As Bloy House, The Episcopal Theological School at Los Angeles dean and then president from 2020-24, the Rev. Canon Dr. Gary Hall, former dean of Washington National Cathedral, nudged our 63-year-old Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles theological school from its status as a commuter semi-seminary to a school for all orders.
His predecessor, the Rev. Dr. Sylvia Sweeney, a brilliant scholar and teacher, did an outstanding job. Then degree-granted seminaries, which Bloy House could not be, started offering tuition-free distance learning, pricing Bloy House out of the market.
As Gary and the board regrouped, he helped the Holy Spirit call Bloy House’s first non-ordained dean, Canon Linda Tolin Allport, in 2022. My friend and collaborator in Christian education at St John Chrysostom Church in Rancho Santa Margarita back in the day, Linda launched our lay leadership training and certification program, which attracted a generous grant from Trinity Wall Street. Our new dean, the Very Rev. Paul Anthony Daniels, has the summer session underway through early July. It’s now called Sacred Leadership Licensing. Read more here (www.bloyhouse.org) and whet your appetite for the fall.
On Friday evening at St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park, the Bloy House board, which I chair, threw a dinner to thank Gary and Linda and welcome Paul, who hopes to launch a global digital teaching ministry reflecting the sacramental and justice values of The Episcopal Church. Watch this space — and Instagram and maybe even TikTok, too!
