LESBIAN MINISTER BETH STROUD '91 LOSES FINAL APPEAL

On Monday, the highest judicial body of the United Methodist Church ruled that Irene Elizabeth Stroud '91 could not continue as an ordained minister of the church as a "self-avowed, practicing homosexual." The ruling marks the end of the appeals process for Stroud, who was defrocked last December by a jury of Methodist clergy after telling her congregation at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown that she was a lesbian who lived in a "covenant relationship" with a woman. An intermediate appeals court had reversed the jury's decision, but the high court reinstated it.

"I thought I was prepared for anything, but still the news came as a blow," Stroud said. "It's a sad day for me and for my family and for my congregation and, I think, a sad day for the United Methodist Church."

Stroud's counsel, Alan Symonette, had argued that the regulation barring gays and lesbians from the ministry was in conflict with another provision of church law that bans discrimination on the basis of, among other things, "status."

The Judicial Council ruled that the church law under which Stroud was convicted "is not directed at the status of being a homosexual or having a particular sexual orientation," but at the practice of homosexuality. Stroud, who recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of her commitment ceremony with her partner, Chris Paige, could practice ministry lawfully if she remained celibate, said church counsel Thomas Hall.

Stroud's congregation at Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church of Germantown continues to employ Stroud as a lay minister. When the revocation of her credentials was overturned in late April, Stroud could have returned to ordained ministry, but chose to continue as a lay minister until the final appeal had been heard.

Now, she will be unable to regain her ordination unless the church's legislative body, the UMC General Conference, decides to amend its Book of Discipline at its next worldwide meeting in 2008.

Stroud's case has made national headlines as debate over issues related to homosexuality continues in mainline Protestant denominations, and she has accepted invitations to speak to audiences and congregations all over the country. At Bryn Mawr last April, Stroud said that she would probably not seek ordination in a denomination that is more welcoming to gay and lesbian Christians. She was raised as a Methodist and feels at home in the denomination, she said.

"And I think I might be able to create more positive change in the world by staying where I am, as a lay minister, than by moving to another denomination where things might be easier for me," she explained.

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