Thanks for taking our survey. Should Gay Clergy Be Allowed To Practice? Should gay clergy be allowed to practice? Yes. No. Not sure.

Captain Bob Woolverton says they were taken to Bothell Municipal Court. Under a pre-arranged agreement they are paying a fine of $250 each for criminal trespass and being released.

The protesters cooperated with police and walked onto a bus after initially refusing orders to move out of the way of a bishop.

Members of the group "Soulforce" san "We shall overcome" and carried signs saying "All God's children are perfect."

Video: Demonstrators Gather At Site Of Lesbian Minister Trial

United Methodist officials said the trial would be the first against a homosexual pastor in the denomination since 1987, when the credentials of the Rev. Rose Mary Denman of New Hampshire were revoked.

In an unusual move, the proceedings will be open to the public by Dammann's choice, said Larry Fox of Reconciling Ministries Network, a group favoring inclusion of gays and lesbians in the United Methodist church.

Dammann, on leave as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ellensburg, 95 miles east of Seattle, disclosed three years ago while holding a church position in Seattle that she was living in a "covenanted homosexual relationship" with another woman.

She is charged with "practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible to Christian teachings." Church law prohibits ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals, although the church's social principles support rights and liberties for homosexuals.

The trial jury consists of 13 pastors selected from a pool appointed by Pacific Northwest regional church leaders with retired Bishop William Boyd Grove of West Virginia presiding.

"Clearly the jury has to look at this prohibition and decide if it's consistent with the rest of our Methodist rules and with the Bible," said Lindsay Thompson, Dammann's lawyer. "There are people who passionately believe both sides of that issue."

Nine votes are needed for conviction, which would be followed by a decision by the same jury on a penalty that could include loss of ministry. If Dammann is acquitted, she would be considered in good standing and be available for new assignments.

The United Methodist clergy of the Pacific Northwest Conference voted to retain Dammann, but the Judicial Council of the Nashville, Tenn.-based denomination reversed that decision last fall.

In its ruling, the council said it was "an egregious error" not to pursue charges and Bishop Elias G. Galvan of Seattle was directed to file a complaint.

During 18 months of investigative committee hearings that ended in January, Dammann said her relationship includes sexual contact.

"We accept the gift of sexuality as God-given and holy," she said, according to defense papers released by Reconciling Ministries.

Last week, Dammann married her partner of nine years, Meredith Savage, in Portland, Ore., where Multnomah County officials began allowing gay marriages earlier this month. The couple has a 5-year-old son.

Since the late 1980s, Pacific Northwest church leaders have petitioned to ease policies on homosexuality at each of the denomination's General Conferences, held every four years. During past international General Conferences, most attendees have opposed change.