wfn.org | Creech Trial: Questions & Answers

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CONTACT: 	Thomas S. McAnally
(10-21-28-71B){139}
	    	Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	 March 10, 1998

Creech Trial: Questions & Answers

Questions and answers about the trial of the Rev. Jimmy Creech, March
11-13, 1998, Kearney, Neb. Prepared by United Methodist News Service.
Check United Methodist Communications' World Wide Web site for ongoing
coverage: http//www.umc.org  

What is a church trial?

A trial is considered the "last resort" in the settlement of disputes
between an individual clergyperson and the church.  Trials are uncommon
in the church. No statistics are kept on the number of church trials in
the denomination, but they are rare. Most cases are settled before the
scheduled trial.  

The format of a church trial is much like that in the public courts with
certain significant differences.

Clergy trials are conducted by the annual (regional) conference in which
a person has his/her clergy membership.  In the case of the Rev. Jimmy
Creech, it is the Nebraska Conference.

The jury consists of 13 persons, all clergy members of the Nebraska
Conference. Members of the jury are chosen much like in a public court,
where counselors for the defendant (respondent) and the plaintiff
(church) have four turn-downs each in the selection process from a pool
of 35 potential jurors.

One significant difference between a church and public trial is the
number of votes needed for conviction. Church trials require nine of 13
votes for conviction.

The defendant or "respondent" and the church are represented by counsel,
who are clergy members of the conference. Each can also have an attorney
as assistant counsel, but that person may not speak during the trial.

A bishop from another annual conference presides at a trial.  In the
Creech trial, the presiding officer will be retired Bishop Leroy Hodapp,
Evansville, Ind., who has presided over five church trials during his
career.

When will the trial of the Rev. Jimmy Creech begin and end?

Selection of jurors will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 11.  When
deliberation will begin or when the trial will end is not known.
Originally, dates announced for the trial were March 11-13.

What is unique or significant about this trial?

This will be the first challenge to the action taken by delegates to the
1996 General Conference regarding same-sex unions and will test the
status of the denomination's Social Principles.  

Are church trials open to observers?

Trials are closed to the media and observers unless the respondent files
a request with the presiding officer to open the trial. The Creech trial
will be open to media and observers.

Where will the trial be held?

It will be at First United Methodist Church, Kearney, Neb., a community
of 19,000 near the middle of the state. Kearney is 186 miles west of
Omaha on Interstate 80.

Why is the Rev. Jimmy Creech on trial?

He performed a covenanting service at his church -- First United
Methodist Church in Omaha -- on Sept. 14 for two women against the
advice of Nebraska Bishop Joel Martinez and the expressed position of
the 1996 General Conference delegates.

The delegates had voted 553 to 321 to insert into the church's Social
Principles the following statement:  "Ceremonies that celebrate the
homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not
be conducted in our churches." One issue that will undoubtedly be raised
at the Creech trial is the status of the Social Principles.  More
specifically, are the Social Principles "law"?

Ten charges for which a clergyperson can be tried are outlined in the
denomination's Book of Discipline. The specific charge against Creech is
"disobedience to the Order and Discipline of the United Methodist
Church."

What is Creech's status now?  

He has been suspended with pay as pastor of First Church in Omaha since
Nov. 10. Although he is not gay, Creech began championing gay rights and
working to get homosexuals included as full participants in the life of
the United Methodist Church "after the 1984 General Conference passed
rhetoric against homosexuals," he told United Methodist News Service.  

What might happen at the trial?

At one end of the spectrum of possibilities, he could be acquitted and
returned as pastor of First Church. At the other end, he could have his
ministerial credentials removed, which would prohibit him from
performing ministerial functions such as administering the sacraments
(baptism and the Lord's Supper). If Creech is convicted, the jury can,
according to the Book of Discipline, recommend withdrawal of the
credentials of ordination, suspend the respondent from the exercise of
the functions of office, or fix a "lesser penalty."

If convicted, will Creech have avenues of appeal?

Yes, first to the Committee on Appeals of the church's eight-state South
Central Jurisdiction. If the court's decision is upheld there, Creech's
last appeal can be to the denomination's nine-member Judicial Council.

Have there been other trials on this issue?

The last known time that the United Methodist Church had a trial related
to the issue of homosexuality was in 1987.  The Rev. Rose Mary Denman, a
pastor in the former New Hampshire Annual conference, admitted to the
bishop that she was a lesbian. Charges were filed against her, and she
was given a choice of withdrawing from the ministry under complaint,
being involuntarily terminated or going to trial. Denman chose the trial
in an effort to bring the issue of homosexuality and ministry into the
public eye before the 1988 General Conference. She was found guilty of
violating church law, which prohibits self-avowed practicing homosexuals
from serving as ministers. The proceeding marked the first trial of a
pastor charged with violating the denomination's 1984 ban on openly gay
and lesbian clergy.

Who establishes policies for the United Methodist Church?

The General Conference, a legislative body of nearly 1,000 people (half
clergy and half lay) from around the world.  The last conference was
held in Denver in 1996; the next will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, in the
year 2000.  Following each General Conference the church's Book of
Discipline is revised and a new Book of Resolutions is produced.
Homosexuality has been an issue for general conferences beginning in
1972.  

What are the church's official positions on homosexuality?

1. 	Regarding homosexual unions

(Part of a larger statement on "marriage" appearing in "The Nurturing
Community," a section of the church's Social Principles, Para. 65C).

	"We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is
expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared
fidelity between a man and a woman . . . Ceremonies that celebrate
homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not
be conducted in our churches."

2. 	Regarding the practice of homosexuality

(Part of a larger statement on "Human Sexuality" appearing in "The
Nurturing Community" a section of the church's Social Principles, Para.
65G).

	"Homosexual persons no less than heterosexual persons are
individuals of sacred worth. All persons need the ministry and guidance
of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the
spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling
relationships with God, with others, and with self. Although we do not
condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice
incompatible with Christian teaching, we affirm that God's grace is
available to all. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all
persons.

3. 	Regarding equal rights

(Section H, Para. 66, of the Social Principles under "III. The Social
Community.")

	"Equal Rights Regardless of Sexual Orientation -- Certain basic
human rights and civil liberties are due all persons. We are committed
to supporting those rights and liberties for homosexual persons. We see
a clear issue of simple justice in protecting their rightful claims
where they have shared material resources, pensions, guardian
relationships, mutual powers of attorney, and other such lawful claims
typically attendant to contractual relationships that involve shared
contributions, responsibilities, and liabilities, and equal protection
before the law. Moreover, we support efforts to stop violence and other
forms of coercion against gays and lesbians. We also commit ourselves to
social witness against the coercion and marginalization of former
homosexuals."

4. 	Regarding ordination

(From the Book of Discipline section dealing with "The Ordained
Ministry" - Para. 304.3)

	"While persons set apart by the Church for ordained ministry are
subject to all the frailties of the human condition and the pressures of
society, they are required to maintain the highest standards of holy
living in the world.  
Since the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian
teaching, self-avowed practicing homosexuals* are not to be accepted as
candidates, ordained as ministers or appointed to serve in The United
Methodist Church."

*Footnote -- "'Self-avowed practicing homosexual' is understood to mean
that a person openly acknowledges to a bishop, district superintendent,
district committee of ordained ministry, board of ordained ministry or
clergy session that the person is a practicing homosexual."

5. 	Regarding use of church money

(From the Book of Discipline section on "Administrative Order" dealing
with the responsibilities of the churchwide Council on Finance and
Administration - paragraph 806.12.)

"The council shall be responsible for ensuring that no board, agency,
committee, commission, or council shall give United Methodist funds to
any gay caucus or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the
acceptance of homosexuality. The council shall have the right to stop
such expenditures.* This restriction shall not limit the church's
ministry in response to the HIV epidemic."

*Reference is made to a Judicial Council Decision (491) that authorized
the right of an annual conference to use funds to study homophobia and
another (592) that gave the General Conference the right to create and
fund a study of homosexuality.

6. 	Regarding homosexuals in the military

(Added to the Book of Resolutions by the 1996 General Conference.  Page
112).

Homosexuals in the military

	Basis: The United States of America, a nation built on equal
rights, has denied the right of homosexuals to actively serve their
country while being honest about who they are. The United Methodist
Church needs to be an advocate for equal civil rights for all
marginalized groups, including homosexuals.

	Conclusion: The U.S. military should not exclude persons from
service solely on the basis of sexual orientation.
#  #  #

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