| Rebecca Steen surrenders clergy credentials BY ERIK ALSGAARD UMCONNECTION STAFF The Rev. Rebecca Ann Steen, the clergy member of the Baltimore-Washington Conference formerly known as Richard Zamostny, voluntarily surrendered her clergy credentials and left the denomination June 28. The action took place in the opening minutes of a hearing at the conference center. The hearing, at which Steens advocate, the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, was also present, was called to consider a request by the Cabinet that Steen be placed on involuntary leave of absence. That hearing never formally began, according to Bishop Felton Edwin May. Steen was placed on voluntary leave of absence Oct. 13, 1999. She had sought to come off leave at the 2002 annual conference session. The Board of Ordained Ministry approved that move, and the clergy session at conference did not disagree. An unrelated complaint was filed against her and, in a separate move, the Cabinet began a process seeking to place Steen on involuntary leave of absence. The complaint, details of which remain confidential, dealt with Steens ethics as a pastor when she was known as Zamostny and serving as pastor of a church, according to an article published May 30 by the Associated Press. The infractions noted in the complaint allegedly took place prior to Steens leave of absence and did not pertain to her gender reassignment or transgender status, the Associated Press reported. Bishop May told the UMConnection that he met with Steen, her advocate and the person who filed the complaint to determine an appropriate supervisory response. That is, to consider whether the complaint should be dismissed for lack of substance, or mediated to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution, or referred to an administrative or judicial church body for further deliberation and action, the bishop said. The complaint was not dismissed for lack of merit, and was to be referred to the Committee on Investigation. The bishop is under the mandate of the 2000 United Methodist Book of Discipline, 332.5, to maintain confidentiality. At the beginning of the unrelated hearing concerning an involuntary leave, Steen submitted her resignation, which was accepted. Because of her resignation, Bishop May said both the Cabinets request for involuntary leave of absence and the separate complaint remain unresolved and active in her personnel file. The official status of Steens resignation, according to the 2000 Book of Discipline (358.3) is Withdrawal Under Complaints or Charges. The Board of Ordained Ministry had examined the issue of transgender clergy from a variety of perspectives. Four conferencewide discussions on the topic were held, gbwc_superusered by JustPeace, a United Methodist organization dedicated to conflict resolution. Articles on the discussions were published in the UMConnection. The Discipline does not mention transgender clergy. Conference officials have asked the churchwide Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the General Board of Church and Society to study, prepare appropriate legislation and report to the 2004 General Conference on the issue of transgender clergy and their ability to serve within the church. The 2004 General Conference meets in Pittsburgh, Pa. It is the only body that can officially speak for the denomination. The Baltimore-Washington Conference showed tremendous sensitivity and integrity as it struggled for months with the varied concerns and perspectives of its members around the issue of transgender clergy, Bishop May said. The Conference has issued no definitive judgment as a body on transgendered clergy. | 
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