DETROIT -- The rector of a prominent Detroit-area church has been suspended following accusations he plagiarized material for sermons and newsletters. Pastor Edward Mullins is prohibited from working or worshiping at Christ Church Cranbrook for 90 days while the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan investigates, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Eight church members filed a complaint in January with the diocese, claiming 10 instances of plagiarism from March 1997 to January 2002. Mullins claims religious leaders around the country subscribe to sermon services and regularly use outside sources.

The Detroit Free Press reports that a comparison of Mullins' materials with other writings shows similarities ranging from sentences to entire essays, with no credit given by Mullins to others. One such example: "Have you ever noticed that Jesus launched the Christian Church, not while someone was preaching…but…while people were praying," Mullins wrote in a January 1999 newsletter. The excerpt was almost verbatim what Jim Cymbala, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in New York, wrote in July 1997, The Free Press reports.

Mullins previously was reported to the diocese for allegedly refusing to administer communion to a member, breaching pastoral confidentiality and failing to control parishioners' verbal outbursts during the church's annual meeting.