BY Jason Victor Serinus
On April 28, almost five months after a northeast region Methodist Church court stripped openly lesbian Methodist Rev. Irene Elizabeth 'Beth' Stroud of her ministerial credentials, a Church appeals court in Baltimore set aside the verdict. The 8-1 vote allows Stroud to again serve as Associate Pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, one of Philadelphia's most liberal congregations.
Bishop Marcus Matthews of the Eastern Pennsylvania District of the United Methodist Church announced he would ask the Judicial Council to review the appeals panel's decision in Beth Stroud's case. In response, Beth released the following statement on May 2:
'I knew the ruling by the appeals committee would not be the final word. We expected the case to go to the Judicial Council. I met with Bishop Matthews this morning. In light of the appeals committee ruling, he returned my ordination credentials to me. He also offered to appoint me as associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown with full rights and responsibilities of an ordained minister. I shared with Bishop Matthews my decision not to robe or lead Communion or baptism until my case is over. For this reason, I declined his offer of an appointment. I will continue to serve in the capacity of a lay minister at First United Methodist Church of Germantown until the end of the case.
'When I put my robes back on, whether it's at the conclusion of the judicial process or in a number of years when the General Conference changes this unjust legislation, I want that to be a symbol of the sacred trust among me, God and the larger church. I do not want my ordination to be a symbol of who is on the winning or losing side of a controversy at any given moment.'
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Stroud, 35, had been convicted on Dec. 2 of violating Paragraph 2702.1 ( b ) of the 2000 Methodist Book of Discipline by living as 'a self-avowed practicing homosexual in a monogamous, committed relationship … while in the ordained ministry.' The 7-6 December ruling against Stroud, a reflection of the court's ambiguity when faced with the positive role that Stroud plays in the Methodist Church, might well have been different had the presiding judge allowed Stroud to argue her case as fully as she had wished.
'The ruling today gives me hope that the United Methodist Church does have within itself the resources to do justice,' Stroud told a group of supporters who had assembled to hear the decision.
In our third interview since she was defrocked, Beth explained what is happening in her case.
'I feel hopeful and encouraged, but it's a cautious optimism. I entered the appeal hearing knowing that whatever the committee ruled, it wouldn't fully resolve my case. We really don't know what will happen next.'
Stroud's decision as to how to conduct church duties in the interim provides an example of the heartfelt sincerity with which she approaches religious life.
'Although the ruling gives me the right to redon my robe and stole and celebrate the sacraments,' she says, 'I've decided to wait until my case is resolved. Ordination is sacred to me, and I don't feel that I can just put it on and take it off again without trivializing it.'
It is precisely such dedication, displayed on national TV in a two-hour PBS documentary broadcast last December, that brought tears to the eyes of many who observed the original trial. Stroud's deepening love for the teachings of the church, even as she faces legal condemnation, continues to open minds and hearts.
The Appeal
The appeals panel, composed of clergymen and lay people representing Methodist districts in the northeast, was allowed to consider only two questions: Did the evidence support the initial charge, and did errors of church law render the 7-6 verdict invalid?
Stroud had argued that the lack of a clear definition of the term 'self avowed practicing homosexual' rendered the verdict invalid.
'The church constitution declares that we must not practice discrimination on the basis of 'status,'' she explains. 'Church law also says that 'self-avowed practicing homosexuals' cannot be ordained or appointed to serve as pastors. If neither 'status' nor 'practicing homosexual' has ever been defined, how can you determine if church law about 'self-avowed practicing homosexuals' discriminates on the basis of 'status?'
The appeals panel agreed, ruling that neither the Church's top legislative assembly nor its Eastern Pennsylvania region where Stroud was tried had ever defined what it meant by 'practicing homosexual.'
It also declared that retired Bishop Joseph Yeakel, who presided over December's two-day trial, should have considered Stroud's arguments that the church's law prohibiting 'self-avowed practicing homosexuals' from being ordained or appointed to serve as pastors violates the Methodist Constitution. Bishop Yeakel had prevented the jury from hearing Stroud's argument, calling it irrelevant and beyond the jury's scope of consideration. The appeals panel said Yeakel did indeed have the right to keep Stroud's argument from the jury, but only if he had first ruled that it lacked merit.
'As Methodists we stand for inclusiveness and justice, and for using reason in interpreting the Bible,' says Stroud. 'This ruling shows that there is a contradiction between the Methodist tradition of justice and reason and a church law that discriminates.
'My case is just one step in a long struggle in the church. Ultimately, I believe the church will live up to the promises it makes in its constitution and be inclusive of all people. The church has been wrong and has changed before—in the case of slavery, for example, and in the case of ordination of women. The church will change again. It has the resources to do what's right.'
Since her December defrocking, Stroud has received far more invitations to speak than she has been able to accept. Her priorities remain to connect with high school and college people whenever possible, and to speak in environments where people have not made up their minds.
'It's incredible to me that I get invited to talk about being a lesbian Christian minister,' she reported.
