The appointment at Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen of the Church of Scotland’s first gay minister has re-ignited the debate about gay rights verses religious views.

The Metropolitan Community Church in Bournemouth (MCC) is an ecumenical Christian church with an outreach to the gay and lesbian community and welcomed the appointment of Rev Scott Rennie.

Rev Dwayne Morgan told me: “It’s a great move for the Church of Scotland as they become more welcoming and present the gospel in a loving and inclusive way revealing the true nature of a loving and welcoming God. It’s also a positive day for Scottish gay people as they will be more welcome in at least some churches there and will be able to hear the message of the love of God and the grace of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the Church of Scotland will discover what we in MCC have learnt, that there are gay people who fervently and passionately love God and that they are loved deeply by God who welcomes them just as they are.”

Evangelicals have voiced concern and Rev Richard Buckley, of Forward Together, a group for Evangelical members of the Church of Scotland said: “As far as we are concerned, the Church has sent out a wrong message about Christian morality.”

Rev Buckley had urged the General Assembly to uphold the ‘overarching teaching of the Scriptures’.

“God has revealed the truth,” he said.

Rennie said: “There is no one reading of scripture that falls from the skies. One of the great myths in the debate about sexuality is that one of the parties believes the Bible and the other does not. It is a caricature.”

Canon Nigel Lloyd, Rector of St Peters in Parkstone, felt we were “fixated on the wrong things”. He said: “The Church of England is not against people in same sex relationships. I personally feel that the church needs to be inclusive, but the Church is hung up on the gay issue. We should be getting on with the main message of the Bible – the Good News of Jesus Christ!”