Throughout the year, St. Bart’s offers a wide variety of opportunities to learn and grow. Our offerings encourage both spiritual and intellectual engagement and welcome all sorts of people and views.
The Forum
Each Sunday at 10 am, guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines join our St. Bart's clergy for deep and insightful conversations about topics that matter to our lives as responsible citizens and people of faith. Speakers in recent years have included winners of the Tony Award, the Emmy Award, the MacArthur Fellowship, and the Pulitzer Prize, professors from prominent universities like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, and journalists from New York, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.
Watch The Forum live on our website, or join the conversation live on Facebook or YouTube where you can post your questions for our speaker in the comments during the live stream. Visit our The Forum page for upcoming schedule and past recordings.
Adult Formation Opportunities
Art for Advent
Saturday, December 14, from 2-3:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, via Zoom.
Join the Reverend Meredith Ward, Associate Rector for Pastoral Care, and the Reverend Dr. Ayla Lepine, Associate Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly, in London, for Art in Advent. This virtual-only event (via Zoom) will feature conversation and meditations on Advent themes using four objects from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Enduring Faith: A Journey through Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
Tuesdays, January 7-28, 6:30-8:00 pm, via Zoom
Investigate themes of faith and endurance in Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, or What You Will with St. Bart’s parishioner and classical actor Esther Williamson. Class will include readings of excerpts from the play. Experience with Shakespeare is not required.
Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life
Wednesdays, January 8-February 26, 7:00-8:00 pm, via Zoom
Discuss Jonathan Eig’s recent and monumental look at the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the Reverend Peter Thompson and other members of the St. Bart’s community. Please read the Prologue and Chapters 1-5 before the first sessions.
Deconstructed and Reconstructing: Building a Robust Faith After Evangelicalism
Sundays, January 26–March 2, 1:00-3:00 pm, in person
Seminarian Nathan Peace convenes a small group of people who grew up in evangelical and fundamentalist church spaces and are now seeking a more inclusive experience of the Christian faith in the Episcopal tradition. Designed primarily for young adults, sessions will explore theology, the Bible, politics, and faith in the effort to build a robust and life-giving spirituality. All interested participants are required to complete a pre-course questionnaire.
Interfaith Conversations: Exploring Biblical Texts
Tuesdays, February 4, 11, 18, 25, 6:45-8 pm In person
The Reverend Meredith Ward and Rabbinic Intern Professor Marcia Pally of Central Synagogue facilitate a four-week conversation on key Biblical texts, exploring themes common to Judaism and Christianity to consider anew how we understand them. This in-person-only conversation will alternate between Central and St. Bart’s. Registration is required.
Saturday Mornings @ St. Bart's
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
Saturdays, October 12-December 21, 10:00 am-11:00 am, via Zoom
The Saturday morning discussion group turns to Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner.
Newcomers are welcome to join.
Rooted in God's Earth—Trees in Scripture
Mondays, 1:30-2:30 pm, via Zoom
Join clergy leaders of our friends at St. James's Piccadilly for a study of Biblical passages that feature trees.
All are welcome—no prior registration required.
Peace Book Club
2nd and 4th Sundays of Each Month, 1:30-3 pm, via Zoom
Our next book selection is The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell.
We welcome new and curious attendees to the Peace Book Club discussions. Please note that reading of the books though encouraged is not required! This is a no-stress discussion group where we provide some content when we meet, and then share related ideas, memories and differences in opinions. So, you can come as you are, we are sure you will be stimulated and also find that you have something to share.
PLEASE NOTE: We will not meet on December 22, 2024, and will resume on January 12, 2025.
Ongoing Classes
Weekly Bible Study
Wednesdays at 1 pm
Thoughtful reflection and lively discussion of the upcoming Sunday readings, hosted by a member of our clergy. Please contact Liz Gillespie to be added to our weekly Bible study via Zoom. Click here for Sunday’s reading.
Retirement: Transition and Purpose
First Tuesday of every month, 10-11 am via Zoom
This group is for people who have retired or are entering retirement and are seeking to learn and share their experiences with others. Grounded in prayer, the group is a safe and confidential space to help navigate the changes and challenges that come with retirement. Retirement: Transition and Purpose does not provide legal or financial advice. Instead, we gather for conversation to find support, direction, and fulfillment in our post-retirement lives. Led by the Reverend Meredith Ward, we meet on Zoom on the first Tuesday of every month.
Grief, Hope, and Healing Together
Fourth Wednesday of every month, 6-7 pm via Zoom
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Grief is something we all go through at some point in our lives and when we do, comfort can seem very far away. This is a support group for those who have experienced the recent loss of a friend or loved one or are going through a longer-term bereavement process. The group does not provide formal grief counseling. We gather for conversation in a safe and supportive environment to express our sorrow and to begin to find hope and healing together. Led by the Reverend Meredith Ward, we meet on Zoom on the 4th Wednesday of each month from 6-7 pm via Zoom. (PLEASE NOTE: We will meet on November 20, instead of November 27, and on December 18, instead of December 25, 2024.)
Education For Ministry (EFM)
Are you looking to live into your faith more fully, to have faith connect more deeply with everyday life? What can the Bible teach us about the world today? Do you ever wonder what God is calling you to do? If you want to seek answers through study, reflection, and spiritual practice in community, EfM—a four-year certificate program in theological education with a weekly in-person seminar format that starts again this fall—may be for you. To learn more, please download our information handout here, or contact EfM Mentor Liza Page Nelson.