HOUSTON — A lesbian minister from Philadelphia goes before the United Methodists’ highest court later this month in a rare case that underscores the controversy over homosexuality in the church.

A jury of 13 fellow ministers convicted the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, 35, associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, of “practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings” in December for living in a committed relationship with another woman; by a vote of 7-6, the jurors then stripped Stroud of her credentials. An appeals committee overturned the verdict and threw out the penalty in April, saying the church had committed grave legal errors in the case.

The church appealed the decision to the Judicial Council, the United Methodists’ rough equivalent to the U.S. Supreme Court. The council will hear arguments from both sides Oct. 27 in Houston and is expected to rule within a week. 

The Judicial Council has heard only 12 other trial appeals since 1940.

Stroud was 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 2004, 13 ordained United Methodists acquitted the Rev. Karen Dammann of Ellensburg, Wash., saying the church had not specifically declared homosexuality to be incompatible with Christian teaching despite a ban on the ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals.” Without overturning the Dammann verdict, the Judicial Council later 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 appeals committee addressed the phrase “practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings” in Stroud’s case. The committee agreed with Stroud’s team that the phrase constitutes a doctrine under United Methodist law because it makes a pronouncement about the essence of Christianity. The United Methodist Church requires a constitutional amendment or an explicit declaration to add a new doctrine to church law. Neither has occurred. 

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The appeals committee also noted that the Judicial Council in previous rulings has found two terms used in Stroud’s case — “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” and “status” — vague and has ordered the General Conference, the church’s rough equivalent to the U.S. Congress, to explicitly define them. The conference, which meets every four years, has failed for almost a decade to follow the council’s orders. This failure, the appeals committee said, robbed Stroud of due process in the case.

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

The congregation of almost 1,000 at the 210-year-old First United Methodist Church of Germantown has shown virtually universal support for Stroud, setting up a legal fund for her defense. Long known for social activism, the church belongs to the United Methodist movement Reconciling Ministries Network, which advocates the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in church life. A PBS documentary that aired Dec. 29 focused 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, the third largest in the United States. 

The Rev. Jim Hallam, minister at Lima United Methodist Church in Lima, Pa., and Alan Symonette, an attorney who serves as a lay leader at Stroud’s church, will represent Stroud before the Judicial Council. The Rev. Tom Hall and attorney Robert Shoemaker Jr. will argue for the church. 

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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