Rev. Creech defrocked by church
CREECH from-page 1 —
Creech’s actions were not enough to
incite change.
“Jimmy’s movement was hardly
enough to constitute a coup d’etat,
not in this lifetime at least,” he said.
The outcome of the trial was not a
surprise, Ekdahl said.
“I think most people expected
this outcome,” he said. “The only rea
son he got his day in court was
because church law says he should.”
Mike McMurtry, assistant pastor
of Christ United Methodist Church,
said he was deeply disappointed by
the outcome of the trial.
“Whenever we say we are an
inclusive church, and we turn around
and exclude a certain group of peo
ple, we’re in deep trouble,” he said.
“This decision will weigh heavily
over the church in the years to come.”
McMurtry said Creech’s punish
ment was too severe because he was
just trying to expose and correct an
injustice within the~church. ~
“From my point of view, it was
not a good verdict,” he said. “It was
the verdict I expected, but I hoped the
jury would be more compassionate
towards Jimmy and what he was try
ing to accomplish.”
The Associated Press con
tributed to this report.
Trial brings ‘issues to the table’
By Jake Bleed
Senior staff writer
While the decision to remove the
Rev. Jimmy Creech from the United
Methodist Church means he can no
longer preach, his trial and the contro
versy surrounding it may increase
understanding of the issue of same
sex marriages, some Lincolnites said.
“I think that what this does is bring
some awareness,” UNL graduate stu
dent Bea Carrasco said. “The impact
is more awareness and bringing these
issues to the table of discussion.”
Members of UNL’s gay and les
bian community, along with friends
and supporters, reacted to the decision
with a mixture of disappointment and
confidence.
“The struggle will continue. I
think there will continue to be minis
ters who will continue to perform
these unions,” said University of
Nebraska-Lincoln English professor
Barbara DiBemard. “I think that it’s
inevitable.”
Carrasco said Creech’s trial could
cause members of the United
Methodist Church and other churches
to consider the issue of same-sex mar
riage, bringing opinions forward.
“I think that there are a lot of peo
ple who are afraid,” Carrasco said.
Barbara Kimberly, a board mem
ber and former president of Lincoln’s
Parents and Friends and Families of
Lesbians and Gays, said she hoped
Creech’s trial would cause more dis
cussion among Methodists on the
issue of same-sex marriage.
“The more people that learn about
the situation, the better,” Kimberly
said. “This publicity will make a big
difference.”
Kimberly said she appreciated
Creech’s courage to approach the issue
of same-sex marriage.
“I feel very passionately for Rev.
Creech. He has put his whole life on
the line here to make a point,”
Kimberly said.
Carrasco agreed, adding that
Creech’s example may bring others
with similar feelings forward.
“He did it, and he paid the conse
quences. He has shown to others ‘this
is what I believe, and this is what I am
going to do and I’m not afraid.’”
Carrasco said.
Although Creech’s trial has
increased awareness of same-sex mar
riage, Carrasco said much more would
be needed.
“It’s going to take a lot of Rev.
Creeches,” Carrasco said. “I see it as
something that is coming in the near
future. Not next year, but maybe in 10,
20 years. I don’t know.”
California drops policy
about gays, adoption
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A
state policy of automatically opposing
adoptions of foster children by gay
and other unmarried couples was qui
etly dropped this week by the Davis
administration.
The move rescinded a 1995 order
by then-Gov. Pete Wilson.
Gay activists applaud the change
as a victory for families. Conservative
religious leaders condemn it as “a dis
aster for children.”
Even with the earlier policy, how
ever, judges could overrule the state
opposition if the would-be parents
hired an attorney and appealed.
Attorneys representing gay and
lesbian groups challenged the regula
tion earlier this year. State Department
of Social Services attorneys “conclud
ed that it was an underground regula
tion, or one that did not go through the
proper legal process,” agency spokes
woman Sidonie Squier said
Wednesday.
The state on Monday advised all
California adoption agencies and
county welfare directors of the
change.
Democratic Gov. Gray Davis
approved the agency’s decision, but
that doesn’t mean he supports adop
tions by gay couples, spokesman
Michael Bustamante said.
“The previous administration took
a position on adoptions. This adminis
tration is not,” he said. “This governor
has made the determination that the
professionals, not the state, are best
suited to decide” which couples are
suitable adoptive parents.
It has been state policy since 1987
to automatically recommend denial of
any petition by an unmarried couple to
adopt a ward of the state. That policy
was rescinded in 1994, but when
Wilson heard about the change
through news accounts three months
later, he ordered it reinstated.
Squier said the state has no esti
mate of how many adoptions might
have been affected, but that it probably
is not a large number, since there are
only about 6,000 adoptions of state
wards annually.
Rescinding the order is an impor
tant step, even though many gay peo
ple were able to work around the regu
lation with the help of sympathetic
judges and social workers, said Ed
Condon. With his gay partner, Condon
adopted his first child during the 1995
lapse in the regulation.
The state’s move “gives gay and
lesbian families the opportunity to
have open and frank discussions about
the desire to raise children,” said
Condon, 38, a private school adminis
trator who now plans to complete the
adoption of his second child.
Prominent
talent agent
found hanged
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A talent
agent whose clients included Leonardo
DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg appar
ently committed suicide by hanging
himself in his home, police said.
A friend discovered James David
Moloney’s body hanging in a shower at
his Santa Monica mountain home on
Tuesday, Los Angeles police Officer
Jason Lee said. The reason for the
apparent suicide was not immediately
known, Lee said.
Moloney had a history of cocaine
addiction and recently lost his job as
president of Paradise Music &
Entertainment, a publicly traded multi
media company. The New York Times
reported Wednesday that he was fired
from Paradise Music because of a
relapse of his drug problem.
At his peak in the early 90s,
Moloney represented celebrities
including directors Spielberg, Martin
Scorsese and Tim Burton and actors
DiCaprio, Bill Murray, Dustin
Hoffman and Uma Thurman.
Moloney, who turned 35 on
Sunday, was a protege of so-called
“super agent” Michael Ovitz at
Creative Artists Agency.
The young agent joined Creative
Artists as an intern in 1983 and quick
ly became one of the firm’s top repre
sentatives.
He was among a group of agents
who bought control of the company
after Ovitz joined the Walt Disney Co.
in 1995. In a 1997 interview with
Premiere magazine, Moloney said it
was during that time that he began tak
ing cocaine.
He quit Creative Artists in 1996,
losing much of the influence and many
of the clients that helped make his rep
utation.
Moloney spent time in at least four
treatment centers in recent years and
told friends that he believed he was
predisposed to drugs because his
father, screenwriter and actor Jim
Moloney, died from an alcohol-related
illness in 1994.
Ovitz said he was shaken by his
former colleague’s death.
“He was an incredibly talented
man with a kind and gentle soul,”
Ovitz said. “Unfortunately, his person
al struggles were too great to over
come.”