Lincoln in the Bardo
Composer Missy Mazzoli previews her new opera based on George Saunders’ novel, the first opera by a female composer to receive its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera.

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.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga, St. Bart's parishioner and a reporter for The Living Church, shares his unique perspective as a journalist who covers The Episcopal Church.
Larry Welborn, Professor Emeritus at Fordham University, highlights democratic impulses within the early Church and the New Testament.
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
Composer Missy Mazzoli previews her new opera based on George Saunders’ novel, the first opera by a female composer to receive its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera.
Marty Wheeler Burnett, D.Min., Associate Professor of Church Music at Virginia Theological Seminary, looks back at the process of assembling the current hymnal for The Episcopal Church.
Dr. Charlotte Healy, St. Bart’s parishioner and co-curator of the exhibition Willem de Kooning Drawing (currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago), gives an overview of the exhibition and explores de Kooning’s provocative...
As she prepares to leave for San Francisco, The Reverend Canon Stephanie Spellers shares some of the lessons she has learned over her eight years at St. Bart's.
Dr. Catherine Meeks, Founder of Turquoise & Lavender, outlines a collaborative approach to combating systemic racism.
The Reverend Peter Thompson discusses the impact of the American Revolution on the development of the Episcopal Church.
Join in conversation with the Reverend Kelsey Davis — Episcopal priest, former professional soccer player, coach, and Co-Founder of Christian Athlete Circles, the first LGBTQ+ affirming organization for collegiate athletes nationwide...
The Very Reverend Marcus George Halley, D.Min. College Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life, explores the intersection of two significant June observances — Juneteenth and Pride Month — through the lens of the Gospel.
Longtime members of the St. Bart’s community remember Tom Bowers, the tenth rector of the parish, who died in 2024.
Dr. Rick Altice, Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine, discusses the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS.
Chine McDonald, who serves as Director of the UK think tank Theos, reflects on her experience of being a Black woman in a white-majority church.