Rev. Jamie Stroud

Once-defrocked associate pastor Irene Elizabeth Stroud, center, is congratulated by her mother, Jamie Stroud, right, and her partner's mother, Carol Paige, after being reinstated Friday in Linthicum, Md. (Chris Gardner/The Associated Press )
...
For Stroud, 35, the decision was a victory that could prove temporary.In theory, she could immediately put on her clerical vestments and resume her duties as an associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, a liberal parish in Philadelphia.But she said she would not do so, because she expects her bishop to appeal the case to the church's highest court, the Judicial Council, and will wait for its decision. "To me, ordination is something very sacred and very holy, and to take it up, knowing that I might need to lay it down again, would feel like trivializing," she said.
...
Stroud was the first minister to go on trial for homosexuality since the church tightened its rules.She has publicly acknowledged on numerous occasions, including an April 27, 2003, sermon to her congregation, that she is living in a "committed, covenanted" relationship with another woman. Last December, a jury of 13 fellow ministers voted to remove her credentials as a minister.

The mother of Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, Jamie Stroud, left, is hugged Rev. Stroud's partner Chris Paige following the reading of the penalty verdict at Rev. Stroud's trial in Pughtown, Pa., Thursday.
...
It then voted 7-6 to defrock Stroud, the bare majority necessary in the penalty phase of the trial, though her supportive congregation in Philadelphia has said Stroud can continue performing most of her duties.

"I did not go into this trial expecting to win," Stroud said."I went into it knowing it would be a painful moment in the life of the United Methodist Church."

Stroud hasn't decide whether to appeal the verdict, which she can do at any point in the next 30 days.
...
Stroud said she was saddened by the verdict, but also saw it as a teaching moment that showed how divided her denomination is over homosexuality.
...
The senior pastor of Stroud's church, the Rev. Alfred Day III, attempted to raise a similar issue when he took the stand, saying "I believe that even the testimony of Scripture is far from clear on this subject."

"We have more muddle than clarity," he said.
...
The basic facts in the case were never in dispute, since Stroud had declared she was gay.

The only two defense witnesses to be called were Day and the senior pastor who supervised her in West Chester, Pa.Both lavishly praised her performance in preaching, teaching and pastoral work.Hall agreed with that assessment.

Stroud's Philadelphia congregation has already agreed that she can continue doing her work as a lay employee without clergy status.However, she will be unable to celebrate baptism or Communion.