Church of Scotland Won’t Decide on Gay Ministers. Will America’s Protestants?

“In an eleventh-hour move intended to prevent an historic split in the Church of Scotland, Kirk leaders last night agreed a two-year ban on homosexual ministers – less than 48 hours after they approved the appointment of openly-gay Scott Rennie. Desperate not to allow the schism that had been forecast, the General Assembly postponed making a final decision on the issue by setting up a working group to report back in 2011, effectively kicking the issue into the long grass.” And also? Church members are forbidden from speaking to the media during those two years. Repression is in! Meanwhile, America’s Protestants wait to see if church leaders from the Episcopal Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America can reach a similar decision. [Times]