The Christian Business That Was Shut Down Over Gay Marriage Is Now a Church
Christian Post reports:
The Christian owners of Gortz Haus Gallery in Grimes, Iowa, had to close down their business completely after they were charged with discrimination for refusing to hold a same-sex wedding at the venue, but now they say they have a reason to be "pretty tickled."
Richard Odgaard and his wife, Betty, had to close their business, a gift shop and bistro, in August, about two years after they told a gay couple from Des Moines their facility couldn't host a same-sex wedding.
The Odgaards were subsequently forced to pay a $5,000 settlement for refusing to host a same-sex wedding ceremony.
It wasn't easy for the Mennonite couple to go through this situation, but they eventually saw it as an opportunity. They sold the building to Harvest Bible Church, an Evangelical, nondenominational church associated with a network of churches called Harvest Bible Fellowship, whose church the Odgaards have been attending for the last nine months.
"If it can't be a gallery anymore, this is the next best thing," Betty Odgaard tells The Des Moines Register. "We're pretty tickled."
The church, which has about 170 members, will hold its first worship service in the new location on Sunday.
(Thank you Free Republic)