Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral appoints man who was Church of Scotland's first openly gay minister
Edinburgh's most famous church is set to welcome as its new minister the man who was at the centre of the Church of Scotland's long-running controversy over gay ordination.
The Rev Scott Rennie will be inducted as minister of St Giles Cathedral on Tuesday evening, April 29.
Mr Rennie became the first openly gay Church of Scotland minister when he was called by the congregation of Aberdeen’s Queen’s Cross Church to be their minister in 2009. His appointment was challenged by a group of 12 ministers and elders in Aberdeen presbytery and the issue had to be decided by the Church of Scotland's General Assembly.
It voted to uphold the appointment by 326 to 267, but the row over gay ministers and same-sex marriages continued for several years
Mr Rennie was minister at Queen's Cross for 13 years before moving to Crown Court Church of Scotland in 2022.
Speaking about his induction to St Giles, he said: "It's a great honour for any minister to become the minister of the High Kirk of Edinburgh.I hope to build on its strong tradition as a place of vital worship.
“And in the years to come I hope it becomes a place of engaging thought, not just in terms of worship services but also hosting lectures and discussions in the public square, and of course building on the high quality of music tradition.
“And most of all, I want St Giles to be a place for all of Edinburgh's people, whether they have faith or not. I want it to be a place where anybody who's in Edinburgh feels they can come and be welcome and it's their place. That's my key thinking - to be inclusive as we can be."
The Church of Scotland formally authorised congregations to call gay or lesbian ministers in 2013 and in 2022 it gave the go-ahead for ministers to conduct same-sex marriages.
Mr Rennie said the Kirk had come “a huge way” since the start of the controversy sparked by his appointment in 2009. “If you had said to me when I was going to Queen’s Cross that this would happen only 14 or so years later, it's just incredible the change.
"By and large, the vast majority of Church of Scotland congregations are open and inclusive and the debate about gay ministers is past. I know it’s not like that everywhere, I know there are still pockets where it's difficult.
“But the fact the most high profile church in Scotland called me, as a gay man in a marriage, tells you everything you need to know about the journey the Church of Scotland has made and I'm really proud of it.”
The Church of Scotland’s sweeping reorganisation of congregations, prompted by a shortage of ministers and declining finances, has placed St Giles in a “parish grouping” with Canongate Kirk further down the Royal Mile. They each remain as distinct congregations, but Mr Rennie said he would be working closely with Canongate minister the Rev Neil Gardner. He also has two assistant ministers at St Giles.