Jimmy Creech: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Jimmy Creech 1992.jpg|thumb|alt=Jimmy is a tall man witth short gray hair. He's holding a small party plate and smiling toward someone off-camera.|Jimmy Creech after officiating a wedding in 1992]] |
[[File:Jimmy Creech 1992.jpg|thumb|alt=Jimmy is a tall man witth short gray hair. He's holding a small party plate and smiling toward someone off-camera.|Jimmy Creech after officiating a wedding in 1992]] |
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{{Portal|Biography|LGBT}} |
{{Portal|Biography|LGBT}} |
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'''James Edward Creech''' (born October 21, 1944)<ref name = Duke>{{cite news|url = https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/creechjimmy|title = Jimmy Creech papers, 1972-2014 and undated|website = [[Duke University Libraries]]|accessdate = September 7, 2024}}</ref> is an American former [[United Methodist Church]] minister who was [[Defrocking|defrocked]] for marrying same-sex couples in 1999.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/18/us/pastor-defrocked-for-holding-gay-marriage.html|title=Pastor Defrocked for Holding Gay Marriage|agency=Associated Press|date=November 18, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 3, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> |
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==Background and defrocking== |
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Creech graduated from [[Duke University]] in 1970 and began his career serving Methodist congregations in North Carolina.<ref name = Duke/> In 1984, he became active in gay rights advocacy when a congregant [[came out]] to him, in response to the United Methodist Church formally branding "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from becoming clergy.<ref name = Duke/><ref name = AP>{{cite news|url = https://apnews.com/article/united-methodists-lgbtq-bans-defrocked-clergy-9af681195e6621079422265f403b6453|title = United Methodists scrap their anti-gay bans. A woman who defied them seeks reinstatement as pastor|last1 = Crary|first1 = David|last2 = Meyer|first2 = Holly|last3 = Smith|first3 = Peter|work = [[Associated Press]]|date = May 15, 2024|accessdate = September 7, 2024}}</ref> |
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In 1996, he was appointed senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], where he performed a religious commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple.<ref name = Duke/> As such ceremonies were disallowed by the denomination, he was suspended and faced a defrocking trial, from which he was acquitted.<ref name = Duke/> He returned to North Carolina, where he performed another ceremony for a gay couple, leading to a second trial that ended with his defrocking.<ref name = Duke/> |
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==Activism== |
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| ⚫ | Afterward, Creech became a founding member of the [[North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality]], an interfaith [[same-sex marriage]] [[advocacy group]],<ref name="Durham">{{cite web| title=Unitarian Universalist fellowship to install minister| publisher=The Durham News| date=December 3, 2005| url=http://www.thedurhamnews.com/viewpoints/johnston/2005/story/915.html| access-date=May 17, 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129193224/http://www.thedurhamnews.com/viewpoints/johnston/2005/story/915.html| archive-date=January 29, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ncrc4me.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=6 |title=Steering Committee |access-date=June 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503032302/http://www.ncrc4me.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=6 |archive-date=May 3, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> co-author of the [[Dallas Principles]],<ref>[http://www.thedallasprinciples.org/The_Dallas_Principles/Authors.html Dallas Principles website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608043529/http://www.thedallasprinciples.org/The_Dallas_Principles/Authors.html |date=June 8, 2009 }}</ref> was a participant in the [[Marriage Equality Express]], and became Board Chairman of the North Carolina Social Justice Project,<ref>[http://www.ncsjp.org NCSJP website]</ref> a progressive policy and advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating inequality in North Carolina. |
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Creech appeared in ''[[A Union in Wait]]'', a 2001 [[SundanceTV|Sundance Channel]] documentary film about same-sex marriage. In 2007 Creech became the executive director of Faith In America, a non-profit organisation founded by Mitchell Gold, focused on educating people about religion-based bigotry.<ref>[http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/jimmy-creech/Content?oid=1201947 Jimmy Creech Facing up to faith-based bigotry ]</ref> |
Creech appeared in ''[[A Union in Wait]]'', a 2001 [[SundanceTV|Sundance Channel]] documentary film about same-sex marriage. In 2007 Creech became the executive director of Faith In America, a non-profit organisation founded by Mitchell Gold, focused on educating people about religion-based bigotry.<ref>[http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/jimmy-creech/Content?oid=1201947 Jimmy Creech Facing up to faith-based bigotry ]</ref> |
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Creech's memoir, ''Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church's Persecution of Lesbians and Gays''<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0822348853 Adam's Gift on Amazon]</ref> was published by [[Duke University Press]] in 2011. He was interviewed<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Meet_Jimmy_Creech.mp3/view |title=Meet Jimmy Creech — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC |website=wunc.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416080225/http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Meet_Jimmy_Creech.mp3/view |archive-date= |
Creech's memoir, ''Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church's Persecution of Lesbians and Gays''<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0822348853 Adam's Gift on Amazon]</ref> was published by [[Duke University Press]] in 2011. He was interviewed<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Meet_Jimmy_Creech.mp3/view |title=Meet Jimmy Creech — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC |website=wunc.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416080225/http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Meet_Jimmy_Creech.mp3/view |archive-date=April 16, 2011}} </ref> on ''[[The State of Things (radio show)|The State of Things]]'' on [[WUNC (FM)|WUNC]] on April 11, 2011, to discuss his new book. |
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In 2024, the United Methodist Church ended its bans on same-sex marriages and openly gay clergy, and pastors who were defrocked under the policies were allowed to apply for reinstatement. Creech said he was pleased by the move but did not seek reinstatement, saying that "I am not nor cannot be in pastoral ministry at this time in my life".<ref name = AP/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:1944 births]] |
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[[Category:21st-century American memoirists]] |
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[[Category:American LGBT rights activists]] |
[[Category:American LGBT rights activists]] |
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[[Category:American United Methodist clergy]] |
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[[Category:Duke University alumni]] |
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[[Category:LGBT and Protestantism]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Methodists from Nebraska]] |
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[[Category:Methodists from North Carolina]] |
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Revision as of 20:01, 7 September 2024
James Edward Creech (born October 21, 1944)[1] is an American former United Methodist Church minister who was defrocked for marrying same-sex couples in 1999.[2]
Background and defrocking
Creech graduated from Duke University in 1970 and began his career serving Methodist congregations in North Carolina.[1] In 1984, he became active in gay rights advocacy when a congregant came out to him, in response to the United Methodist Church formally branding "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from becoming clergy.[1][3]
In 1996, he was appointed senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, where he performed a religious commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple.[1] As such ceremonies were disallowed by the denomination, he was suspended and faced a defrocking trial, from which he was acquitted.[1] He returned to North Carolina, where he performed another ceremony for a gay couple, leading to a second trial that ended with his defrocking.[1]
Activism
Afterward, Creech became a founding member of the North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality, an interfaith same-sex marriage advocacy group,[4][5] co-author of the Dallas Principles,[6] was a participant in the Marriage Equality Express, and became Board Chairman of the North Carolina Social Justice Project,[7] a progressive policy and advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating inequality in North Carolina.
Creech appeared in A Union in Wait, a 2001 Sundance Channel documentary film about same-sex marriage. In 2007 Creech became the executive director of Faith In America, a non-profit organisation founded by Mitchell Gold, focused on educating people about religion-based bigotry.[8]
Creech's memoir, Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church's Persecution of Lesbians and Gays[9] was published by Duke University Press in 2011. He was interviewed[10] on The State of Things on WUNC on April 11, 2011, to discuss his new book.
In 2024, the United Methodist Church ended its bans on same-sex marriages and openly gay clergy, and pastors who were defrocked under the policies were allowed to apply for reinstatement. Creech said he was pleased by the move but did not seek reinstatement, saying that "I am not nor cannot be in pastoral ministry at this time in my life".[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Jimmy Creech papers, 1972-2014 and undated". Duke University Libraries. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ "Pastor Defrocked for Holding Gay Marriage". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 18, 1999. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ^ a b Crary, David; Meyer, Holly; Smith, Peter (May 15, 2024). "United Methodists scrap their anti-gay bans. A woman who defied them seeks reinstatement as pastor". Associated Press. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ "Unitarian Universalist fellowship to install minister". The Durham News. December 3, 2005. Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
- ^ "Steering Committee". Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ Dallas Principles website Archived June 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NCSJP website
- ^ Jimmy Creech Facing up to faith-based bigotry
- ^ Adam's Gift on Amazon
- ^ "Meet Jimmy Creech — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC". wunc.org. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011.
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