Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Songs of praise as gay couple get hitched in church

The first gay wedding to be held at the United Reformed Church, in Rutherglen, Glasgow, between Ian McDowell (L) and Jamie (James) Wallace (R).
The first gay wedding to be held at the United Reformed Church, in Rutherglen, Glasgow, between Ian McDowell (L) and Jamie (James) Wallace (R).

Their marriage is a modern love story for Scotland and yesterday Jamie Wallace and Ian McDowall became one of the first gay couples to tie the knot in church.

For college lecturer Jamie, 28, yesterday’s ceremony at Rutherglen United Reformed Church was the culmination of years of fighting for equal rights as well as an act of love.

A film crew from BBC’s Songs of Praise was there to record the landmark service and, afterwards, Jamie said: “As a committed Christian, being able to marry the man I love with all my heart and soul, before God, in the church I love, with my family, friends and the congregation around us, is something I’ve dreamed of.

“Now it’s actually happened, I’m proud my church is welcoming and open to same-sex couples.”

The United Reformed Church of Scotland is the first mainstream Protestant church to conduct same-sex marriages, with virtually all of their ministers supporting the change in law three years ago.

Others, like the Church of Scotland, have still to decide how to proceed.

The Catholic Church is opposed and lobbied the Scottish Government not to change the law, insisting “governments do not have the authority to say what marriage is or to change its nature”.

But Jamie said: “My church embraced the new legislation in 2016, and its stance is a reflection of how in-tune it is with modern Scotland.

“Ian and I are the first same-sex couple to marry in the church in Rutherglen.”

Permission was needed from the whole congregation.

Jamie said: “The church Synod approved same-sex marriage three years ago but, as each church is ­congregation-led, each had the power to decide whether they would do so.

“Rutherglen voted to accept same-sex marriage, and our minister Rev John Sanderson also agreed to officiate at same-sex weddings.

“If they hadn’t said ‘yes’, we wouldn’t have been able to get married there, even though it’s where I worship and sometimes preach.”

The ceremony will be televised on Songs of Praise on August 18 and will be presented by the Rev Kate Bottley, who also stars in television’s Gogglebox.

A Songs of Praise spokeswoman said: “In an episode about Faith & Marriage we are filming the wedding of Jamie and Ian to find out what it means to them, as Christians, to be able to take their vows in church.”

Moderator of the United Reformed Church of Scotland David Pickering said: “When you realise that, in our lifetime, to love someone of the same sex was a criminal offence, we’ve come a very long way. The United Reformed Church of Scotland is open and welcome to all, regardless of their sexuality, gender or race.

“There have been some who oppose same sex marriage, and they give traditional biblical values as their reason.

“But, for me, grace, love, justice and inclusivity is what traditional biblical values are all about.”

The politician who drove forward legislation to allow same-sex marriage, MSP Alex Neil, said he was “delighted” the United Reformed Church in Scotland has embraced the new law and the spirit of inclusiveness.

He said: “Jamie and Ian’s wedding is yet another welcome landmark as we continue to make sure, in modern Scotland, gay people have the same rights to marriage as everyone else.”

He said detractors to same-sex ­marriage have been proved wrong. “They argued it would change the meaning of marriage, but that has not happened,” said Mr Neil.

Jamie and Ian, 40, met three years ago.

At Christmas 2016, just weeks after Scotland brought in same-sex marriage legislation, Jamie and Ian got engaged.

Ian, a cyber security expert from Clydebank, said: “It was a night to remember.

“It was the first time I’d attended Jamie’s church. We’d been to the Watchnight Service and, although I’m not religious, the congregation made me feel I was one of them.

“I would have married Jamie anywhere but I know how much it meant to him to be married in his church. So today has been extra special.”