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
Grievance and Grace: A Journey into Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Tuesdays, January 13-February 3, 2026, 7-8:30 pm via Zoom
How do we live in community after harm has been done? Explore the concepts of revenge, retaliation, and grace in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest with St. Bart’s parishioner and classical actor Esther Williamson. Experience with Shakespeare is not required. Please register below to receive the link.
This We Believe: Finding God through Interfaith Conversation
Tuesdays, January 27 - February 10, 6:15-7:15 pm in person
The Reverend Meredith Ward and Rabbi Sarah Berman of Central Synagogue facilitate a three-week series to learn how our different faiths understand God and community in challenging times and how people of faith can find common ground. Using texts from different key moments in history, we will explore how those teachings speak to our lives today. Participation in all three sessions is requested and registration is required.
Jan 27: Antiquity Era meets at Central Synagogue
Feb 3: Enlightenment Era meets at St. Bart’s
Feb 10: Post-Holocaust Era meets at St. Bart’s
Saturday Mornings @ St. Bart's
The Prophetic Imagination
Saturdays, 10:00 am-11:00 am via Zoom
Our next book to discuss on Saturday mornings will be Walter Bruegemann’s The Prophetic Imagination. The start date will be January 10th and ending on February 28, 10-11AM. A limited number of copies of the book will be available at the Bookstore. Newcomers are welcome to join.
Peace Book Club
2nd and 4th Sundays of Each Month, 1:30-3 pm, via Zoom
Our next book selection is The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking by Shannon Vallor.
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.
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. Click here for Sunday’s reading.
Retirement: Transition and Purpose
First Wednesday of every month, 4-5 pm 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 Wednesday 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 that the November meeting will be held on November 19, to allow for the Thanksgiving holiday, and the December meeting will be held on December 17, to allow for the Christmas holiday.
Caregivers Support Group
The Caregivers Support Group meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 4 pm on Zoom beginning on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. Registration is required at the link below. This group is for people who are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. It is a safe and confidential space to find support and navigate the challenges of caring for those with memory loss.
Please note that the November meeting will be held on November 19, to allow for the Thanksgiving holiday, and the December meeting will be held on December 17, to allow for the Christmas holiday.
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.
Upcoming and Ongoing
Adult Education
