Stroud could be defrocked if she loses the trial, expected to begin Dec. 1 with a closed-door selection of 13 jurors from regional clergy.
Stroud says she realized she was a lesbian while attending Bryn Mawr College. After graduating from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, she was ordained and assigned in 1999 as associate pastor of Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church of Germantown.
Two years later, Stroud held a "covenant ceremony" with Chris Paige at Paige's Tabernacle United Church in Philadelphia, which is affiliated with both the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and United Church of Christ.
Stroud notified her Germantown congregation of the relationship in a sermon on April 27, 2003.
