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 17, 2025 Seeing Clearly: Evidence, Intuition, and the Search for the Common Good
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
pthompson@stbarts.org
Upcoming Speakers at The Forum
August 24 Gendered Islamophobia: Deconstructing 30 Rights of Muslim Women
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 Reverend Dr. Robert Willis, the recently retired Dean of Canterbury Cathedral in England, looks back at over two decades of distinguished service. During his time in Canterbury, Dean Willis not only hosted an important Lambeth Conference...
Akash Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of journalism start-up New York Focus, reflects on the fight for criminal justice reform, the implementation of a new climate law, and other issues facing our city and our state.
How did Jesus and the earliest Christians approach issues of economic justice? Miguel Escobar, Executive Director of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, provides an overview based on his new book.
At this key moment in the life of The Episcopal Church, St. Bart’s parishioner Mary Kate Wold, CEO & President of the Church Pension Group, shares basic facts about our denomination and the clergy who serve it.
Dr. James Cone, the Medical Director of the World Trade Center Health Registry, shares insights from his work investigating the connections between 9/11 and physical and mental health.
Leaders from the Anglican Church in Ukraine and the Anglican Church in Poland join The Reverend Peter Thompson and The Reverend Zack Nyein virtually to discuss the ways in which they are responding to the ongoing war.
Patrick Bergquist, Chief Program Officer of Episcopal Charities and former staff member of St. Bart’s, returns to talk with The Reverend Zack Nyein about the ways in which the Episcopal Diocese of New York is currently supporting those in...
Wellville: The Long-Term Quest to Achieve Sustainable Equity and Wellbeing
Philanthropist and investor Esther Dyson, reflects on her work as founder/volunteer for Wellville, a 10-year, non-profit project that is helping five small US...