The Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church announced the suspension of an ordained clergy member after discovering she allegedly had a “working relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein.
The conference announced the suspension in a statement Thursday, alleging the individual had worked with Epstein between 2018 and 2019 and would be suspended for 90 days pending a “supervisory response process,” the statement announced.
The clergy member, identified as Rev. Stephanie Remington, had worked as Epstein’s administrative assistant between August and December 2018, according to United Methodist (UM) News. She allegedly worked as a temporary property manager of Epstein’s private island from January to May 2019.
Epstein was already a convicted sex offender when Remington allegedly worked with him, but he would not be charged with the sex trafficking of minors until July 2019, UM News reported. The following month, the infamous New York financier was discovered dead in his jail cell. Officials ruled that he committed suicide. (RELATED: Investigators Descend On Jeffrey Epstein’s Former Zorro Ranch In New Mexico)
The Missouri Conference and UM News were made aware of Remington’s alleged past employment with Epstein by Rev. Elizabeth Glass Turner, who had been reviewing the millions of files released by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Remington’s full name appears in the files more than 1,800 times, mostly in emails referring to guest itineraries and the running of operations on the island.
Close up image of a tablet screen displaying a portrait of Jeffrey Epstein beside the official U.S. Department of Justice website page titled Epstein Library in Washington District of Columbia United States on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Véronique Tournier / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
Remington had previously helped craft an online curriculum on sexual boundaries training for churches, but she admitted she was aware Epstein was a registered sex offender when she accepted the job, according to UM News.
Remington has not been accused of any crime and told UM News that she never saw any abuse while working for Epstein.
“I knew him for the last nine months of his life, well after he served time for the things that he was accused of doing,” she said.
Remington also stated her relationship with Epstein was entirely professional, noting that she eventually left her job to care for her father, who was diagnosed with cancer. (RELATED: Officials Unearth Rampant Alleged Child Sexual Abuse By Clergy In Rhode Island)
In a 2019 blog post written under the pseudonym Jerusha Moon, Remington wrote about Jesus Christ’s ministry with the sinners and outcasts of his time, according to UM News.
She seemingly compared it to her alleged association with Epstein.
“And I felt that if I withheld relationship from this man because of his past, then I would be turning my back on every message of hope I have ever preached, every invitation to God’s unconditional love I have ever extended, and my calling to be a healing presence in the world for all people,” the blog said.
TOPSHOT – Annie Farmer, victim of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, speaks from the podium during a candlelight vigil to honor survivors of his crimes in Washington, DC on November 18, 2025. (Photo by DANIEL HEUER/AFP via Getty Images)
“Jesus got into a lot of trouble for the company he kept, but he didn’t let that trouble pressure him into rejecting the people who, by their standards, did not deserve to be human,” Remington said in a statement to UM News. “Social death is just another kind of murder. He opened his heart and his mind to them, and they opened their tables and alabaster jars to him. Is Jeffrey not among their kind?”
“Of course he didn’t deserve a second chance. None of us do,” she added. “But that’s not how grace works.” (RELATED: Epstein Allegedly Signed Off On Horrific Medical Act Against Woman)
During part of the time she lived on the island, she was also working a remote job for the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, under the United Methodist–related Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., as a research manager, UM News reported.
“Half of America wants to tie him to the Clintons. The other half wants to tie him to Trump,” Remington told UM News. “Their hunch is correct. Jeffrey was very proud to have direct lines to all his presidents.”
“If association with sinners makes one guilty, then the church is in an awful state. I have heard the confessions of the people in my pews. I know their stories. We’re just people. The human kind,” she concluded.
The conference said it is praying for survivors of Epstein’s alleged crimes and is taking the concern seriously through a careful review, according to its statement.