The leader of the first Dundee church to break away from the Kirk in the row over gay clergy has said their move has worked out very well.
The Rev David Randall said the Grace Church wished members of a similar congregation in Broughty Ferry every success for their exodus next month.
He stated: “We are good friends with the people in Broughty Ferry and we wish them God’s blessing as they seek to find the right way forward for God’s glory.
“The move has worked out very well for us and we hope it works out well for those who are setting up the new church in Broughty Ferry.
“This is a time of turmoil but in a lot of ways it is quite exciting to witness these developments and it will be interesting to see how this all settles down.”
Around 80 members of Logie and St John’s Cross Church left last September to form the Grace Church in Dundee and meet for worship in Menzieshill Community Centre.
Led by Mr Randall, they broke away because of the Kirk’s decision to train, ordain and induct practising homosexuals as ministers.
The disaffected Logie members believed the Kirk’s attitude to the issue fundamentally challenged the authority of the Bible.
“Behind the issue was whether we accept all of what the Bible says or we pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want to follow,” he commented.
A group within St James Church in Broughty Ferry have come to the same conclusion and, with minister Alberto de Paula, they will worship as Broughty Ferry Presbyterian Church in the Scout halls from August 17.
Mr Randall, who after 40 years as aminister retired to Dundee and joined Logie and St John’s Cross, believed their new church was thriving.
“We have an average congregation on Sunday mornings of about 80 plus another 40 at our evening services,” he said.
“We have a good group of people with a great sense of fellowship and a real desire to reach out into the community. We have a diverse congregation with young and old and we have activities in the community.
“We have a committed leadership team and an ideal venue in the community centre. Our move has worked out very well.”
He will be replaced as the Grace Church’s locum minister in September by Pastor Mark Ellis, the appointment a signal of members’ confidence in the future of their congregation.
The Grace Church in Dundee is part of the worldwide fellowship of Christians who believe in the sovereign grace of God.
Logie and St John’s Cross in Blackness Avenue now has around 230 members and session clerk John Dent said the church is prospering.