Rev. Gary Hall served as the 10th dean of Washington National Cathedral from 2012 - 2015.
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Former Dean: National Cathedral Should Not Bestow a Blessing on Donald Trump
01-18-2017
Image via RNS/Francisco Daum via Creative Commons
Washington National Cathedral was founded in 1907 and envisioned as a “Westminster Abbey for America,” which, in part, is why it finds itself at the center of controversy about its role in President-elect Donald J. Trump’s impending inauguration.
For more than a century, the cathedral has tried to stand in two worlds at once, attempting to be both a practicing Christian church and a gathering place for American civic expression. As the cathedral’s former dean, I believe that fidelity to the former role now requires rejecting the latter.