Amazing Grace Under FireAmazing Grace Under FireReflections from the Opening Day--December 1, 2004
For Immediate Release, December 8, 2004
"We are without power." The words of Bishop Yeakel seemed a clear metaphor for what many of us were feeling as we sat in the dark and cold gymnasium waiting for the backup generator to be connected so that the trial could begin.
The jury selection was completed. We had been informed that anyone who could not, according to their conscience, "uphold the order and discipline of the church" as it is currently written in The Book of Discipline had been dismissed from the pool. No conscientious objectors allowed; conscientious assenters welcomed! When acting as the Church of Jesus Christ, how can one be mandated to set aside conscience in a matter which may involve a higher sense of morality than the rule book reflects? Should we remind ourselves that The Book of Discipline is not the inspired word of God? It is a record of a simple majority of many votes at General Conference, a mere snapshot in time.
In his opening statement, the prosecuting counsel for the Church evoked the image of a boundary line. He explained that the Reverend Beth Stroud has crossed that boundary line and must be held accountable to the "sacred trust" of The Book of Discipline and her covenant with her United Methodist clergy colleagues. "That boundary line is not to be debated here," he solemnly intoned. "The General Conference is where that boundary line is set."
Boundaries set at General Conference are not disembodied, theoretical standards. Ideally, they are guidelines for living our lives as faithful people. The legislation from General Conference has to be lived out and tested every day in real people's lives. The Book of Discipline itself states that we as United Methodists "do not see the Discipline as sacrosanct or infallible, but we do consider it a document suitable to our heritage" ("Episcopal Greetings," p. v).
John Wesley, the father of Methodism, knew the danger of getting caught in what Beth's Stroud's defense counsel called a "maze of theological codification." What seems on the surface to be clear-cut was always subject to a deeper analysis in light of Wesley's experience of the Holy Spirit. The defense counsel gave the example of Wesley's reflection on 1 Corinthians 14:34. John Wesley allowed for an exception to the seemingly straightforward prohibition of women speaking and teaching in church because he had experienced the preaching of women who were undeniably "under the extraordinary impulse of the Holy Spirit."
Beth Stroud is a United Methodist pastor who is under the extraordinary impulse of the Holy Spirit. All evidence we have seen and heard testifies to that. She is also, maybe incidentally, maybe by Divine Intention, a lesbian-- someone who God called to see the world through that lens of her own sexuality. She began what she called "a journey of truth-telling" with a letter to her congregation and her "Walking in the Light" sermon "which expresses how I have experienced the love of God and the grace of Jesus Christ in my own life as a lesbian."
When asked to share about her call to ministry, Beth included describing a time when she was working as a writer interviewing openly gay and lesbian pastors and rabbis for an article. As she was walking the streets of New York City, going from one interview to the next, she looked up at the church steeple ahead and heard an internal voice saying, "I don't want you to write about this, I want you to do it."
Why would she choose to return to the United Methodist Church in the Philadelphia area? She said that The United Methodist Church is home and the Philadelphia area is home, where she had been raised up in the church, the place where she was nurtured. It was here, at home, where she would have mentors.
Today, those who should have been Beth Stroud's mentors seemed more like the Pharisees. Their focus was the letter of the law rather than the Spirit of the law, of which Jesus spoke. Because she is a "self-avowed" homosexual, it was the "practicing" that needed to be proven.
Witnessing the prosecuting counsel's uncivilized inquisition into Beth and her partner's "genital sexual activity" (the poetic words of Judicial Council Decision #920) was nothing short of excruciating. Beth's response to those who were trespassing against her was nothing short of amazing grace under fire. She told the court that she and Chris do all kinds of things that other loving couples do, like work at their jobs, shop for groceries together, take care of the pets together,... and also "show our love sexually and with our bodies."
Repeatedly, the prosecuting side went back to her having always had the option of celibacy, implying that she had the option of claiming she was celibate. ("Don't ask, don't tell...") Offered "an out," Beth once again chose a fuller answer of honesty, according to her profound sense of integrity and her unwavering moral compass.
The first day ended with one of the jurors asking Beth why she had pleaded "not guilty" if she acknowledged the charges/specifications to be true. Beth explained that to plead "guilty" would be to say that she had violated sacred trust as an ordained pastor, and "I believe that I have not violated the sacred trust as an ordained United Methodist clergy person."
Beth Stroud is more than worthy of the United Methodist Church's sacred trust. She has entrusted to us her hope "that through my witness and the witness of the trial, people who are alienated from God because of their sexual orientation might hear the good news and come to a relationship with Jesus Christ."
Rev. Peggy R. Gaylord, Co-Spokesperson and Rev. Vivian R. Waltz, Chair of Communications
National Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns
Photos: 1. Beth Stroud (right) hugs her partner Chris Paige, following Stroud's conviction in a United Methodist clergy trial at Camp Innabah in Pughtown, Pa. Stroud was charged with violating church law by being a "self-avowed practicing homosexual." Stroud's ministerial credentials were revoked by the trial court. UMNS photo by Mike DuBose, 12/2/04 2. The Rev. Thomas Hall, counsel for the church, addresses the trial court (or jury) in the clergy trial of the Rev. Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud at Camp Innabah in Pughtown, Pa. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose, 12/2/04