Events company suing church for not allowing them to host LGBT+ events

The now defunct Ambridge Event Centre in Portland, Oregon is suing the Holy Rosary Church for not allowing them to lease out an events space for LGBT+ services. Ambridge leased a large space from the church in 2012 to host events, but the church included a strict morality clause in their contract which forbade the events company from using the space for anything that would be “offensive of disreputable” to the church.

Ambridge was forced to turn away a local black chapter of PFLAG, an LGBT+ friends and parents group, in 2015. Owners of the business claim they never recovered from the negative publicity that came after.

Alan Peters, manager of Ambridge, later issued an apology to PFLAG and offered to host their annual party for free. A few weeks later the Holy Rosary Church terminated their lease.

Holladay Investors, an affiliate of Ambridge, are suing the church for breach of contract, breach of faith, and violation of state discrimination laws. They demand $2.3 million in damages, fees and compensation. However, there are exemptions to these discrimination laws, which allow churches to discriminate against the LGBT+ community in certain circumstances.

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