Rev. Beth Stroud does not expect to be able to remain a pastor in the
denomination.
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Stroud expects to lose ministerial credentials
Dec. 1, 2004
By Linda Green*

PUGHTOWN, Pa. (UMNS) — The United Methodist clergywoman on trial
for being in a lesbian relationship said she does not expect to be
able to remain a pastor in the denomination.

The Rev. Beth Stroud, 34, said she expects to lose the credentials
that have given her the full rights and privileges of an ordained
minister in the United Methodist Church. She spoke during a Dec. 1
press briefing on the opening day of her clergy trial, being held by
the denomination's Eastern Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference
at Camp Innabah.

Stroud, assistant pastor of First United Methodist Church in
Germantown, Pa., admitted in a sermon and in a letter to the
1,000-member congregation that she is "a lesbian living in a committed
relationship with a partner."

During the briefing, Stroud said that a victory in the trial would be
the work of the Holy Spirit. "I don't expect that."

She said she would become a layperson on staff at First Church if she
is found guilty and stripped of her credentials. A 13-member trial
court of fellow pastors will decide whether she is guilty of engaging
in "practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be
incompatible with Christian teachings." Nine votes are needed to
convict. Penalties could range from loss of credentials to a less
severe punishment.

Asked why she chose to come out as a lesbian in a partnered
relationship when she knew the ramifications, Stroud said she could
have remained silent and kept her credentials, but that would have
compromised her growth as a Christian "and my integrity in my
ministry."

She called her ministry a gift from God and said that keeping her
sexuality secret caused her "to not be as effective as a minister as I
could have been." Since she made the decision to "come out" 18 months
ago, she said she has been much more at peace, and she is happy that
she did so.

Throughout the trial, Stroud said she would continue to pray for peace
within herself, try to remain calm and "present myself with as much
grace and dignity as I can."

She told reporters that she hopes the United Methodist Church will
change its law about appointing self-avowed practicing homosexuals to
churches. "Whether that will happen with my case, I do not know."

"I believe God created me to be a lesbian," Stroud said, with her
partner Chris Paige by her side. "I feel profoundly that God called me
into ministry in the United Methodist Church." She said she has tried
to walk as a person of faith, take risks and take a stand for her
beliefs.

The complaint, brought by the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference,
charges that Stroud is in violation of a church law that bans the
appointment of self-avowed practicing homosexuals and that she is
engaging in "practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be
incompatible with Christian teachings."

Alan Symonette, Stroud's assistant counselor and co-lay leader of
First United Methodist Church in Germantown, said two issues are
involved in Stroud's defense, one dealing with church law and the
other with her ability to follow her calling as an ordained minister.

Stroud, "who happens to be gay and in a covenanted relationship …
has been called to ministry by God," he said. "We contend that the
church should not depress her, and the law is inconsistent with the
denomination's constitution. It is separating Beth from who she is and
from her ability to practice ministry."

A portion of the defense's strategy had focused on Article IV of the
denomination's constitution, dealing with inclusiveness, but church
counsel objected and Presiding Bishop Joseph Yeakel sustained the
objection. Allowing that portion would have enabled six witnesses to
take the stand on Stroud's behalf.

"The bishop ruled that it was inappropriate to raise constitutional
issues at this point in the trial," Symonette said.

"Beth has been true to her calling as a minister," he said. "She has
been a person called by God in the ministry and at the same time
looking into the fullness of who she is." She should be allowed to
remain in ministry, he said.

The Rev. Fred Day, pastor of First United Methodist Church in
Germantown, expressed the congregation's support of Stroud and noted
that the United Methodist Church is not of one mind concerning
homosexuality.

The annual conference's lead counsel, Tom Hall, emphasized to
reporters that Stroud had violated church law. Referring to Paragraph
304.3 of the United Methodist Book of Discipline, he said that
although the trial of a colleague is painful, "when someone steps over
the line, we are to be accountable."

"We are faced with a person who is open and honest about her
sexuality," and that is why the trial is occurring, Hall said. Noting
the difficulty of confronting a colleague based on the Book of
Discipline, he said the "the trial is to determine guilt or innocence,
not to debate a word."

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn.