Forced from her ministry for being a lesbian, the new foster mother still preaches.

Some things about the life of Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud remain the same since she came out as a lesbian and was stripped of her ministerial credentials.

Stroud, of Mount Airy, still stands in the pulpit and preaches Sunday sermons at First United Methodist Church of Germantown. She still visits the sick and leads the youth group.

She does all those things, however, without the title of "the Reverend" next to her name. Her robes and colorful stoles hang in a closet. And she no longer presides when sacraments such as Communion and baptism are observed.

Stroud, 36, is fashioning a new role in between. It is one that includes a growing list of speaking engagements, thoughts of writing about her experiences - and motherhood. Stroud and her partner, Chris Paige, became the parents of a baby foster daughter within a month of the final decision in Stroud's case.

"It's just so rich," Stroud says of parenting.

Her new role as a mother to a baby with special medical needs leaves Stroud little time for anger over the denomination ruling. For the most part, she says, "I just don't have the time or energy for it."

"I want to be focused on what God is calling me to do next, and the baby is just so delightful."

Stroud is currently the associate lay minister at First United Methodist Church of Germantown, known as FUMCOG. She was stripped of her credentials last October for violating the denomination's ban on non-celibate gay clergy. She will soon be replaced by a full-time ordained associate, but the church is currently trying to develop a part-time lay ministry post for her.

See Adjusting to new roles in her church and her life
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA -