Gay Methodist Minister Defrocked

Judicial Council Finds Lesbian Incompatible With Church Teachings

(AP) 
Mark Tooley, program director for The Institute on Religion and Democracy, an advocacy group for conservative mainline Protestants, said he was not surprised by the ruling.

"The council has enforced the church's teachings on marriage and sexuality," he said, "and it looks like it will continue to do that even though some regional bodies will attempt to circumvent a clear meaning of church law."

Hall said the decision provides some relief for the church, but is "not the end of this whole conversation."

"An issue like this takes so much energy on both sides, and takes the focus off a lot of the great things the church is doing," Hall said. "This gives us some space so we can hopefully channel our energies into the great things we're doing." The UMC is the nation's third-largest denomination.

Stroud held a news conference Monday outside her church in Philadelphia and was joined by her partner, Chris Paige. The two recently celebrated the five-year anniversary of their commitment ceremony.

"We've spent about half of our married life in this judicial process. ... I'm just glad it's over," Paige said.

Stroud will continue as a lay staff member at her congregation, preaching, supervising children's and youth work and conducting pastoral visits. She told the congregation Sunday that she and Paige were applying to be foster parents.

Stroud said she would accept offers to speak at other churches that are open to homosexuals.

"I want to stay in relationship with people whose minds I might have an opportunity to change," she said. "We can't have any question or any denial about the fact that the United Methodist Church practices discrimination against gays and lesbian people."