A United Methodist minister in Philadelphia who is in an open relationship with another woman will face a church trial in December.
The trial will be to determine whether the relationship violates church law.
Thirty-four-year-old Reverend Elizabeth Stroud has been associate pastor of First United Methodist Church of Germantown since 1999. In April 2003, she told the congregation that she was a lesbian living in a "conventional relationship."
Church law forbids the ordination or appointment of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals." The church's highest legislative body reaffirmed the ban in May.
Stroud's congregation has declared support for her and set up a legal defense fund.
At Stroud's request, the trial will be open to the public. It will take place at Camp Innabah (ih-NAH'-bah), a Methodist camp and retreat center in Spring City, near Pottstown.