Inverness church shows LGBT support
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AN Inverness church is to host a workshop looking at LGBT issues which will also feature a controversial Bible as an illustration of its message.
The workshop, called In the Margins of the Bible, has been organised by the LGBT+ Christian Group in Inverness, in collaboration with Glasgow’s Metropolitan Community Church (MMC).
It will include a Bible that was previously exhibited at a 2009 exhibition in the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA).
Rev Jane Clarke, pastor of the Glasgow congregation of MCC, had invited people who felt marginalised by church to write their names in the margins of the volume.
The controversial move sharply divided opinion among those who strongly supported the initiative and others who believed it amounted to desecration.
Rev Peter Nimmo of Old High St Stephen’s Church in Inverness, which is hosting the event tonight, said: “The workshop aims to challenge the idea that the Bible excludes members of the LGBT community, which is a misconception and something that should not be.
“It will be very interesting to have the ‘desecrated’ Bible there.
“It’s an important symbol and it’s something that will grab people’s attention.”
MCC pastoral assistant Don White, said: “It’s important to recognise the positive side of what the church does, in contrast to all the negatives we hear about.
“There have been big changes in the church in the last decade. There has been a great improvement and raising of awareness in institutions such as the Church of Scotland.”
The workshop will be led by Rev Clarke and Mr White.
It will be held at the Old High Hall in Academy Street, Inverness, at 7pm tonight.
Places can be reserved through the LGBT+ Christian Group’s Facbook page.
