Now 64 years old, Hall has white hair, an angular face and thin-rimmed glasses. He looks, well, like a traditional Episcopalian. But he doesn’t talk like one. He is friendly and funny, smart and very, very frank. Boy, is he frank. Don’t be fooled by the white collar he wears. On a scorching summer day, Hall strides into Le Zinc, a French restaurant close to the cathedral and one of his favorite hangouts, in an Oxford blue shirt with white clerical collar and seersucker jacket. He settles down to lunch and a long conversation that culminates in a description of what he calls “bar theology.”
“Part of being a priest,” says Hall, “is being a cultural anthropologist.” Pastors, he thinks, should devote time ”” perhaps once a week ”” to going around to bars and engaging customers in conversations about religion. This is the thinking behind the Arlington Catholic diocese’s regular “Theology on Tap” ”” conversations, often clergy-led, in bars that are among the diocese’s most popular programs.
Yuch. There’s a lot that’s unclear about just what Gary Hall stands for, but it’s abundantly clear what he can’t stand: traditional, orthodox Christianity. But hey, at least he doesn’t even pretend to be moderate, and that’s actually refreshing. He obviously enjoys being avant-garde, “Trendier-than-thou,” even boasting of being a “non-theistic Christian.” Wow.
Hmmm. Let’s see. If I remember correctly, before he became the dean of the DC cathdral, Hall was dean of Seabury-Western seminary in Evanston, and he ran that distinguished school totally into the ground, so that it’s now closed. So how’s that unvarnished, unfettered liberalism working for you?
David Handy+
I think TEC pretty well dominates the Steve Allen fanbase.
If they can just figure out how to appeal to those youngsters who watched Dick Cavett.
Hmm. Yelp characterizes “Le Zinc” as $$$, which it calls “spendy” While $31 to $60 is probably the per person charge at dinner, my familiarity of DC restaurants suggests to me that lunch ain’t cheap! He should go to Ben’s Chili Bowl, cheap and a hangout for diversity!
Spending time in bars listening to the culture. I guess it would be too much to ask to spend time in the Word listening to God …
[blockquote] “We’re in a period where people under 50 don’t see the church as a credible place to explore their questions about God.â€[/blockquote]
Why would that be?
[blockquote] “Steve (Allen) was a big influence in my life,†Hall says. [/blockquote]
Okay, that’s why.
I wonder if the Dean was the guy who wrote the José Jiménez sketches.
Speaking of bankrupt lives, institutions, seminaries, cathedrals…
He was pretty much a loon at Seabury.