Press Release: Leading Church Watchdog Group Calls for Boycott of Christ Episcopal Church, Cranbrook
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Anglican Watch
March 19, 2026
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19, 2026 /Christian Newswire/ — Anglican Watch, the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church, is calling for a boycott of Christ Episcopal Church, located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The recommendation comes after a series of incidents involving allegations of spiritual, emotional, and relational abuse by the church’s rector, The Rev. Dr. William J. Danaher.
Previous efforts to address these allegations of abuse with the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan have been unsuccessful, with the Diocese responding that the alleged abuse in question does not rise to the level of a Title IV clergy disciplinary violation under church canons.
Moreover, the Diocese has repeatedly refused to provide the pastoral response to complainants as required by church canons.
“Just like some consumer products, including cigarettes, require a consumer product safety advisory, so too do some churches come with a warning,” says Anglican Watch official Eric Bonetti.
“While there are many sincere persons of faith at Christ Church, there are also many people who have been co-opted by Danaher’s seemingly narcissistic, manipulative behavior. We are greatly concerned about the Danaher’s potential to cause long-term damage to the church and the Diocese of Michigan. Additionally, we note that all of Danaher’s relationships appear to end badly.
“Even more importantly, we are concerned about the potential harm to the spiritual and emotional well-being of parishioners,“ Bonetti adds. “Moreover, Danaher’s highly questionable statements about others, including allegedly claiming one former parishioner is a pedophile, and that a former bishop diocesan is secretly gay, expose the church and the Diocese to profound legal and reputational risk.
“Anglican Watch, therefore, encourages all persons of goodwill to withhold their time, talent, and treasure from the parish until Danaher is removed from office or resigns.
“To ignore the long and sordid list of allegations against Danaher is to become complicit in the underlying issues,” Bonetti concludes.
Founded in 2015, Anglican Watch is the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church. The organization addresses sexual and non-sexual abuse in the Episcopal Church and other faith communities.
SOURCE Anglican Watch
CONTACT: Mark Lowen, 240-331-6977, ed****@***********ch.com
I have experienced similar issues in my church! I realized this week that my Rector is carrying out his: I want to see you alone and have no one. You will not be in the church, and he had paperwork for me to sign, and four times I told him NO. He told me I was psychiatric and I professionally asked him what I should do, and he raised his arms with clenched fist and made untrue accusations. Also, anyone who receives a payroll check: flower arrangers, clergy, choir leads, other musicians are to avoid me. I would suggest you go to Rev. Barbara Kempf in our Presiding Bishop’s office. She was hired to handle this kind of behavior. She is a priest, lawyer, and nurse and has really helped me this past 12 months. I went to our bishop first and his intake officer told me to go find another church. I sat and cried hard. My church and the people there are good people. Our problems are the Rector, his selected assisting priest, and the 2024 Sr. Warden who after placed in that job became an Episcopal priest.
Kathleen Fay Anastasoff Sides
Winston-Salem, NC
So very sad, I will never attend an Episcopal church again. The corruption is beyond belief. And yet no one complains. This is not how I grew up. Stand up for right and wrong.