A jury of United Methodist Church ministers will rule on charges that the Rev. Jimmy Creech disobeyed United Methodist Church rules when he performed a unity ceremony for two of his female parishioners. Rev. Loren Ekdahl said that the ceremony was an “unauthorized ritual conducted as if it were an official rite of the church.”
Creech responded, “These two women are members of [my church] and I was responding to them as a pastor, to give them pastoral care … [the ceremony was] a celebration of two people’s commitment of love and fidelity to one another.”
The trial marks the first time the Methodist Church has pressed charges against a minister for performing a same-sex marriage. If found guilty, Creech could lose all his ministerial credentials. Rev. Creech has vowed to perform similar ceremonies if reinstated.
Feminist News Stories on Same-Sex Marriage
