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Defrocked lesbian minister wins appeal
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By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A lesbian Methodist minister
defrocked last year after admitting to living with a
woman won her appeal against the church's decision
because it had not defined "practicing homosexual,"
the United Methodist Church said on Friday.
A statement on the church's Web site said a committee
hearing the appeal by Elizabeth Stroud in Baltimore
reversed the ecclesiastical court's December decision
that stripped her of her credentials as a minister at
the First United Methodist Church of Germantown,
Philadelphia.
She was allowed to have a lesser role in the church
but could not perform ceremonies such as baptisms and
weddings.
"An appeals committee has reversed a clergy court
verdict in the case of Irene Elizabeth Stroud," the
statement said.
In a 14-page decision, the committee reversed both the
conviction and the penalty on the technical grounds
that the church has not properly defined the term
"practicing homosexual". The committee also held that
the church law under which the charges were brought
was a new standard that had not been formally ratified
by the church authorities and so could not be used to
convict Stroud.
Stroud, 34, was originally found to have violated the
church's Book of Discipline, which forbids the
ordination and appointment of "self-avowed practicing
homosexuals."
Stroud told the hearing she was in a committed
relationship with another woman and had decided to be
open about her sexuality because it was the honest,
Christian thing to do.
Her stance was backed by many members of her
Philadelphia congregation.
The committee said it recognized that "practicing
homosexual" may involve engaging in "genital sexual
activity" but that the term had not been clearly
defined by the church and so it could not be used
against Stroud.
But the evidence that Stroud had violated the church's
Book of Discipline by being a practicing homosexual
while an ordained minister was "overwhelming," and
would have been sustained in the absence of legal
error, the panel said.
Rev. Thomas Hall, counsel for the church, said he was
"very disappointed by the ruling," which he said sent
a "message of confusion" to the church's ministers.
Hall said it was very likely the church would appeal
the decision to the Judicial Council, the church's
highest court.
Stroud said in an interview on Friday she was relieved
at the decision but not elated because she didn't know
whether the church would actually appeal to the
Judicial Council. "I'm encouraged and I'm hopeful, and
I'm grateful that the committee took seriously the
case that was brought," she said. "I don't know what
the next step will be."
She said she had decided not to resume her duties as a
minister until the legal process was complete, and
until then would continue as a lay member of the
Philadelphia church.
Asked if she thought the latest decision would help
heal splits in the church over its policy on
homosexual clergy, Stroud said she had experienced
some healing since the original court ruling because
it had brought the issue into the open.
"It has allowed me to be honest about who I am with my
colleagues," she said.
The United Methodist Church says on its Web site it
has some 8.25 million lay members and nearly 45,000
clergy in more than 35,000 local U.S. churches. It
also has another 1.86 million members in 12 other countries.
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