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, August 24, 2025 Gendered Islamophobia: Deconstructing 30 Rights of Muslim Women
Dr. Daisy Khan, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality (WISE), discusses how Muslim women’s lives can be improved by connecting them to beliefs that affirm human dignity and gender equality at the core of the Islamic faith.Please post your questions in the comments section on Facebook or YouTube, or email the Reverend Meredith Ward at
Upcoming Speakers at The Forum
August 31 Conversation with Clergy: What Did You Do This Summer?
The Forum is on hiatus for Labor Day weekend. In its place, join the clergy for an in person conversation about summer vacations and the fall season ahead.
September 7 Forum with Former Rector Buddy Stallings
The Reverend Buddy Stallings reflects on the decade since he retired as Rector of St. Bart’s and the state of the world today.
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
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...
Peter DeMenocal, President and Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discusses efforts currently being made to better understand the mysteries of the ocean and the role that ocean-related solutions can play in the fight against...
Julian Wamble, Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, discusses the role that the Black electorate plays in American elections.
Nearly two decades after its initial publication, parishioner Steve Ross discusses his graphic novel Marked, a subversive, award winning and genre-defying comic based on the Gospel according to Mark.
The Reverend Peter Thompson presents an overview of the Revised Common Lectionary, the system of assigned readings from the Bible that is used at St. Bart’s and throughout the English-speaking world.
On the day her new book, Living Well: Inspired by the Story behind the Bible, is released, Starr Tomczak reflects on how the Bible can help us make sense of our own lives.
Irwin Leopando, St. Bart’s parishioner and Chair of the English Department at LaGuardia Community College, explores the work of educational philosopher Paulo Freire, paying particular attention to its theological implications. His book on...
Attorney and St. Bart's parishioner Elizabeth Kelley reflects on years of experience helping people with mental disabilities navigate the criminal justice system.
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...