The resignation of the Rev. Bradford Whitaker, senior pastor at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, was read to the Episcopal congregation members at a parish meeting Tuesday night.
Whitaker, a popular leader of the church for the past eight years, had been on suspension since April. The congregation was stunned by news the Michigan Episcopal diocese was investigating “a serious allegation” that was not immediately specified. Whitaker was banned from the church or from communicating with church leaders during the inquiry. It was later revealed that the diocese was looking into claims that Whitaker had an affair while serving in a previous church. Whitaker and his wife Harriet, a teacher, and three children live in a home on the church grounds on Grosse Pointe Boulevard in the Farms.
Whitaker apparently will retain his ordination status, but will not be allowed to preach in an Episcopal Church for at least three years, according to church members.