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.
Sunday, June 15, 2025 Black, Queer, & Untold
Acclaimed designer and artist Jon Key, author of Black, Queer, & Untold, brings to light the lives and legacies of Black and Queer creatives from the 1800s to the present.
Please post your questions in the comments section on Facebook or YouTube, or email the Reverend Zack Nyein at
Upcoming Speakers at The Forum
June 22Born Again Queer: Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity
William Stell, Faculty Fellow at New York University and author of the upcoming book Born Again Queer, uncovers the hidden history of gay evangelicals and the opposition they faced within the evangelical movement.
June 29 The Reverend Mihee Kim-Kort, co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, Maryland, on queerness and faith
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
The Reverend Canon Leyla King, a Palestinian American priest and the author of the forthcoming memoir Daughters of Palestine, provides a way in to the conversation about the current realities in the Holy Land through the lens of her...
As both the Episcopal Church and the Church of England mark important anniversaries related to the ordination of women, the Reverend Lucy Winkett, Rector of St. James's Piccadilly in London and one of the first women ordained in The Church of...
Dr. Elizabeth Schrader Polczer discusses her groundbreaking research on Martha of Bethany in the Gospel of John and intriguing new insight on the identity of Mary Magdalene.
The Right Reverend Dean Wolfe and The Reverend Meredith Ward discuss the Surgeon General’s report on the epidemic of loneliness in our nation and what steps we can take to build more connection.
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe and St. Bart’s staff members Bailey Regan and Teagan Sage reflect on their time at the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church.
Jesuit priest Father James Martin, SJ offers powerful insights from the story of the raising of Lazarus. His book Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus' Greatest Miracle was released in fall 2023.
Writer Jonathan Merritt, who often reflects on topics at the intersection of sexuality and religion, discusses the relationship between his Christian faith and his identity as an openly gay man. Merritt is the author, most recently, of the...
The Atlantic Senior Editor Vann R. Newkirk II discusses the importance of Black History today, why memory is one of the most important parts of imagining the future, and the role of the journalist when media is in crisis.
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe and the Reverend Canon Stephanie Spellers preview the Episcopal Church's upcoming General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
Lisa Miller, Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College and Founder of the Spirituality, Mind, Body Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University, shares insights on the spirituality of children and adolescents.