Each week, guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines join the Reverend Peter Thompson and other 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.
In an age of information overload and political polarization, how do we discern what truly serves the common good? CUNY Law professor and St. Bart’s parishioner Ally Coll explores the promises and pitfalls of both evidence-based and intuition-led decision making—in our public life and our personal faith. Please post your questions in the comments section on Facebook or YouTube, or email the Reverend Peter Thompson at
With Dr. Daisy Khan
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
Have you wondered why the lines for food have gotten so long? Patrick Bergquist, Interim Executive Director of Crossroads Community Services, discusses the increasing prevalence of food insecurity within our city.
The Reverned Natosha Reid Rice joins in conversation about how we can foster prophetic imagination amidst a city that never sleeps. An ordained minister and lawyer who currently serves as Minister for Public Life at All Saints' Atlanta; and...
Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President, offers his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities currently being faced by our island home.
St. Bart’s parishioner and accessibility consultant Janina Sajka reflects on how the Church can become a more welcoming place for people with disabilities.
Hospital chaplain Zachary Fletcher shares new and liberative ways of understanding autism and neurodiversity, including through the lens of Christian spirituality. Please post your questions for our speaker in the comments section...
New York magazine senior writer Sarah Jones chronicles the transition some conservative Christians make from pro-life to pro-choice. Jones has recently authored several relevant articles about moral approaches to abortion: Anti-Abortion...
As we celebrate our country on this Independence Day weekend, Stephen Lean, Director of The American Family Immigration History Center on Ellis Island, discusses the ways in which immigration has enhanced the nation’s life. Join us in...
Beloved actress Jane Lynch, currently starring in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, visits St. Bart’s to reflect on her life as an openly lesbian public figure and share stories from her long and acclaimed career.
In 2021, Juneteenth became America’s 11th national holiday, a day to commemorate slavery and emancipation. Emily Blanck, Associate Professor of History at Rowan University, an overview of the process through which Juneteenth...
Tuesday, June 14 | 7:30 p.m. on the Website, Youtube, and Facebook Live Dr. Catherine Meeks, Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing and the Reverend Canon Stephanie Spellers discuss the meaning of Juneteenth...
Kathryn O'Neal-Dunham, CEO of Philanthropy New York, speaks about how philanthropic organizations and individuals enact love through the skillful exercise of their power.
