Reverend Lynn Brady, who is originally from Glasgow, told
worshipers of her civil partnership plans earlier this week during
a service in Newburgh, according to the Daily Record
newspaper.
The news comes just months after the church voted to allow the
possible selection of gay and lesbian ministers in the
future.
Despite this, the admission is still said to have caused
controversy.
One church source told the Daily Record: "The congregation are
stunned - this has come as a complete surprise. There is a lot of
division over the minister's sexuality. One of the elders has
resigned and there are others considering their position.
Personally, I don't think this is right and I don't believe in
same-sex civil unions."
Brady, who previously worked as an aid worker in Africa and raised
thousands of pounds for cancer charity Marie Curie, is understood
to have been popular among her congregation since her arrival in
2002. But more conservative members of the congregation are now
vowing to boycott the church because of her sexuality.
"Rev Brady has been a conscientious minister but this is going too
far, the source added.
"A lot of us are stunned by this development. This is a quiet
parish and we do not welcome the glare of publicity. The elders had
agreed they would do everything they can to keep this quiet."
Brady has not conducted a service since the announcement and has
declined to make a formal statement.
A Church of Scotland spokesman said: "We are not prepared to
comment on private matters. The Church of Scotland has set up a
theological commission to examine whether persons in a civil
partnership are eligible for admission for training, ordination and
induction as ministers of Word and Sacrament, or deacons, among
other issues."
