Former pastor supports inclusion of same-sex marriages
After performing a same-sex wedding, Jimmy Creech was stripped of his privileges as a United Methodist pastor.
Creech recalled this and his other experiences as a civil rights activist when he spoke at Syracuse University on Thursday and Friday. His talks were titled ‘Free to Love Without Fear: Defying the Church’s Persecution of LGBT People.’
Creech made national news in the late 1990s when his denomination tried him twice for blessing same-sex unions.
In September 1997, Creech performed a marriage between two women. A United Methodist church trial court did not convict him because the by-laws at the time left discretionary powers to the individual clergy.
In April 1999, Creech co-officiated a marriage service for two men. By this time, the church by-laws had been changed to forbid same-sex services. A United Methodist church trial court convicted him and removed his clergy credentials in November that year.
Despite his loss of credentials, Creech continues to advocate the inclusion of same-sex unions with the church.
Creech recently released the book ‘Adam’s Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays,’ which documented his journey as an advocate for the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United Methodist church, as well as churches overall.
While at SU, Creech talked about when he first met Adam, a gay parishioner, and Adam’s struggle with the church’s exclusion of gay and lesbian people.
‘Adam came to me in pain, saying he was leaving the church, he could no longer tolerate the persecution by the church,’ Creech said. ‘He’s told that God’s love is unconditional, but that if you’re queer, you’re going to hell. That day Adam opened my eyes. Now my goal is to help people understand themselves and accept themselves spiritually.’
Adam’s visit with Creech prompted Creech to re-evaluate his belief of homosexuality as a sin and to research the scriptural basis for the church’s position.
Creech said he concluded the church was wrong and that scriptural interpretations had been imprecise in the past. As a Christian, Creech came to believe that discriminating against LGBT people was morally wrong.
Creech said all of his justifications were defended with scripture.
‘There have been a lot of things that the church has justified, but that we’re not proud of,’ Creech said. ‘The church has justified slavery, segregation, the subservient role of women, the domination of Native Americans, how is this any different?’
Hendricks Chapel, the Carnegie Religion and Media Program, the LGBT Resource Center, Pride Union and the University United Methodist Church sponsored the talks by Creech.
Tiffany Steinwert, dean of Hendricks Chapel, said she and the other organizers hope the events will inspire discussion beyond just the communities of faith about inclusion and exclusion.
‘I feel privileged to have him here. For us at Hendricks, it’s a chance to bring students and the community together for one of the biggest contemporary issues,’ Steinwert said. ‘I fully support the inclusion of gay, lesbian and transgender lifestyle in the church.’
Erich Dittmar, a senior landscape architecture major, attended a luncheon Friday at Hendricks, where Creech spoke to a group of about 15 people.
‘Creech made a lot of good points that are relevant to today’s society,’ Dittmar said. ‘It seems like the church tries to make people choose between living your life or having faith with God.’
Published on April 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm
