Every Sunday at 10 am
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, January 4, 2026
Starlight: Exploring the Epiphany in Art
The Reverend Dr. Ayla Lepine, Associate Rector of St. James's Piccadilly in London, explores the role of the star in the story of the Magi's visit to Bethlehem and how that star has been depicted in art.
Upcoming Speakers at The Forum
January 11: From Augustine to Sarah Mullally: The Archbishops of Canterbury and our Anglican DNA
As Bishop Sarah Mullally prepares to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the Reverend Canon Chuck Robertson, Ph.D., Canon & Senior Advisor to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, reflects on the role Archbishops of Canterbury have played within the Anglican tradition.
January 18: The Reverend Dr. Andrew Wilkes, Co-Lead Pastor, Double Love Experience Church
January 25: James L. Ferrara, M.D., Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
February 1: Edward Button, Countertenor, The King’s Singers
February 8: Annual Meeting of the Parish
February 15: Melanie Holcomb, Ph.D., Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Nancy Thebaut, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the History of Art, University of Oxford
February 22: Michael Zuch, LCSW, Clinical Social Worker and Ph.D. student at Rutgers University School of Social Work
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
Featured
12.21.25 | Articles | The Forum |
The Reverend Molly F. James, Ph. D., Interim Executive Officer of The General Convention of The Episcopal Church, speaks about the work of her office and shares data-based insights about the present and future of the Church.
“Welcoming the Stranger” Dr. Larry Welborn, Professor of the New Testament at Fordham University, guided us on a lively survey through the Gospels and their teaching on hospitality and welcome to all people, providing his expert...

Celebrating Difference: Beyond the Melting Pot Our Minister for Children, Youth, and Family Formation, Lucy Breidenthal Bernardin, led us in conversation around matters of diversity and our common life as a parish. What does it mean to celebrate...
Today we welcomed author Rick Hamlin, who spoke about his newly published work, Pray for Me: Finding Faith in a Crisis.
“Blue Christmas”—The clergy of St. Bart’s in the Great Hall discussed the shadow side of the cheerful season. As nostalgia reminds us of how things used to be, the clergy shared thoughts on how to guard and nourish our...
At today’s Forum, Dr. Patrick Hornbeck, a St. Bart’s member and Chair of the Theology department at Fordham University, built on and expanded from our most recent evening adult class, “The End of White Christian...
Today we welcomed J. Chester Johnson, author of Auden, the Psalms, and Me, and learned about his work with the great poet W. H. Auden, as well as his story of their committee's re-translation of the Psalms contained in the current Book of...
Parishioner Nick Stuart talked about one of his latest documentaries, Milwaukee 53206, which addresses the issue of mass incarceration in the United States. The film, shown at Congress last year, is now at the heart of a campaign designed to help...
In today’s Forum. Matthew Moretz introduced the spectacular sequence of sixteen capitals carved by the Piccirilli Brothers in our church and discussed these works of art in close-up detail, each their own dramatic sequence featuring vital...
Today we welcomed Dr. Sarah Ruden for a lively discussion on her recent scholarly work. Dr. Ruden is the author of The Face of Water: A Translator on Beauty and Meaning in the Bible, and the translator of a new version of Augustine’s...
Today we welcomed Jonathan F. Cooper, Communications Manager for the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES), who explored the wide-ranging world of social media and shared his considerations for health and wellness in that shared space.