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The Very Rev. Tommy Dillon II

A Baton Rouge native, the Rev Tommy Dillon graduated from Louisiana State University, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, and the General Theological Seminary, where he specialized in Anglican Liturgy. He was ordained deacon and priest at St. Luke’s Baton Rouge and served as Vicar of St. Augustine’s in Central City, LA for five years before serving 11 years on the West Coast as Rector of St. Aidan’s, San Francisco and Grace Church in Bainbridge Island, WA. He was called as Rector of St. Margaret's in September of 2016.

Tommy has 20 years of experience as a parish pastor, including responsibility for pastoral care, program development, stewardship, and administration. During that time, Tommy became a leader in community engagement. He has a passion for helping people take ministry and spirit beyond the church walls and embrace new ways of being the church in a changing world.

Before moving to the West Coast, Tommy was the first Director of Prisoner Aftercare Services for the National Volunteers of America. Previously he worked with the Volunteer of America of Greater Baton Rouge for seven years in Mental Health and Homeless Services. He also served as Co-chair for Undoing Racism in the Diocese of Louisiana.

In the Diocese of California, Tommy served as a member of the Diocesan Executive Council, Diocesan Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, Nave Chaplain at Grace Cathedral, and a Spiritual Director for Cursillo. He also served as chaplain to the Diocesan Altar Guild, as a board member for Sojourn Chaplaincy at San Francisco General Hospital, and as chair of the Episcopal Bay Area Salvadoran Coalition.

In the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, Tommy is Dean of the Baton Rouge Deanery, which is comprised of eighteen congregations and institutions in the Baton Rouge area, is the chair of the Stewardship Working Group, is co-leader of the Transitions in Progress group (TIP) for newly ordained and new clergy in the diocese, and is the Clergy Alternate Deputy for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

Tommy serves on the Boards of the Wild Goose Festival and the General Theological Seminary as Secretary and is a frequent retreat leader, pilgrimage planner, and an instructor of liturgy.

In Tommy’s world, there is no such thing as the “outcast and the stranger.” His work with newly-released prisoners, with people suffering mental illness and homelessness, and with Hurricane Katrina survivors gave him a fearless compassion for human need. During his time in ministry, parish food bank and elder ministries flourished; Diocesan, parish, and neighborhood Disaster Preparedness groups formed; and connections in El Salvador were created through the Anglican Church of El Salvador and Foundation Cristosal.

Collaborating to create beautiful liturgy feeds his soul. Good food, good friends, and road trips with his Whippet pal Josh reveal the Holy in the everyday world.

The Rev. Lynn Hooks

I am delighted to introduce myself to St. Margaret's Episcopal Church. There have been some wonderful loops on my path to ordination. One loop is circling me back around to learn from your gracious Rector, the Very Rev. Tommy Dillon II. We met at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, where I have been the religion teacher at the Day School for almost 25 years. My relationship with the families of St. Luke's School inspired and nurtured my desire to serve God as a priest in The Episcopal Church.

My husband, Michael, and I are Baton Rouge natives and 1989 graduates of L.S.U. We appreciate and enjoy spending time with our children, Ryan (New Orleans), Rachel and her husband Luke (Baton Rouge), and Raphe (LSU Freshman).

For the past three years, I have attended The A. C. Marble School for Theological Formation in coordination with the Iona Initiative developed by the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. Until Covid, our class met in Canton, Mississippi. Since then, we have been meeting online. I was ordained to The Sacred Order of Deacons on December 19, 2020, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Orleans.

I am grateful that God led me to St. Margaret's. I look forward to discovering God's love through the many ways St. Margaret's shares Christ with the world. Thank you for opening your door and your heart to me.