After gay marriage controversy, Gortz Haus now a church

Shuttered Gortz Haus, whose owners attracted controversy by refusing to host same-sex wedding ceremonies because of their personal religious objections, has been repurposed and will reopen its doors as a church Sunday morning.

Dick and Betty Odgaard, who this summer closed their gallery and venue business after refusing to host gay weddings, sold the Grimes building to Harvest Bible Church.

The Odgaards have been attending the church, a plant of a Chicago ministry, for the last nine months or so. The evangelical, nondenominational church is associated with a network of churches called Harvest Bible Fellowship.

"If it can't be a gallery anymore, this is the next best thing," Betty Odgaard said. "We're pretty tickled."

Pastor Ryan Jorgenson said the transient church, which has grown to about 170 members since opening two years ago, wanted to find a permanent home, rather than the temporary event space it has been using. He said the building's history couldn't be ignored. But the baggage wasn't necessarily seen as a detriment.

"We fully support the stand that the Odgaards have made with their building and with their business," Jorgenson said. "But our biggest thing by far is we want to be known as a church that loves Jesus. We preach and teach the Bible fully. We want to be a blessing to our community."

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Jorgenson said the church updated the building, gutting the downstairs space for ministry programs and adding modern audio-visual equipment to the sanctuary. He expects the congregation will double in size in the coming months.

"We’ll kind of outgrow it hopefully in a few years," he said. "It's hard to tell. I know it's not our permanent home."

A Des Moines couple filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in 2013 because of the Odgaards' refusal to let them rent the venue for a same-sex ceremony. In a settlement last year, the Odgaards agreed to pay the couple $5,000 and to not discriminate against same-sex couples.

They did that by choosing not to offer wedding services to anyone, straight or gay — a decision the Odgaards said caused the business to fold.

Since then, the couple has launched a billboard campaign through their God's Original Design Ministry. With a billboard near Durant, Okla., and Eloy, Ariz., Betty Odgaard said they're about to erect their third near Charlotte, N.C. They hope to eventually put up 1,000 signs advocating their position that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

Odgaard said she's happy to have some resolution, though she said she's still in the "grieving process" after closing the Gortz Haus business.

"That was my passion for 13-and-a-half years. And it’s hard to see it gone," she said. "It’s tough. But we’re moving on. I’ll wrap by brain around it one day and move on."