United Methodist Lesbian Minister Heads to Church Supreme Court
The lesbian pastor who was charged, then acquitted of violated church laws against homosexual pastors, will face the denomination's highest court in October
The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, the lesbian pastor who was charged, then acquitted of violating the United Methodist Church’s laws prohibiting the ordination of sexually active homosexual ministers, will face the denomination’s Supreme Court in October.
The Stroud case is one of 14 items on the docket for the United Methodist Judicial Council’s Oct. 26-29 meeting in Houston, the denomination announced.
Stroud, who is currently on leave, is an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia. She lost her credentials following a church trial last December, where she was found guilty of breaking denominational laws on the standards of ordination.
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The church’s law forbids the participation of “self-avowed practicing” homosexuals in the ordained ministry, though doors are open to celibate homosexuals. Stroud announced to her congregation in 2003 during a sermon that she was a “lesbian living in a committee relationship with a partner.” At the December trial, Stroud affirmed she and her partner “express our love for each other sexually with our bodies.”
Although Stroud said she was not surprised at the verdict, she appealed, and on April 29, the appellate court of the denomination’s Northeastern Jurisdiction overruled the decision, acquitting Stroud of all charges. In an 8-1 vote, the appeals court invalidated the December decision over two legal errors, meanwhile noting that it found “overwhelming” evidence in support of the charge against Stroud.
The court said the terms “practicing homosexual” and “status” were not defined, and thus Stroud could not be held in contempt. The word “status” appears in the church constitution as part of an anti-discrimination clause, which states that the benefits of membership of the church are guaranteed to “all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status or economic conditions,” according to the United Methodist News Service. Stroud’s supporters have argued that homosexuality falls under the “status” designation, and should thus be given the rights to be ordained.
The appellate court also stated that a statement in the church law – “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings” — is a doctrinal statement and not an ethical rule for clergy, and should not be applied to Stroud.
Although the appeals court returned her credentials, Stroud remained on a voluntary leave of absence as clergy. She wanted to make sure the trial was completely over.
“I expected that my case would go to the Judicial Council,” Stroud wrote on her Web site. “It is a case that could have implications for the entire church, and so it is only right for the church's highest judicial body to review it.”
Stroud’s case will be heard publicly at 9 a.m. Oct. 27 in the Stansbury Building of the Westchase Campus of First United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. This will be the third time she faces the church court; she is the third lesbian pastor to have been tried in the United Methodist church.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Council will also rule on two cases related to issues surrounding homosexuality.
One case is about the Rev. Edward Johnson of South Hill (Va.) United Methodist Church, who was suspended for refusing to admit a gay person into membership at the church. The other case surrounds a pastor who was placed on involuntary leave from the Virginia Conference.
The homosexuality debate, and more specifically the debate over ordaining active homosexuals to the ministry, is the thorniest issue threatening the unity of several mainline denominations, including the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and the Episcopal Church.
