Spotlight on abuse: Bishop Steven Plummer

Bishop Steven T. Plummer was a graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) in California. He was ordained to the priesthood in June of 1976 and served parishes in Utah and the Navajoland Area Mission jurisdiction. He was consecrated bishop for Navajoland in March 1990 as the first Navajo bishop of the Episcopal Church. CDSP and Nashotah House in Wisconsin both awarded him honorary doctorates. In May of 1993 the Episcopal Church announced that Plummer had been engaged in an affair with a minor male parishioner for at least three years before and after his consecration. The Arizona Republic reported that Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning was informed of the matter in 1991 and advised Plummer to keep it private. Plummer was placed on a one-year leave and sent to a treatment center in Minnesota for “intensive psychological evaluation.” Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning announced that Plummer could resume his ministry as bishop of the Navajoland Area Mission on June 1, 1994, calling it “a responsible step in the best interest of the church.” Plummer died in office on April 2, 2005.