By Chad Groening and Jody Brown
June 11, 2002

(AgapePress) - A lay delegate to the Baltimore-Washington General Conference of the United Methodist Church says he is satisfied that a transgender minister has been put on administrative leave -- and it appears the pastor could be permanently banned from returning to the pulpit.

One of the issues for discussion at the recently completed annual meeting of the UMC's Baltimore-Washington Conference was whether to allow Richard Zomastny to be reappointed pastor of a local congregation. Zomastny, who underwent a sex-change operation and now calls himself "Rebecca Steen," had hoped the conference would grant his request for reappointment -- but after two complaints were filed at a closed session last week, Zomastny was instead placed on an involuntary leave of absence. [See UMNS article on the Baltimore-Washington conference.]

Jerald Walz, director of operations and development for the Institute on Religion and Democracy, was a lay delegate at the weekend's proceedings. While the details of the complaints, according to the UMC's Book of Discipline, must be treated confidentially, Walz believes they could be serious.

"Anything from immorality to sexual abuse or sexual harassment or even an administrative complaint could be filed that would determine whether this person is competent enough to perform the duties of a pastor," Walz explains.

Walz believes Zomastny should not be allowed to return to the pulpit. "A person who is struggling with their gender identity, I don't believe, [has] the moral fortitude and the competency therefore to serve as a pastor," he says. He also says Zomastny needs some serious counseling.

According to Walz, the United Methodist Church was right to take the action it did. The 8.3-million-member denomination, he says, needs to prevent people who undergo sex changes from being able to pastor a Methodist congregation. He says it is a matter that needs to be addressed.

"[T]he larger issue needs to be decided by the whole United Methodist Church, and I think this incident will put this issue squarely on the agenda of the 2004 General Conference," he says. "It's going to be a long-term issue."

Walz believes in the end, Zomastny will be permanently denied from returning to the pastorate. Zomastny had pastored churches in Thurmont and Rockville, Maryland, prior to taking voluntary leave in late 1999 and undergoing the sex-change operation.

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