Jimmy Creech is a lifelong pioneer in LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 equality issues. Creech is a former United Methodist minister who was defrocked for marrying same-sex couples.
He is a former executive director of the North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality

North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality

The North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality was an interfaith same-sex marriage advocacy group composed of religious leaders in North Carolina. The group's headquarters were at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh which has hosted speeches with James A. Forbes of the...

, an interfaith same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

 advocacy group

Advocacy group

Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...

., co-author of the Dallas Principles

Dallas Principles

The Dallas Principles is a set of eight guiding principles to achieve full LGBT equality. The principles are:# Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now...

, was a participant in the Marriage Equality Express

Marriage Equality Express

The Marriage Equality Caravan, or Marriage Equality Express was an educational bus tour organized by the California chapter of Marriage Equality USA organized in response to the invalidation of 4,000 same-sex marriages that had taken place between February 12 and March 11, 2004 by the California...

, and is the current Board Chairman of the North Carolina Social Justice Project, a progressive policy and advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating inequality in North Carolina.

Creech appeared in A Union in Wait

A Union In Wait

A Union in Wait is the name of a 2001 documentary film about same-sex marriage, directed by Ryan Butler. A Union In Wait was the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States.-Location:...

, a 2001 Sundance Channel documentary film about same-sex marriage.

Creech's memoir, "Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays" was published by Duke University Press

Duke University Press

Duke University Press is an academic publisher of books and journals, and a unit of Duke University. It publishes approximately 120 books annually and more than 40 journals, as well as offering five electronic collections...

in 2011.

External links

• Dallas Principles website