James Edward Creech (born October 21, 1944) is an American gay rights activist and former minister in the United Methodist Church who was defrocked in 1999 for marrying same-sex couples.

[2] In 1984, he became active in gay rights advocacy when a congregant came out to him, in response to the United Methodist Church formally banning "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from becoming clergy.

[1]: 82 [2] In 1996, he was appointed senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, where he performed a commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple the following year.

In 2007 Creech became the executive director of Faith In America, a non-profit organisation founded by Mitchell Gold, focused on educating people about religion-based bigotry.

In 2024, the United Methodist Church ended its bans on same-sex marriages and LGBT clergy, and allowed pastors who were defrocked under those policies to apply for reinstatement.