NIC
VOICE
News Update 04-28-2005
Beth Stroud Case – Stroud Appeal Hearing Press & Commentary 6:30 PM
Update
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United Methodist Church.
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posts news related to the Northern Illinois Conference, as well as
GC/JC/AC Conference updates at the
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Other news of interest across the UMC included in
NIC VOICE
news updates are now being posted in the
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View previously released
NIC VOICE
news updates on the
Beth Stroud Case here:
http://www.faithfulchristianlaity.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=191.
NIC VOICE
news updates
published during the trial week and after have been posted on the
NIC VOICE
web site:
http://www.nicvoice.org/beth_stroud_trial_updates.htm
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UMNS News Release:
Appeal begins for former clergywoman who lost credentials
April 28, 2005
A UMNS Report
By Linda Green*
The Northeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals began its hearing
today in the case of a former United Methodist clergywoman who lost
her credentials after a church trial. The committee’s hearing into
the case of Beth Stroud began at 9 a.m. and was to end at noon at
the Sheraton International Hotel on the grounds of
Baltimore-Washington Airport. The committee was expected to deliberate
into the evening hours and possibly tomorrow (April 29). Its verdict
will be posted as soon as it is announced.
What is the issue?
Irene Elizabeth “Beth” Stroud lost her ministerial credentials after
a church trial found her guilty Dec. 2 of violating the
denomination’s prohibition of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals”
in the ordained ministry. Since losing her clergy credentials, she
has remained on staff at First United Methodist Church of Germantown
in Philadelphia as a lay member. She appealed the verdict last
December and requested the hearing be open to the public.
Stroud had publicly acknowledged living in a committed relationship
with another woman.
What is the denomination’s official policy on homosexuality?
The United Methodist Church, in its Book of Discipline,
states homosexuals are people of sacred worth. However, it regards
the practice of homosexuality as incompatible with Christian
teachings. The church forbids the ordination and appointment of
“self-avowed practicing homosexuals.” It also forbids the
celebration of same-sex unions by its clergy and in its sanctuaries.
More information on the church’s policy, along with a history of its
struggle over issues related to homosexuality, is available at
umns.umc.org.
What is the appeals committee considering?
The nine-member appeals committee, which meets privately on April
27, will consider questions for the hearing as outlined by the
United Methodist Church’s 2004 Book of Discipline, Paragraph 2715.7,
“the appellate body shall determine two questions only: (a) Does the
weight of the evidence sustain the charge or charges? (b) Were there
such errors of church law as to vitiate the verdict and/or the
penalty?”
In a previous interview, Stroud said, “There were some questions the
church needs to wrestle with that we were not able to wrestle with
at the trial.” One of her concerns is that Bishop Joseph Yeakel, the
retired bishop who presided over her trial, did not allow her
counsel, the Rev. J. Dennis Williams, to present testimony about the
“overall message” of the Book of Discipline and how it
related to her case.
Yeakel 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.
Committee members will receive briefs from Stroud and the conference
as well as transcripts of the trial.
How will the hearing proceed?
After the hearing, the committee on appeals will begin
deliberations, which could continue into the next day. The
committee’s decision will be announced at the hearing site.
According to the Book of Discipline, the committee could
reverse in whole or in part the findings of the trial court or it
may remand the case for a new trial to determine verdict and/or
penalty. The committee may determine what penalty, not higher than
the trial court’s decision, may be imposed. If the committee decides
not to reverse any part of the trial court’s verdict or recommend a
new trial, or modify the previous penalty, the judgment of the trial
court “shall” stand. The committee “shall not reverse the judgment
nor remand the case for a new hearing or trial on account of errors
plainly not affecting the result.”
All decisions by the appeals committee require a majority vote.
How will United Methodist News Service cover the appeal?
Erik Alsgaard, director of communications for the
Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, will report on the appeal
for UMNS. The verdict will be posted as quickly as possible at
umns.umc.org, and a wrap-up story or stories will follow.
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
See Also at UMNS:
Stroud Appeal Coverage
The
latest coverage of the April 2005 Beth Stroud appeal as reported by
the United Methodist News Service.
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New PRESS ARTICLES since last
NIC VOICE
News Update:
Appeals hearing begins for defrocked lesbian minister
philly.com - Philadelphia,PA,USA
Posted on Thu, Apr. 28, 2005
By Jim Remsen
INQUIRER FAITH
LIFE EDITOR
BALTIMORE – Lawyers for Beth Stroud, the lesbian minister from
Philadelphia defrocked in a United Methodist church trial in
December, leveled a frontal assault today on the trial process and
the church rule that bars "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" from
ordained ministry.
Her lead counsel, the Rev. James R. Hallam, told an appeals panel
meeting here that Stroud was convicted under "an exclusionary church
law which is diametrically inconsistent with the mission of the
United Methodist Church to be inclusive of all people regardless of
race, gender and status." The church’s counsel, the Rev. Thomas
Hall, countered that the law has been repeatedly affirmed by
denominational leaders. "In the end," Hall said, "this trial was
about accountability – holding a minister accountable to the very
laws that we have vowed to uphold."
<snip>
Stroud sat silently through the three-hour hearing, accompanied by
her partner, parents and several dozen supporters. She could appeal
a negative ruling to the denomination’s highest court, the Judicial
Council, though that body is considered conservative on the issue.
At a press conference after the hearing, Stroud said she was "fairly
certain" she would appeal a negative ruling, even though the case
has left her and her family "very tired." If she wins, she said, she
would delay functioning as a pastor again until all the appeals are
concluded because ordination "is too sacred to be put on like a suit
of clothes that I’m maybe going to have take off" later.
Hall said he would appeal to the Judicial Council should he ruling
go against the church.
Today’s venue, a windowless conference room in an airport hotel, was
a far cry from the wooded church retreat center where Stroud was
defrocked. Stroud had asked supporters to hold prayer vigils
elsewhere, and 18 were slated around the country this week.
Read More
Lesbian minister's attorney: Church prefers secrecy to honesty
Lesbian pastor challenges her defrocking by the Methodist church
Centre Daily Times -
Centre County,PA,USA
Posted on Thu, Apr. 28,
2005
FOSTER KLUG
Associated Press
LINTHICUM, Md.
-
An advocate for a defrocked lesbian minister argued Thursday that
the United Methodist Church would have preferred she live in a
"cloak of silence" rather than be honest with her congregation.
<snip>
"It seems the church would have preferred her to be deceptive -
'Don't ask, don't tell,'" he said.
The ministerial counsel for the church, the Rev. Thomas Hall, called
the defense's argument "circular" and an attempt to cloud the
meaning of church law: "The United Methodist Church does not condone
the practice of homosexuality and considers it incompatible with
Christian teaching."
<snip>
Hall added, "This trial is not about how good we are at ministry.
It's really about a good person who has stepped over the line and
contested the boundaries."
As she left the hearing, Stroud said, "The church is harmed when it
loses the gifts of gay and lesbian people who could be serving it
fairly."
Fred Day, the head minister at the First United Methodist Church of
Germantown, where Stroud has kept the title of associate minister
but now works in a lay capacity, said a prayer vigil was to be held
at the church during the hearing.
Stroud has explained her decision to come out, even though she knew
she'd be defrocked, by saying: "If I believe that God created me
this way and God called me into the ministry knowing I was a
lesbian, then I had no choice but to publicly embrace myself the way
I am."
<snip>
Stroud said that when she was ordained in 1997, she wasn't in
violation of church law. Even though she knew she was a lesbian, she
wasn't in a relationship.
"I fell in love," she said. "It took me by surprise."
Read More
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UM ACTION:
IRD NEWS RELEASE
The Institute on Religion and Democracy
April 28, 2005
Contact: John
Lomperis 202-969-8430
STROUD APPEAL WILL NOT CHANGE UNITED METHODIST TEACHINGS ON
HOMOSEXUALITY
The United Methodist spokesman for the IRD cautioned that whatever
the results of defrocked lesbian minister Beth Stroud’s appeal on
April 28, the church’s teachings about marriage and sex will remain
the same.
“Like the rest of Christianity, the United Methodist Church believes
its clergy are called to the highest level of personal conduct and
ethics,” said Mark Tooley of IRD’s UMAction program. “And like the
rest of Christianity, the United Methodist Church believes that sex
is God’s gift for heterosexual marriage.”
Stroud, a Philadelphia clergywoman, was defrocked at a United
Methodist Church trial last December after she publicly challenged
the denomination’s prohibition against homosexual practice. The
church’s clergy are expected to be celibate if single and monogamous
if married. Stroud has publicly announced she is in a sexual
relationship with another woman.
The United Methodist Church has 8.3 million members in the U.S. and
over 11 million around the world.
On April 28, the appeals committee of United Methodism’s Northeast
Jurisdiction will consider Stroud’s appeal in a hearing outside
Baltimore. The committee, which is chaired by an outspoken critic
of the church’s teachings about sexuality, could overturn the church
trial court’s verdict and sentence. If it does so, the case will
almost certainly go to the United Methodist Church’s Judicial
Council, which is the denomination’s top court. The Judicial
Council has been emphatic about enforcing United Methodist policies
on sexual behavior among clergy and almost certainly would affirm
the verdict and sentence imposed by the church trial court jury.
In its last decision on the topic of homosexuality, the Judicial
Council ruled last year that clergy found by a church trial court to
be practicing homosexuals may not be appointed to serve as United
Methodist pastors.
“Beth Stroud’s supporters have talked of a more ‘inclusive’ church
that rejects Christianity’s norms regarding sexual ethics,” Tooley
noted. “But those few denominations around that world that have
followed their advice, like the Episcopal Church in the United
States, have invariably suffered membership and spiritual decline.
Vibrant Christianity around the world is almost always orthodox in
its understanding of the faith.”
“It’s vital that United Methodism remain faithful to Christian
teachings and aligned with growing, international Christianity, and
not yield to the trends of secular American culture,” Tooley
concluded.
Tooley will be present at Stroud’s appeal hearing at the
Baltimore-Washington Airport Sheraton Hotel on Thursday. He can be
reached there at 703-409-4035.
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Pre-Trial Articles/News not included in previous
NIC VOICE
Updates:
Lesbian
Methodist minister challenges her defrocking
NEPA News - PA,USA
By
FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer, The Associated Press April 27,
2005
…Now, as she prepares to appeal the December ruling that she
violated the United Methodist Church's law against "self-avowed
practicing homosexuals" in the clergy, she says that what she didn't
predict, or fully understand, was the hate mail her story would
generate, often from fellow Christians who called her relationship
with her partner "an abomination against God."
"They say it's sick ... that a person like me has no right to serve
in any way in a church," Stroud, 35, says on the eve of her appeal
Thursday. "I lose sleep over it. They're talking about my life with
my partner, which is one of the most sacred things that I know. It
hurts and it feels very personal."
Stroud says she's tried to balance the negative with what she
believes to be true: that God made her a lesbian; that God called
her to the ministry; and that to deny either fact would be to betray
God.
Stroud explains her decision to come out, even though she knew she'd
be defrocked, like this: "If I believe that God created me this way
and God called me into the ministry knowing I was a lesbian, then I
had no choice but to publicly embrace myself the way I am."
The United Methodist Church accepts gay and lesbian ministers as
long as they are celibate. But when Stroud publicly announced her
sexuality, her bishop was forced to start the defrocking process,
said The Rev. Thomas Hall, a church attorney.
Methodist law is "very, very clear on homosexuality being
incompatible with Christianity," Hall said. "The point here is did a
person violate the covenant that we currently have _ not if we agree
or disagree with it."
Stroud's appeal will be heard at a hotel near Baltimore-Washington
International Airport. The panel hopes to have a decision by Friday.
Read More
From:
"umcornet" <umcornet@...>
Date:
Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:25 pm
Subject: Update from Beth Stroud and Chris Paige
umcornet
From
www.bethstroud.info...
Beth recently spoke at the Princeton University Chapel and we've
posted her sermon, which might be of interest to you. You'll find
that link on the sermons page (http://www.bethstroud.info/sermons.shtml).
We've also added a new FAQ with links to articles by other family
members ( http://bethstroud.info/faq.php )
Since Beth has asked for folks to show their support during the
appeal hearing by being in prayer for the church, within your own
community, we've also created a page listing the vigils that we are
aware of at this time ( http://bethstroud.info/appeal.php ). Please
let us know if you are hosting an event which should be added to the
list! We'd also be glad to share prayers and liturgical resources
that you are preparing for that day. Such resources may be of
particular use to individuals who are not able to attend a
collective vigil. Please send to chris@...
Meanwhile, the appeal hearing will be held on Thursday, April 28,
2005. The Northeast Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals will go
directly into deliberations at the conclusion of the hearing. The
Committee is expected to present their decision either Thursday or
Friday. Unlike the trial, we don't anticipate much in the way of
developing news prior to the final decision. The proceedings will be
limited to legal arguments about church law, presented in writing
and by the respective counselors. Deliberations will be in private.
So we don't anticipate further updates until that process is
concluded by the Committee on Appeals.
Thank you once again for all the love and support folks have sent
our way through this extended process. We have truly felt the impact
of so many prayers sustaining us thus far. So please keep praying
for us in the coming weeks as the appeal is heard -- prayers for the
healing of the church and the movement of the Spirit.
Prayerfully,
Chris and Beth
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News Updates Previously Released by
NIC VOICE
Regarding Beth Stroud Trial:
Pre-Trial Updates (posted at the NIC VOICE Forum at Faithful
Christian Laity)
Collection of Trial and Appeal Press Reports at Beth Stroud’s Web
Site
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