The congregation of Logie and St John’s Cross Church in Dundee, which has decided to leave the Church of Scotland over the gay clerics issue, has been split by the controversy.
Last week the church caused a major stir when the Kirk Session announced it had decided “with deep regret”it is no longer possible for their congregation to remain within the Church of Scotland.
It released a statement confirming its intention to leave the Kirk over the decision to allow the ordination of gay ministers.
The church told The Courier that, after consulting with its congregation, it had no alternative but to leave the Church of Scotland over the issue.
That decision has split the congregation however, with some supporting the move and others against. As worshippers filed into the Blackness Avenue church for the morning service on Sunday, most declined to discuss the issue.
However one man, who did not wish to be named, said he fully backed the decision.
He said: “I think it’s great, I don’t want homosexual ministers in my church with partners in the background. I’ve been a member of this church for 16 years and I actually left and went to St Peters but when I heard this news I’ve come back.”
However, a church “insider” said that not everyone backed the decision and said it had left many feeling their “family” was being split apart.
The woman said: “We were taken aback when it was announced. There had been mention of it but we were not aware that any decision had been taken.
“There was a questionnaire given to people who were at the church service asking ‘would you leave the Church of Scotland or not’, but I thought it shouldn’t have just been those who were at the service that day, it should have been the whole congregation.
“It’s really upsetting because it’s like a family and it will be broken up now. Since the statement was made I’ve only really spoken to the elders and the whole thing is that the church has been divided one way or the other.
“People have their views and are entitled to them, but I thought we had evolved since Biblical times.”
The Dundee congregation is the fourth to decide to leave the Kirk over the gay clergy issue, which the General Assembly will vote on next year.
The Holyrood Abbey Church, Edinburgh, also announced its intention to split last week. Gilcomston South Church, Aberdeen, and St George’s Tron Church, Glasgow, have already left for similar reasons.
However, officials from the Church of Scotland were quick to play down reports that the Church is in crisis, suggesting that fewer than 10 congregations are contemplating leaving.
“While we would be saddened by the departure of any of our ministers and members, the Church is not in crisis,” a spokesman said.