Twenty years ago, Beth Stroud was defrocked as a United Methodist Church pastor after telling her Philadelphia congregation that she was in a committed same-sex relationship. On Tuesday night, less than three weeks after the UMC repealed its anti-LGBTQ bans, she was reinstated.
In a closed meeting of clergy from the UMC’s Eastern Pennsylvania region, Stroud exceeded the two-thirds vote requirement to be readmitted as a full member and pastor in the UMC.
Bishop John Schol of Eastern Pennsylvania welcomed the outcome, stating, “I’m grateful that the church has opened up to LGBTQ persons.”
Stroud was brought into the meeting room after the vote, overcome with emotion.
I was completely disoriented,” she told The Associated Press via email. “For what felt like several minutes I couldn’t tell where the front of the room was, where I was, where I needed to go. Everyone was clapping and then they started singing. The bishop asked me quietly if I wanted to say anything and I said I couldn’t.”
Related articles:
Related suggestion:
How middleMonica Garcia's baby daddy revealed to be Braxton Knight, 29NZ to give $6m in humanitarian aid to Sudan and GazaHow middleHarry Styles and Niall Horan soak up the action at The Masters with the Love on Tour star watching 6Police build a case against Lego gang: Thieves steal $300,000 worth of highOn a wing and a prayer! Watch the nailEngineering student, 21, falls to his death from 120 foot waterfall while hiking through Big SurWeek in Politics: Tax cuts and a spoonful of sugarGeena Davis, 68, puts on a leggy display in thigh
3.0036s , 6497.7421875 kb
Copyright © 2024 Powered by Defrocked in 2004 for same ,Stellar Spectrum news portal