Dear Friends,
Good morning. Do you remember the Germantown Methodist
case where an assistant pastor was defrocked of her credentials because she’d
admitted publicly that she was living in a lesbian relationship? I was
interested in the proceedings because Reverend David Ryan, the pastor of the
Homosexuality in the Christian clergy is a hot button
topic. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics prohibit their
pastors and priests from serving if they publicly acknowledge their
homosexuality. The Episcopal Church permits it although the elevation of V.
Gene Robinson to be the Bishop of New Hampshire has threatened to split the
church in two. He is gay. Lutherans, United Church of Christ and the Universal
Unitarians also allow homosexual pastors.
Last December’s church trial of Reverend Beth Stroud
ended in a guilty verdict (12-1) followed by the defrocking penalty (7 to 6).
“For years, gay members of the clergy in the [Methodist] denomination have
functioned under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy,” Laurie Goodstein wrote for
the New York Times (April 30). The
Stroud appealed the decision. Her counsel told the
appeals panel that Stroud had been convicted under an exclusionary church law
which is diametrically inconsistent with the mission of the United Methodist
Church…namely to be inclusive of all people regardless of race, gender, and
status.
In an 8 to 1 decision, the appeals court overturned the
original verdict because the Book of Discipline of the
“It was a very
clear case,” Reverend Ryan began as he spoke about the December trial. “We
weren’t allowed on the jury unless we could uphold the church discipline. When
confronted with the facts, it wasn’t a difficult decision,” he continued. “The
harder part was determining the penalty…to defrock or not.
“But the 7 to 6 vote [to defrock] wasn’t as divided as it
appeared,” Ryan added. “There was no disagreement about what she [Stroud] had
done. There was no denial from the defense. She knew it was against church
rules. The [December court] handled the case sensibly and respectfully.”
I asked Ryan whether he thought Methodists would change
the law in the future and permit homosexuals to serve in the clergy?
“I don’t know whether it [gay pastors] will be on the agenda for our summer
conference this year,” he replied, “But it could be brought up on the
floor.”
Will the national church define “practicing homosexual
and status?”
“If anything,” Ryan responded, “I think that the language
will be more restrictive, more definite. How could we make the language more
clear? I think it’s clear already.”
Was the appeal court’s decision correct? Ryan was
perplexed. “I don’t understand it,” he said. “It [the December verdict] was
overturned because of a legal error. The court wanted to be careful to all
sides.”
Meanwhile,
my Presbyterian friends think that this subject will appear when their synod
gathers next…maybe as early as this summer. But one thing seems very clear.
Just as the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy doesn’t work very well in the
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith