NIC VOICE
News Update
12-29-2004 Beth Stroud Case – Press, Appeal, Documentary
View previously released
NIC VOICE
news updates
on the Beth Stroud Case here:
http://www.faithfulchristianlaity.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=191.
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news updates
published during the trial week have been posted on the
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PBS Documentary “The Congregation” – Reviews:
'Congregation': A church tale with a twist
philly.com (subscription) - Philadelphia,PA,USA
We are presented with extended footage of well-meaning,
talky types sitting in circles and verbally fretting or,
worse, speaking in grand vagueness. Most of the mulling
involves the fate of their pastor, the Rev. Fred Day, and
after much group process, Day appears to pass muster. But
it's never really made clear.
The Raymonds provide breathers from the tedium - a candlelit
Christmas service, a concert by South African AIDS victims,
a teen work camp - that are quietly moving and flesh out the
church as a place of goodwill. But as verité snapshots, they
break the flow of the film's more central story lines.
Toward the end are scenes from Stroud's trial, which
occurred only four weeks ago. The most powerful moment of
the film might be seeing Stroud's stoic face drop as her
penalty - defrocking - is announced in court. That is verité
at its rawest.
But then, back at the ranch, we learn that Day will be
stepping down as pastor. It turns out he had announced
months earlier that he would not seek reappointment, but the
filmmakers saved the news for their wrap-up scene.
Why is no footage shown of that dramatic turn of events?
Coming with no buildup - the last we saw, Day had won the
day for himself - it is the final, herky-jerky touch to this
well-intentioned but frustrating piece of work.
Read More
A United
Methodist congregation, deeply divided
Baltimore Sun (subscription) - Baltimore,MD,USA
Stroud is shown splitting ethical hairs in the board meeting
as she verbally dances around acceptance of her own
dishonesty in allowing herself to be ordained. "It's a
choice I made [to hide the relationship] in response to a
calling [to the ministry]. But I don't think it's ethically
unassailable," she says.
But the Raymonds also show Stroud on the night before she
comes out to the full congregation at a Sunday service.
Alone at her computer, talking through her sermon as she
writes, she seems vulnerable and uncertain, but determined
to tell the truth without further waffling. Her performance
in the pulpit the next day is the film's most powerful
moment.
Along with Frederick Wiseman, the Raymonds pioneered the
cinema verite style of filmmaking for television. Their 1973
PBS film An American Family, chronicling the ups and downs
of the Loud family of California, is considered by many the
birth of reality television.
To their credit, the Raymonds do not let Stroud's story
dominate their film. Despite the more controversial and
sensational aspects of her narrative, it is only part of a
larger story they are trying to tell about organized
religion in America today. Read
More
PBS film pulls veil on church
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Cleveland,OH,USA
FUMCOG, as members call it, has better music than most and a
rich history. It began in 1796, one of the first Methodist
churches in the country. The filmmakers pick up the thread
just as the Rev. Fred Day arrives, the first new pastor in
38 years.
He is a kind, pudgy, bespectacled man of 50. He is replacing
a legend, the Rev. Theodore Loder, a pastor who was both a
charismatic poet and a progressive firebrand.
It does not go well for Day. Many members are put off by his
simpler preaching and more moderate theological ways.
Over pizza boxes, his wife, an elementary school teacher,
describes sitting in the pew each Sunday, her stomach
knotted as she thinks, "Is this a good week? Did he preach a
winner?"
Eventually, the congregation hires outside consultants to
help the church discern if the new pastor was a mistake. The
ensuing committees and conversations will be a revelation to
Roman Catholics, who have little say over their clergy. It
will be more familiar to Protestants, who know better the
privilege and peril of speaking their minds.
This film is full of quiet dignity and earnest Methodist
faces. Even as they disagree, they are easy to love. It
helps explain the mystery of why people keep trying to find
God together, when the results can be so uninspired.
Read More
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Press Articles Related to Announcement of Appeal:
Ex-pastor to appeal removal from post
Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription) - Philadelphia,PA,USA
Stroud's open challenge to the ban has made her a cause
celebre among gay-rights advocates.
She said she opted to have her trial public - a break with
church custom - so it might be "a learning moment for the
church."
Although homosexuality issues have divided the
8.3-million-member Protestant denomination for decades, its
majority supports the traditional stance against
non-celibate gay clergy.
Since her defrocking, Stroud's gay-affirming Germantown
church has employed her as a lay minister, which lets her
perform all but sacramental duties.
Read More
Area clergy members under fire for their beliefs
Chester Daily Local Online - Chester,PA,USA
Stroud’s open trial was the council’s first in more than 50
years.
After deliberations, 12 of the 13 jury members found her
guilty, and a majority (7 to 6) voted to convict and defrock
Stroud, stripping her of her credentials as an ordained
minister.
"I did not go into this trial expecting to win," Stroud said
afterward. "I went in knowing it would be a painful moment
for our church and the annual conference.
"I’m hopeful (that) in time and with God’s spirit, the
United Methodist Church will change its discipline," she
said.
The trial did not, however, bar Stroud from working within
the church as a lay minister, able to preach but not to
administer sacraments, and Stroud has continued to work with
the church.
Earlier this week, Stroud announced her decision to appeal
her case to the church’s regional appeals court.
She said she hesitated to appeal due to exhaustion and an
aversion to controversial attention. But, she told a
reporter, "There are questions the larger church needs to
discuss and wrestle with."
Read More
Defrocked Gay Minister to Appeal Conviction
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
A legal brief prepared by her church lawyer, the Rev. J.
Dennis Williams, argues that the prohibition on gay clergy
members conflicts with other provisions in the church's
Constitution and Book of Discipline. It notes, for example,
that Article 4 of the Methodist Constitution says that "all
persons, without regard to race, color, national origin,
status, or economic condition," are eligible for membership.
"I believe in my heart that when I look at the Book of
Discipline as a whole, that I have not violated it," Stroud
said. "The discipline calls United Methodists to stand
against discrimination of all kinds, it calls United
Methodists to stand for justice, it says homosexuals no less
than heterosexuals are persons of sacred worth, and it says
there should be no discrimination on the basis of status."
Like many other denominations, the Methodist Church
differentiates between having a same-sex orientation and
practicing homosexuality; its rules allow gays to remain in
ministry as long as they are celibate.
Stroud's legal brief says that distinction "makes no sense,"
arguing that it is akin to saying it is all right for
someone to have blue eyes but not to see through blue eyes.
Read More
Stroud to file appeal of church trial decision
Dec. 27, 2004 News media contact: Linda Bloom * (646)
3693759* New York {04612}
NOTE: Photos, resources and related articles are available
at www.umns.umc.org.
A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud has decided to appeal the Dec.
2 decision by a United Methodist trial court to revoke her
ministerial credentials.
Then the associate pastor at First United Methodist Church
of Germantown in Philadelphia, she had been found guilty of
violating church law, which forbids the participation of
"self-avowed practicing homosexuals" in the ordained
ministry. Stroud, 34, had publicly acknowledged that she was
living in a committed relationship with another woman.
In a Dec. 27 telephone interview, Stroud told United
Methodist News Service that she would send a letter during
the week to Bishop Marcus Matthews of the denomination's
Philadelphia Area and Bishop Joseph Yeakel, the retired
bishop who presided over her trial, notifying them of the
appeal.
Denominational procedure allowed Stroud 30 days in which to
appeal the court decision. That appeal will be handled by
the committee on appeal of the church's Northeastern
Jurisdiction.
"I feel there were some questions the church needs to
wrestle with that we were not able to wrestle with at the
trial," she said about her decision.
One of her concerns is that Yeakel did not allow her
counsel, the Rev. J. Dennis Williams, to present testimony
about the "overall message" of the United Methodist Book of
Discipline and how it related to her case.
Yeakel had ruled before the trial that certain issues were
not appropriate for that trial court but should be
considered by the church's supreme court or top legislative
body.
Since the trial, Stroud has continued to work at First
United Methodist Church of Germantown as a lay employee.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer in New
York.
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PRESS ARTICLES Not Included in previous
NIC VOICE
Updates:
Court upholds church stance on "self-avowed practicing
homosexuals"
Dec. 8, 2004 News media contact: Linda Green or
Linda Bloom * (646) 369-3759* Nashville {04580}
NOTE: Audio and photographs are available at
www.umc.org.
By Linda Bloom and Linda Green*
When a United Methodist clergywoman from Philadelphia was
stripped of her credentials after a church trial, even those
who prosecuted her found no cause for celebration.
"We have no delight in finding a colleague guilty of the
charges," said the Rev. Thomas Hall, who served as church
counsel for the denomination's Eastern Pennsylvania Annual
(regional) Conference in the Dec. 1-2 trial of Irene
Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud.
A jury of 13 clergy members voted 7-6 to withdraw the
ministerial credentials of the 34-year-old associate pastor
of First United Methodist Church of Germantown in
Philadelphia. Stroud, who had publicly acknowledged she was
living in a committed relationship with another woman, was
found guilty by the same jury of violating Paragraph 2702.1
(b) of the 2000 Book of Discipline by engaging in practices
declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible
with Christian teachings.
While there was no dispute from the conference about
Stroud's effectiveness as a pastor, Hall said he believed
the trial court had reached the proper decision "in this
place and at this time in our history together." Church law
bars the ordination or appointment of "self-avowed
practicing homosexuals."
"The trial really upheld what the church has upheld and
enforced over the last several years in our denomination,"
he added during a press conference at the trial's
conclusion. "As you've heard, this trial does not end
anything. The struggle will continue on as we all seek to be
faithful to God's call to the people who are called United
Methodists."
Robert Shoemaker, who also participated in the trial and is
counsel for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, said the
verdict reinforced church law. "The important concept that
was upheld in this case is the church's right to set
criteria for its ministers," he explained, adding that such
criteria can be changed only by General Conference, the
denomination's top legislative body, or Judicial Council,
it's top court.
"Despite how this decision feels, we recognize pain in the
larger church struggling over the hurt and difficulty of
this decision and pray for a day soon when that hurt will
end," said the Rev. Fred Day, pastor of First United
Methodist Church of Germantown.
In a Dec. 3 pastoral letter, Bishop Marcus Matthews of the
Philadelphia Episcopal Area noted that everyone involved in
the trial proceedings at Camp Innabah showed "great respect"
for individuals and for the church.
"No matter what our individual views are on the issue of
homosexuality, we owe the members of the trial court our
word of thanks," the letter said. "Theirs was a difficult
task where answers do not always appear clearly or quickly.
We must respect the decision of the trial court and move on
in our ministry."
The Rev. James Heidinger, president of Good News, Wilmore,
Ky., an unofficial evangelical renewal movement within the
United Methodist Church, said his organization was
"grateful" that church law was upheld. "We should all
remember that the question at hand was not whether Beth was
effective in her ministry or loved by her people," he said.
"The question was whether the relationship she currently is
in violates the covenant of those choosing to be in ministry
within the United Methodist Church.
"Our church's standards have been carefully and prayerfully
established by past General Conferences and were reaffirmed
recently by delegates in Pittsburgh by an overwhelming
majority," he continued. "The clarity of the verdict and
firmness of the penalty sends a much-needed message to the
church that we have Scriptural guidelines that must be taken
seriously."
Delegates to the 2004 General Conference voted to retain the
church's prohibition that the practice of homosexuality is
"incompatible with Christian teachings." Prohibition against
the ordination or appointment of "self-avowed practicing
homosexuals" continues to be church policy. In addition, the
list of chargeable offenses that could bring bishops,
pastors and diaconal ministers to trial was amended to
include not being celibate in singleness or being unfaithful
in a heterosexual marriage. Other chargeable offenses
include conducting ceremonies that celebrate homosexual
unions or performing same-sex weddings.
Heidinger also expressed appreciation for the leadership of
Bishop Joseph Yeakel, who presided over the trial. Yeakel
retired in 1996 after serving the Washington D.C. area.
The Rev. Ira Gallaway, Albuquerque, N.M., associate director
of the Confessing Movement, noted that Stroud "had been
prepared to be honest about her lesbianism with anyone who
asked." So while it "is a positive event" that the trial
court upheld church law, he said, "it is a sad commentary
that she was approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry and
(that) her conference ordained her as an elder in the United
Methodist Church." The Confessing Movement is an
unofficial United Methodist group that supports adherence to
church law and the apostolic faith.
Supporters of Stroud expressed the belief that her gifts as
a pastor should be weighed against any prohibitions on
sexuality. "Nobody won in bringing this case to trial," said
the Rev. Troy Plummer, Chicago, executive director of the
Reconciling Ministries Network, an unofficial grassroots
organization supporting persons of all sexual orientations
and gender identities.
"The church kept its rules yet lost its integrity in the
process by seeing the spirit at work and then working
against the spirit. The 7-6 split on the removal of
credentials reflects the division in our church," he said.
The Reconciling Ministries Network, he added, affirms "that
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons are
permanently a part of our United Methodist family and often
are called by God to serve as clergy. We continue to rejoice
as the spirit breaks free of legalism and works for the day
when our church is free from discrimination encoded in our
Book of Discipline."
The Rev. Kathryn Johnson, Washington, executive director,
Methodist Federation for Social Action, argued that "the
entire case against Beth Stroud was held together by the
thin thread of legalism" and wondered how long the church
will survive "if we continue to choose law over love and
punishment over grace."
Church Within A Church, which describes itself as a grass
roots response to the actions of General Conference, also
condemned the church's legalist stance and declared that
with the Stroud verdict, "the policy of 'Don't ask, don't
tell' was confirmed and closet doors were slammed shut all
across the denomination."
# # #
*Bloom and Green are United Methodist News Service news
writers.
News media contact: Linda Green or Linda Bloom (646)
369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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COMMENTARIES:
United Methodists Reach a Verdict
12/8/2004
Albert Mohler
You can count on this argument appearing again and again in
the future. Homosexual advocates will now press their case
to argue that sexuality just isn't that big a deal after
all. So long as a candidate is otherwise judged to be
faithful and shows evidence of possessing gifts for
ministry, why should a little issue like sexuality be a
hang-up? Sinlessness is not a qualification for Christian
ministry. All ministers--and all Christians--are sinners
saved by grace. At the same time, Christians may not persist
in sin--celebrating such persistence as a "lifestyle" or
"orientation"--but are to repent of sin, trust the grace and
mercy of God, and move into patterns of biblically-defined
righteousness and holiness.
The United Methodist Church took a great step forward in
this trial, tragic as it was. There is no joy in dealing
with sin, and a church trial is, in itself, evidence of
prior moral failure or theological compromise. Nevertheless,
once her sexual orientation and relationship became known,
Rev. Beth Stroud became a test case for United Methodist
conviction and courage.
In convicting Beth Stroud of violating church law by a 12-1
margin, the church demonstrated clarity and courage. The 7-6
vote to terminate her ministerial credentials was a close
call, but can still send a loud message.
On December 2, 2004, the United Methodist Church reached a
verdict. We must all hope that this will be a first step
toward comprehensive recovery. Otherwise, the forces of
moral relativism and theological compromise will surely gain
ascendancy in short order.
Read More
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