Beth Stroud, the lesbian minister made famous by her "coming out" sermon and consequent loss of title, spoke about her experiences last night at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.

About 50 students and community members attended the speech.

Stroud "came out" to her Germantown United Methodist congregation in April 2003, admitting that she was gay and in love with a woman.

In Dec. 2004, Stroud was tried and found guilty of engaging in "practices that are incompatible with Christian teachings" by a United Methodist Church trial court.

Although Stroud is still a staff member of her congregation, the court removed her title and powers as a reverend, such as the ability to administer sacraments.

Stroud said she risked losing her ministerial credentials in order to be her "whole self" and to take a stand against the church's strict doctrines.

"I knew if I had come out in a very public way, I could lose my job," she said, but added her action served a greater purpose. "The day I came out was one of the most wonderful, freeing, joyful days I had ever experienced."

Stroud said she found courage to come out and withstand the trial because she felt God had given her a vocation in life to openly express her sexuality to members of the Methodist Church.

"I knew God made me special and different from everybody," she said. "I knew God had some special purpose, ... a calling for me."

Stroud said she feels the church needs to accept gay preachers.

"The trial for me was not about winning or losing," she said. "It was about educating the church."

During a question-and-answer period, Stroud said she strongly believes the church will reverse its doctrine banning gay pastors in her lifetime.

"The church has been wrong before," she said, citing the church's acceptance of slavery in the 19th century as an example of how it has incorrectly justified its views with the Bible.

"I think, on this issue, the church will look back and have the same experience," Stroud said.

After the speech, students in the audience commented on Stroud's compelling story.

"I found her to be incredibly enlightening," Josh Brimmeier (junior-psychology) said, adding that he felt she was a strong voice for the gay community.

Leslie Heller (graduate-college student affairs) said she admired Stroud's ability to keep her faith and also accept her sexuality.

"It's good to see someone remaining faithful in religion," she said.

One student had a particularly unique view on Stroud's story.

Andrew Snover (sophomore-English) is a member of Stroud's congregation, and witnessed her "coming out" speech firsthand as a high school student.

"I've never seen how she presented herself to an audience who didn't know her [personally]," he said, but added that he felt the audience last night was an accepting one.

Although Stroud has lost her title as a Methodist minister, Snover said members of the Germantown congregation wear buttons that read: "Beth is my pastor."

"I think it could be a nationwide thing," he said. "She's a pretty amazing lady."