Defrocked again.

United Methodist minister Beth Stroud has learned a lot about acceptance and rejection. After revealing in 2003 that she was in a same-sex relationship, she was defrocked by a church court, then reinstated by an appeals committee, and then finally defrocked again by the church's highest court on October 31. "We are a long way from the inclusive church that we are capable of being," she said after the ruling. "But we'll get there in time, and I hope to continue to be a part of creating that change."

Stroud, 35, who lives with her partner of five years, Chris Paige, will continue to serve as a lay minister at Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church of Germantown. And shell be busy at home. "While all of this has been going on, my partner and I have been pursuing certification as foster parents," she said. "Were expecting placement of a child in our home in December."