22 | FEBRUARY 11 • 2021 

C

hrist Church Cranbrook needed 
space for offices and educational 
programs during a major renova-
tion project. Temple Beth El opened its 
doors. Clergy from both congregations 
see it as a match made in heaven.
Christ Church Cranbrook, a large 
Episcopalian congregation in Bloomfield 
Hills, embarked on a $10 million expan-
sion and renovation project in 2019. The 
efforts focus on the church’s program 
center, which includes offices, classrooms 
and the early childhood center. The pro-
gram center opened in 1938, 10 years 
after the adjacent majestic Gothic sanc-
tuary.
By late last year, the renovation work 
got to the point where the people using 
the space would soon need to move. 
Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, 
with a large building less than 5 miles 
from the church, seemed worth investi-
gating.
The two institutions have cooperated 
on numerous programs in recent years, 
and their lead clergy are good friends.
“
Although a church and a synagogue 

are very different organizations on the 
surface, the truth is that we share much 
more in common than people might 
expect,” said Temple Beth El’s senior 
rabbi, Mark Miller. He said 
he regards Christ Church 
Cranbrook’s rector, the Rev. 
William J. Danaher Jr., as 
“one of the most thoughtful 
and impactful religious lead-
ers in our vicinity.”
Danaher suggested Temple 
Beth El to the church’s tenant 
advocate, Mark Bowman of 
Bowman Ecker, a real estate 
strategy firm. The renova-
tion and moving plan went 
through an intricate review 
process at the church. After 
approval by the vestry (the 
church’s governing board), 
the proposal had to be approved by 
the parish as a whole and also by the 
Standing Committee for the Episcopal 
Diocese of Michigan. 
“
At every level, the vote was unani-
mous, which rarely happens,” Danaher 

said.
On the Beth El side, member Gary 
Goodman, who has worked in commer-
cial leasing for more than 20 years, helped 
ensure that the arrangement was bene-
ficial for the temple and handled profes-
sionally, Miller said.
It didn’t hurt that Rev. Danaher’s wife, 
Claire Danaher, works as the chief finan-
cial officer at Temple Beth El.
“Because we are married, Claire and I 
discussed this project as little as possible,” 
he said. “However, she was kind enough 
to let me know that I could count on her 
support,”
The 22-member church staff — which 
includes four priests, administrative and 
support staff, a music director and assis-
tant, and a director of children and family 
ministries — along with nine profession-
al singers and 17 teachers in the Little 
Lambs early childhood program — were 
to begin their move Feb. 10. They hope to 
be settled at Temple Beth El by Feb. 15.

SEVERAL PARTNERSHIPS
The two congregations have partnered 

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BY DAVE PARKER

OUR COMMUNITY

Rabbi Mark 

Miller 

Rev. William 

J. Danaher 

Jr.

A Spirit
 
of
Sharing
Sharing

During its renovation,
church rents space at Temple Beth El.

Christ Church 

Cranbrook

