The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, a former assistant pastor at First United Methodist Church in Germantown, Pa., was expelled from the clergy after a jury of Methodist ministers convicted her of breaking church law by living openly as a lesbian, the Washington Post reports. Stroud's "coming out" sermon and legal struggle were captured by The Congregation, a doc by Alan and Susan Raymond scheduled to air on PBS on Dec. 29.

Joan Ganz Cooney, creator of Sesame Street, will discuss "The Evolution and Signifiance of Sesame Street" at a Smithsonian lecture hall in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8. $20 for the general public.