Clarendon Presbyterian Church Pastor David Ensign has an alternative air about him. He wears an earring and has been known to pick up his guitar to play a few hymns during Sunday services.
But he surprised even some of Arlington's die-hard progressives Nov. 3 at the county's annual human rights awards ceremony, where his church was honored. He used the occasion to announce the church's new wedding policy:
Traditional marriages are out. "Celebrations of commitment" are in.
To protest Virginia's laws banning same-sex marriage, Ensign and the church's governing council decided recently that Clarendon Presbyterian will no longer have any weddings, and Ensign will renounce his state authority to marry couples. . .
The church, founded in 1924, has fewer than 100 members, yet has long been a community leader on the ordination of women, rights of the disabled and support of people with AIDS. Its members have mostly applauded Ensign's action, which was approved by the church's "session," or church council, last month.
Oh! What will the three couples a year who want to get married by this stunt man do?
