Executive Committee,
MFSA, Oregon-Idaho Chapter
Statement on the Conviction OfRev. Beth Stroud
December 3, 2004
In
is with deep disappointment, sorrow, and regret that we received the
news of the conviction of and the removal
of the credentials
of the Rev. Beth Stroud by a trial court of her peers.
We respectfully disagree with presiding judge Bishop Joseph Yeakel_s
decision
not to
allow defense witnesses to present their case that the
ban on gays and lesbians in ministry contradicts the United Methodist
Church_s
own legal
principles.
Throughout its nearly one hundred year history, the Methodist
Federation for Social Action in many different contexts
and circumstances, has stood for justice within the (now) United Methodist
Church and the
culture within which the church lives and ministers. Within
that tradition, as the Oregon-Idaho Chapter of MFSA, we deplore the
ban on gays and lesbians
in ministry in the United Methodist Church as a sin against
God_s creation. We are deeply dismayed with winds of repression and
prejudice against
LGBT persons that are sweeping across the nation in many
different forms.
In the effort to support the ban on LGBT persons within
the United Methodist Church, the Bible is being used, as
it has in the past,
to support the narrow views, prejudices, and cultural biases
of those who support the status quo, even and especially
as it pertains to those who have been marginalized by the Church
and society.
We call for a fresh and informed reading and interpretation
of Scripture as the
Word of God contained within a human document, written
by human beings who were moved by the Holy Spirit, while
being influenced and affected,
as are we, by the belief systems of their times. Then the
Wesleyan principles of tradition, reason, and experience
will be allowed to flow freely, informing our minds while warming and
transforming our
hearts.
We pray for Beth Stroud and her partner, Chris Paige. We
call the people of the United Methodist Church to a time
of soul-searching prayer and repentance on behalf of the entire Church.
Chuck
Cooper, President
On behalf of the entire Executive Committee
MFSA, Oregon-Idaho Chapter