Lesbian UMC pastor faces tough trial Irene Beth Stroud
Three months after the United Methodist Church tightened its rules against “self-avowed, practicing” gay clergy, a lesbian pastor in Philadelphia will face trial after disclosing her sexual orientation.
Irene “Beth” Stroud, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church of Germantown since 1999, “came out” last year in a sermon, saying she had lived “in a covenant relationship” with her partner, Chris Paige, for more than two years.