(MO)
KMBC - ABC 9 [Kansas City MO]
March 17, 2026
By Nick Sloan
A Missouri United Methodist pastor with previous ties to two metro churches has been suspended from clergy duties after church leaders learned she previously worked for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church announced March 12 that the Rev. Stephanie Remington has been placed on a 90-day suspension while an internal review is conducted.
Church leaders said they recently became aware that Remington had a working relationship with Epstein between 2018 and 2019.
According to United Methodist News, Remington worked as an administrative assistant from August to December 2018 and later as a temporary property manager on Epstein’s private island from January to May 2019.
The conference said it had no prior knowledge of that employment.
“The Missouri Conference had no knowledge of the individual’s association with Mr. Epstein,” the conference said in a statement. “No information indicating this association was disclosed in any of those reports.”
The suspension was ordered by Bishop Robert Farr under church procedures while the matter is reviewed.
Remington previously served as pastor at First United Methodist Church in North Kansas City from 2011 to 2016, according to church records.
She was also an associate pastor at The Summit United Methodist Church in Lee’s Summit. She has also served congregations across Missouri for more than 15 years.
At this stage, no criminal allegations have been made against Remington.
In comments to United Methodist News, Remington said she never witnessed any abuse during her time working for Epstein.
“I never saw anything,” she told the outlet. “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 described her relationship with Epstein as professional and said she left the job to care for her father after a cancer diagnosis.
Remington also acknowledged she knew Epstein was a registered sex offender when she accepted the position, but said her decision was shaped by her faith.
“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,” she said.
Church leaders spoke on the seriousness of the situation and the need for a thorough review.
“Clergy are called to uphold the highest standards of spiritual and moral leadership,” the Missouri Conference statement said. “Concerns of this nature are taken seriously and require careful review. We recognize the deep harm connected to Mr. Epstein’s crimes and remain in prayer for survivors who deserve healing and justice.”