PHILADELPHIA — A United Methodist minister faces trial Dec. 1 by the third largest denomination in the country for living with another woman in a committed lesbian relationship. 

The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, 34, who has served as associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia for more than four years, officially stands charged with “practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings.” If convicted, she risks losing her credentials as an ordained minister.

Stroud is the third United Methodist minister to face trial for homosexuality, an issue that has deeply divided the church for more than three decades. In March, a jury of 13 ordained United Methodists acquitted the Rev. Karen Dammann of Ellensburg, Wash., saying the church had not declared homosexuality to be incompatible with Christian teaching despite a ban on the ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals.” The Judicial Council — the highest legal authority in the United Methodist Church — has since contradicted the jury’s reasoning, saying the church clearly finds homosexuality incompatible; the council reinforced the ban on the ordination and appointment of gays and lesbians. 

The ruling precludes Stroud’s team from using the reasoning that led to Dammann’s acquittal.
The process that led to the trial started April 27, 2003, when Stroud, in a sermon, told the congregation about her relationship with Chris Paige, 33, a consultant to small businesses and nonprofit organizations. They have lived together for more than four years. 

“I’m not afraid,” said Stroud, who accepted her homosexuality as an undergraduate in the early 1990s. “I can’t know what the outcome of the trial will be, but I trust God to work in and through whatever happens. I love the people of the United Methodist Church, I love ministry and I love my partner and the life God has given us together. I just want to be the person God created me to be and to serve in the way God has called me to serve.” 

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Senior Pastor Fred Day and the congregation of almost 1,000 have shown virtually universal support for Stroud, setting up a legal fund and giving her time to prepare her defense. 

“We’re grateful and heartened and inspired by Beth’s courage,” said Day, who has been senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Germantown for three years. “A conviction would be a huge loss because it would say that the United Methodist Church doesn’t welcome a minister with Beth’s compassion and faith, that a minister with all Beth’s skills isn’t worthy of presiding over communion, preaching the gospel or performing baptisms.” 

The 210-year-old First United Methodist Church of Germantown, long known for social activism, belongs to the United Methodist movement Reconciling Ministries Network, which advocates the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in church life. A PBS documentary scheduled to air Dec. 29 focuses on the church and Stroud’s case. 

The first United Methodist trial involving homosexual issues was held in 1987. The church convicted the Rev. Rose Mary Denman, a lesbian minister in New Hampshire; she later wrote a book about her struggles with the church. 
Stroud’s trial, which could last up to three days, will take place at Camp Innabah, a United Methodist camp and retreat center in Spring City, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. The proceedings will resemble a civil trial. The Rev. J. Dennis Williams, a retired United Methodist minister, will present Stroud’s case with the help of Alan Symonette, an attorney who serves as a lay leader at First United Methodist Church of Germantown. The Rev. Tom Hall and attorney Robert Shoemaker Jr. will argue for the church.  Retired Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel of Smithsburg, Md., will serve as presiding judge.
A conviction will require guilty verdicts from nine of the 13 jurors. 

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Links of note: 

First United Methodist Church of Germantown: www.fumcog.org
The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud’s defense: www.bethstroud.info
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference: www.epaumc.org
Reconciling Ministries Network: www.rmnetwork.org