The Rev. Gregg Alan Smith

The Rev. Gregg Alan Smith, the openly gay associate pastor at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, was found dead at his home today (Sunday, Oct. 11), according to numerous reports on social media.

Smith was originally from Cliffwood, N.J., and he studied at Morehouse College. He worked in community relations for OLUMC from 2006 to 2008, and joined the the ministerial staff of the church in 2018, helping lead the church through the upheaval in the UMC denomination in recent years regarding openly LGBTQ pastors and the church’s stance on marriage equality.

We will update this post as more information becomes available.

— Tammye Nash