WP: Gay Minister to Face Jury of Methodist Peers: Could Lose Credentials

[DeepModem Mom]

Gay Minister to Face Jury of Methodist Peers
Pennsylvania Woman Could Lose Credentials

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 29, 2004; Page A03


Nineteen months ago, the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud gave a sermon that began and ended with Jesus saying, "Peace be with you." In the middle, she told her congregants that she was living in a "covenant relationship" with another woman....

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Stroud's disclosure was no surprise to her flock at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, a 210-year-old Philadelphia parish that welcomes gay men and lesbians. Many of its 800 members had known for years about her relationship with Chris Paige, a small-business consultant.

But Stroud's sermon was a challenge to the national church's rule against self-avowed gay men and women in the ministry, and it set in motion an investigation and charges that will culminate Wednesday in a church trial before a jury of fellow ministers. If Stroud, 34, is found guilty of "practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings," she may lose her credentials as a minister.

Like many other mainline Protestant denominations, the Methodist Church has been deeply divided for three decades over homosexuality, particularly in the clergy. Stroud is the third minister to face trial for violating its "don't ask, don't tell" policy....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18635-2004Nov28.html