Methodist High Court Decides; Removes Credentials from Lesbian Pastor
by Jim Brown
November 1, 2005
(AgapePress) - A conservative United Methodist activist is praising a decision by the denomination's highest court to defrock a Philadelphia-area lesbian minister.
The ruling today (October 31) by the nine-member Judicial Council said the associate pastor, Beth Stroud, violated the Methodists' ban on "self-avowed, practicing homosexual" clergy. In its ruling, the Council said a Northeastern Jurisdiction Appeals Court "erred in reversing and setting aside the verdict and penalty" from Stroud's trial last December.
Stroud has been at Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church of Germantown since 1999. She said she decided to "come out" two years ago because hiding the truth was interfering with her religious faith. A complaint was filed against her last year. She said today's decision against her indicates that "the existing discrimination in the United Methodist Church is clear."
Mark Tooley with the Institute on Religion and Democracy says he is pleased with the outcome, which he accurately predicted last week. Tooley says the ruling shows that the United Methodist Church, the third-largest denomination in the United States, "is not going to follow the direction of the Episcopal Church," which consecrated an openly homosexual bishop two years ago.
Instead, says Tooley, the UMC is "moving in a more orthodox direction and is increasingly more attuned to growing international Christianity -- and it will uphold traditional Christian teachings regarding marriage and sex."
According to Tooley, the ruling affirms the denomination's ban on "self-avowed, practicing homosexual" clergy. He expects it "will give further pause to clergy who want to come out of the closet or openly challenge the church law." But surprisingly, he says, there have not been many clergy who have been willing to do that. "Beth Stroud has really been one of the few cases in the last few years," he says.
According to Associated Press, Stroud plans to continue as a lay staff member with the church, preaching and supervising youth. The report also says Stroud told the congregation yesterday that she and her partner are applying to be foster parents.
Read related story from United Methodist News Service
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
