The parish and parochial council announced that they were withholding
their £33,600 annual quota - a voluntary "tax" paid by parishes to central diocesan funds - in protest at the appointment of Dr John, a homosexual.

Instead, most of the money will remain with the parish, with £5,500 a year going to True Freedom. The charity was founded in 1977 by Canon L Roy Barker, a Church of England cleric, and Martin Hallett, a Christian
homosexual who renounced his "promiscuous way of life" after becoming "convinced, through scripture, that homosexual sex was wrong".

It has about 1,200 supporters and offers 13 support groups for homosexuals and lesbians across Britain. The trust, based in Liverpool, also offers support for families, counselling, speakers and motivational literature.

Its website states: "Our understanding of the Bible teaching is that
although many people may be aware of homosexual or lesbian feelings,
homosexual genital conduct falls short of God's plan for His creation."

The trust belongs to the UK Association of Christian Counsellors and is a
founding member of Exodus International Europe, an international ministry that proclaims "change is possible for the homosexual through the transforming power of Christ".

Martin Daly, the trust's assistant director, refused to comment on the
donation, insisting that the organisation had yet to decide whether to
accept the money.

The Rev Charles Dobbie, the vicar of Holy Trinity, said that his
congregation's decision to withdraw the quota and donate funds to True
Freedom had been unanimous. "I told the diocese that we would be doing this with great regret in protest at the precipitate and divisive
appointment of Jeffrey John," he said.

"We are donating the money to the True Freedom Trust, a Christian ministry to practising homosexuals, because we love practising homosexuals and we want them to hear the truth from the trust, not falsehood.

"As a small parish church, we are drawing a line in the sand and
encouraging the wider world to care about the authority of the Bible and
the love of God. We don't see why a revisionist minority should redirect
our belief and we hope that other churches will follow suit."

The reorientation of homosexuals has been a controversial issue within the Church. Last November, the Rt Rev Peter Foster, the Bishop of Chester, said that homosexuals should seek psychiatric treatment to help them.

In 2001, the Courage Trust, a charity founded in 1990 to "heal"
homosexuals, declared its mission to have been wrong, saying that such
relationships were "God-given". The True Freedom Trust is now the only
such organisation working within the Church.

Dr John, 53, was originally appointed Bishop of Reading last July, despite revealing that he was in a long-term homosexual relationship that he says is celibate. He was forced to stand down after an outcry from the evangelical arm of the Anglican Communion, but was appointed the Dean of St Alban's cathedral last month.

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement condemned Holy Trinity's actions.

"I would like to see the True Freedom Trust refuse the money saying that they do not wish to benefit financially at the expense of the wider
Church," said the Rev Richard Kirker, the movement's general secretary. "I can think of nothing meaner-spirited, more spiteful and vicious than trying to penalise the diocese for welcoming a distinguished churchman as dean.

"The True Freedom Trust is a deplorable organisation that only helps
compound the sense of guilt and lack of self-worth that many gay people find themselves experiencing because of all the negative attitudes that churches of Rev Dobbie's persuasion inculcate them with.

"The trust would be far more close to the spirit of the Christian gospel
if it were to recognise the existence of gay people and affirm same-sex
relationships in a positive and holy way."

The Rt Rev Christopher Herbert, the Bishop of St Alban's, called Rev
Dobbie's protest "misdirected".

He said: "The withholding of such funds can only place more pressure on other churches, which continue to work hard to raise the requested payment for the good of the whole."

END