In Sydney, Australia, Anglican Archbishop Dr. Peter Jensen has publicly shown his supportive stance on the issue of 500 members of St. George's Tron of Glasgow. Jensen is also supporting the minister of the church, Dr. William Philip, who is facing the loss of his home, calling upon the Kirk to refrain from taking legal action.

Dr. Jensen addressed the issue in a letter to the Scotland Herald, calling the ordeal a “shame” and calling upon the Kirk to go into mediation with St. George's Tron to come to a resolution on the subject of evicting members of the church who are gay. The congregation of this particular church is the first complete group of ministers and parishioners to leave en masse over the issue of sexual orientation.

Dr. Jensen has created controversy within the church after having voiced his opinions on how practicing gays have much shorter lifespans when held in comparison to “so-called heterosexual” men.

Tron Members Say Debt Could Be Handled in Civil Mediation

The motion toward the seeking of mediation services in this case came into play when the Kirk had issued a confrontational warning of eviction toward St. George's congregation, claiming that it owes the parish 1 million pounds. The Kirk claims that St. George's Tron owes for a loan it received for a 3 million pound refurbishment project of the church, which is a landmark. St. George's parish says that the owed figure is only half of this and that there is no way at this time they will be able to pay it back.

On the subject of the possible pending civil mediation, one member of St. George's, a former police constable and high profile spokesperson said, “St. George's Tron office bearers will not be able to meet future installments since members of the congregation can hardly be expected to provide further finance for a building the Church of Scotland has now chosen to evict the congregation from.” No one has spoken on whether or not mediation lawyers have been contacted.

Church of Scotland Refusing Mediation Services

The Church of Scotland says that they are remaining “Christian” and “fair” in regards to the matter, and that legal action was only taken to obtain records from St. George's. A spokesperson for the church said that they hope that St. George's will reconsider their position and refrain from contacting mediation attorneys so that no further legal action will be needed.