A lesbian Methodist minister was defrocked yesterday after being found guilty by an ecclesiastical court of violating a church law that bars its clergy from being practicing homosexuals.
A jury of 13 clergy from the United Methodist Church voted 12-1 that Rev Irene Elizabeth Stroud had violated the church's Book of Discipline that says homosexuality is incompatible with being a minister.
The jury then voted 7-6 to withdraw Rev Stroud's ministerial credentials at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia.
The decision came after a two-day public trial - only the third in the history of the United Methodist Church - in which Rev Stroud, associate pastor at the church, was accused of violating church law by being an "a self-avowed practicing homosexual".
After the court's decision, Rev Stroud said the close decision of the jury on the penalty showed how divided the church was on the issue of homosexuality.
"I feel a lot of sadness but I also feel hope for the future of the church," she said. "I feel that this is a teaching moment for the church."
During an April, 2003 sermon, Rev Stroud told her congregation that she was living in a committed relationship with another woman. She declined to practice celibacy or transfer to another, more tolerant denomination, and decided to be open about her sexuality.