Despite majority for split, High Church stays in Church of Scotland 28/6/11
Stornoway High Church is to stay within the Church of Scotland despite a large majority voting for a spilt.
Three quarters of the congregation wanted a breakaway but fell 13 votes short of the figure set to give a clear decisive decision.
After Tuesday’s late night count Rev Andrew Coghill read a statement from the kirk
session which explained office bearers imposed a minimum “threshold of 80% of those
voting as the mandate for withdrawal in-
Some 162 people (74%) voted to withdraw, in-
Mr Coghill said: “The kirk session views this result as an insufficient mandate in which to seek to proceed further down the road for separation as a whole congregation from the Church of Scotland as the 74% voting for withdrawal fails to meet the necessary threshold.
He added: “Consequently, they will not, as a (kirk) session, be pursuing this question further at this time.”
He said there was a “full opportunity for questions and discussion” before the votes were cast.”
Interim moderator Rev Andrew Coghill reads out the voting result
218 people voted in the church ballot