It is understood that new proposals were set to go before the May meeting of Angus Presbytery which could effectively lead to the abandonment of the proposed union of Forfar East & Old and St. Margaret's Parish Churches.
The latest stage in protracted consultations led by the presbytery's ministry and appraisal group were made available to church office-bearers on Sunday.
And, one East & Old Church member immediately contacted the "Dispatch" and "Herald" to deliver news of a possible u-turn on the unification proposals.
According to the report, the ministry and appraisal group has "made every possible effort to reach a compromise proposal which might have commanded a majority within both congregations, and resulted in a real union of two congregations."
"Sadly our conclusion is that this attempt has now failed," adds the report.
The ministry and appraisal group's view now is that any attempt at union between Forfar East & Old and Forfar St. Margaret's should now be abandoned and that the presbytery plan for Angus should contain both congregations as independent congregations, with unrestricted calls, and with both sets of buildings classified as 'necessary' beyond the lifetime of the current presbytery plan.
"It is with a great deal of sadness and regret that we have reached our conclusions, as like many, we could see the rationale for union," states the ministry and appraisal group report.
"However, for any union to work, it has to have at least some support in each of the constituent congregations and, sadly, in the end, in our view, neither party wanted union enough in order to make the kind of compromises necessary for a meaningful union to take place."
Talks on a possible union of the two churches go back over a decade, since the 1995 plan which "suggested a collegiate charge in the centre of Forfar."
When the talks between officers of both churches reached stalemate - a major stumbling block being which building should be retained as a place of worship - the matter eventually went to arbitration.
The decision that St. Margaret's be the preferred site to house a new unified congregation caused quite a stir throughout Forfar - with many fearing for the future of the Big Kirk.
Early this year, office-bearers and the congregations of both churches had the opportunity to vote on the basis for union - with St. Margaret's giving strong support to the proposals and the East & Old overwhelming rejecting them.
That led to a compromise proposal in a bid to chart a middle way through the 'impasse'
This proposal would have retained the East & Old sanctuary for traditional Sunday worship, with all other East & Old ancillary accommodation disposed of, while also respecting the view of the arbiters that the St. Margaret's site be developed to provide the united congregation with "the kind of modern accommodation they would need for the bold vision of a missionary and community church they had arrived at", as well as the site for alternative forms of worship.
"Sadly, the proposal received opposition and a degree of hostility by one set of office-bearers, and lukewarm enthusiasm, at best, by the other," states the ministry and appraisal group report.
"We are of the view the current basis of union on the table does not provide the basis for a union of East & Old and St. Margaret's in any meaningful sense of the term.
"Having mediated and led consultations and negotiations over the past year it is our view that, to push through the current basis would be unwise."
It is understood the latest developments with regard to the future of Forfar East & Old and St. Margaret's Churches will be on the agenda at a meeting of Angus Presbytery on Tuesday, May 6 (tonight).