination of gay ministers also came into effect.

During all this other motions against Rev. Rennie were filed with the church.

In January 2009, a censurable allegation was made against Rev. Rennie, that his 'lifestyle' constitutes a great 'public scandal' to keep him for taking the pulpit at Queen's Cross. A committee of three was formed to investigate this allegation, but were suspended due to the case which was pending before the General Assembly.

On June 3rd, Committee met to consider the allegation against Rev. Rennie that his 'lifestyle' was not acceptable for a minister of the gospel. However, this charge was not upheld and Rev. Rennie was inducted into the paster of Queen's Cross Parish Church on July 3rd. On Sunday July 5th, the Very Rev. Dr James Simpson, a former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, led worship and preached the first sermon welcoming Rennie into the church's pastorate.

Rev. Rennie was nominated, and won, the award of 'Hero of the Year' at the Fourth Annual Stonewall Awards in 2009. On March 24, 2010 he was given the ceremonial role of Burgess of Guild of the City of Aberdeen.

Rennie and his partner, Dr. David Smith FRSA, a Biblical Studies scholar live in Aberdeen Scotland, where he is the pastor of Queen's Cross Church. He is serving as a member of the Church of Scotland's Taskforce on Human Sexuality, and currently working towards a Doctor of Ministry degree at the University of Aberdeen and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Happy Easter!