Too Risky Even In God's Hands....

The Wall Street Journal reports that The West Adrian United Church of Christ (UCC) in Adrian, Michigan was denied a property insurance quote by Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company because of the church's pro-gay stance. The insurer refused to provide even a quote when it learned that the church supports same-gender marriage and the ordination of gay clergy. Brotherhood felt that the church's pro-gay policy presented too high of a risk for property and liability coverage.

The pastor of the church, Rev. John W. Kottke, was simply trying to shop around among insurance carriers for better pricing and coverage. Fortunately, the church is already insured by another carrier, who has not yet decided to drop coverage or raise the church's premiums.

The Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company was founded in 1917 and focuses exclusively on providing insurance to churches and related ministries. It claims to be one of the nation's leading insurers of churches, providing insurance to 30,000 congregations in 29 states. In an announcement related to the denial of the insurance quote, a representative of the insurer said that it avoids "knowingly insuring organizations that are at higher risk of loss based on the controversial positions that they have taken."

Was Brotherhood motivated by actuarial analysis or more deeply seated emotional prejudice? Its hard to imagine how to determine the relative risk of insuring one church versus another. How high is the risk of insuring this small church in Southern Michigan? Is the risk higher than insuring an African American Church in the deep South, where racism still persists and churches burn? Or, is the risk higher than any catholic church, given the wide spread sexual abuse by priests? How about an inner city church subject to regular vandalism? Hopefully, you get the point.

Despite its pro-gay stance, West Adrian UCC poses little risk to insurers. The church was founded in 1836 and has about 100 members. It is located among the farmlands of Southern Michigan, about an hour drive from Toledo or Battle Creek. The church's stated mission is to offer "...a safe and welcoming place of worship, where new ideas may flourish and take root in the rich soil fed by tradition."

One of the more popular congregational activities is the blue grass jam held once a month on weekends. The lively folk event features an extensive array of acoustic instruments including: banjo fiddle, guitar, mandolin,accordion, auto harp, dulcimer, harmonica, resonator guitar, saw and ukulele.

All are welcome to play along or listen. At your own risk of course. link