wfn.org | UMNS# 04420-Bishop orders new hearing, vote in Beth Stroud case

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Bishop orders new hearing, vote in Beth Stroud case 

Sep. 16, 2004	 News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New
York {04420}

NOTE: A photo and other related resources are available at
http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=2&mid=5682.

By the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (UMNS) - A new hearing has been ordered in the case of a
Philadelphia pastor facing a church trial after publicly declaring she lives
in a committed lesbian relationship. United Methodist church law bars the
ordination of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals." 

Retired Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel, named earlier this month to oversee the case
of the Rev. Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud, said he ordered the new hearing
after reviewing the transcript of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference's
Committee on Investigation's deliberation of case. 

In a Sept. 9 letter to the committee's chairperson, the Rev. Kent E. Kroehler
of Lancaster, Yeakel said the committee's 5-3 vote on July 23 to file a
charge against Stroud did not meet requirements of both church law and
rulings of the denomination's top court, the Judicial Council. 

Yeakel said the committee erred by considering laypeople as voting members of
the committee. "Two of those members were laypersons who were counted in the
quorum," the bishop wrote. He noted the Judicial Council ruled in May 2000
that laypeople "do not have the voting rights and parity with clergy
members." The result was the committee lacked an official quorum in which to
take action. Church law contained in the denomination's Book of Discipline
says seven people constitute a quorum. 

The bishop also declared the committee "was not properly constituted to adopt
either the charge or specifications" in the case against Stroud, who serves
as associate pastor of First United Methodist Church of Germantown. Yeakel
said a statement from members of the committee, supporting the specification
in the case but against bringing a charge, is contrary to an October 2003
Judicial Council decision stemming from a Washington state case.

In the statement, three clergy members of the committee indicated, "We do not
believe that a self-avowed, practicing homosexual clergyperson in a
monogamous, committed relationship engages in practices incompatible with
Christian teachings." Yeakel told Kroehler that the Judicial Council ruling
requires members "unwilling to uphold the Discipline for reasons of
conscience ... to step aside."
 
The bishop asked Kroehler to "inventory the present members of the committee
on investigation on their willingness to serve, meeting the requirements of
the Discipline in conformance with the Judicial Council's ruling." If that
inventory reduces the number of members below what is necessary for a quorum,
then additional members should be appointed, Yeakel wrote. 

Reached for comment, Stroud had no direct response to the latest development.
"I'm in good spirits and just trying to be faithful as a pastor and a
Christian," she told UMNS. "Nobody ever said it would be easy." 

The committee on investigation received the complaint against Stroud from
Bishop Peter D. Weaver, who presided over the annual conference until Aug.
31. He is now bishop in Boston. Bishop Marcus Matthews leads the Eastern
Pennsylvania Conference as part of the Philadelphia Area.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

The following is the letter sent by Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel to the Rev. Kent
E. Kroehler:
 
September 9, 2004 

Dear Dr. Kroehler, 

Pursuant to our recent conversation, I am informing you that as the Presiding
Officer for the trial of the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, I am nullifying the
recent Bill of Charges and Specifications adopted by the Eastern Pennsylvania
Conference Committee on Investigation and remanding it to the Committee on
Investigation for rehearing and decision. 

In accordance with The Book of Discipline, paragraph 2708.11, I have
consulted with the Counsel for the Church and the Counsel for the Respondent
indicating my decision. 

My reasons for doing this are as follows: 

1. The transcript of the meeting of the Committee on Investigation indicates
that the committee did not have the necessary voting members present as
required by The Discipline, paragraph 2703.2, which reads as follows: "Seven
members or alternates seated as members of the committee shall constitute a
quorum." 

a. While the transcript indicates that eight members of the committee were
present, two of those members were lay persons who were counted in the
quorum. Though the committee may have acted on the presumption that these lay
persons had the right to vote, I call your attention to the Judicial Council
Memorandum No. 887 which reads: "Lay persons serving on an Annual Conference
Committee on Investigation of a clergy member of an Annual Conference do not
have the voting rights and parity with clergy members . . ." (May 10, 2000). 

b. As a result, the committee is left with only six voting members which does
not meet the quorum requirement. 

2. The vote of the Committee on Investigation to sustain the Specifications
as a Bill of Charge(s) was recorded as five in favor and three against. 

a. There follows a statement which reads, "Statement from those who voted for
the specification but against bringing a charge passed on the specification:
'We do not believe that a self-avowed, practicing homosexual clergyperson in
a monogamous, committed relationship engages in practices incompatible with
Christian teachings.'" 

i. Upon inquiry, you indicated that these three persons were themselves
clergy persons, raising the question as to their ability to serve on the
Committee on Investigation. 

ii. The Judicial Council, Decision No. 980 of October 24, 2003, speaks to
this issue as follows: "Should members of the (Annual) Conference Committee
on Investigation be unwilling to uphold The Discipline for reasons of
conscience or otherwise, such members must step aside in this matter and
either alternate members or others who are willing to uphold The Discipline
must be appointed to the Committee to enable it to complete its
responsibility." 

b. The Committee on Investigation, therefore, was not properly constituted to
adopt either the Charge or Specifications. 

I request that you inventory the present members of the Committee on
Investigation as to their willingness to serve, meeting the requirements of
The Discipline in conformance with the Judicial Council's ruling that those
"unwilling to uphold The Discipline for reasons of conscience or otherwise"
must step aside. I further request that responses to this inventory be placed
in writing. 

Should such inventory reduce the number of members on the Committee below
that necessary for a quorum, please communicate with Bishop Marcus Matthews
and me so that the necessary persons can be appointed for a quorum. 

When the Committee on Investigation is properly constituted, you are
authorized to begin the work of the Committee on Investigation on the
rehearing of the investigation of the Complaint brought against the Rev.
Irene Elizabeth Stroud. 
If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to communicate with me. 

Grace and Peace, 

Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel, 
Presiding Officer 

********************

United Methodist News Service
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