Upon discovery of Rev. Stephanie Remington’s former employment with Jeffrey Epstein, Bishop Robert Farr ordered the suspension of her duties as an ordained clergy member with the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church for a period of 90 days beginning March 12, 2026, pending a full investigation.
Stephanie Remington / Photo via UMC
Remington worked as one of Epstein’s administrative assistants in late 2018 before becoming a temporary property manager for his private island in early 2019. She accepted the position after his initial conviction but before his 2019 arrest for sex trafficking.
Her name appears nearly 2,000 times in the currently released portions of the Epstein files.
In a 2025 memo, the FBI confirmed the files associated with Epstein “include a large volume of images of Epstein, images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors, and over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography.” The agency’s review confirmed Epstein harmed over 1,000 victims.
In a blog post, Remington defends her work with Epstein by citing that Jesus also ministered to the “undesirables.” She countered the narrative of Epstein’s reputation by sharing a story of him offering to pay for a flight so Remington could visit her ill father. She called it her “version of the monster in the ditch.”
The Missouri Conference says it had no knowledge of Remington’s employment with Epstein while concurrently working with the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary. Remington contended that she worked for the Lewis Center until 2025, but the official statement from the Missouri Conference contradicts that, saying “the individual served as a part-time contractor in 2017 and 2018 and has not been employed by the seminary since that time.”
Remington told UM News she does not remember anyone at the Lewis Center knowing about her employment with Epstein.
In response to the Epstein Files, the denomination’s General Commission on the Status and Role of Women released a statement, “When Silence Becomes Sin.”
“We at GCSRW stand with survivors of sexual abuse, harassment, and assault,” the statement reads. “We lament not only the harm done to victims and survivors, but the additional harm caused by silence, complicity, and re-traumatization.”
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