News

Complaint Filed Against Transgendered Minister

• A complaint has been filed against a Maryland minister who had a sex-change operation during a leave of absence from church duties, possibly affecting her availability for pastoral appointment, her[his] bishop said yesterday.
   
• "The content of the complaint is confidential," Bishop Felton May, of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, said in a statement yesterday.
   
• May, decided to put Steen on an involuntary leave of absence while her case is being reviewed.
   
• May must now decide whether the complaint is a "judicial complaint," grievous enough to be presented before a church court, or an "administrative complaint" to be handled by a standing board that deals with a variety of clergy matters
   
• After a meeting Thursday of about 350 clergy who debated Steen's status, May issued a statement that Steen is "available for appointment by the bishop" and that "appointments are normally made July 1."
  
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