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...
Kathryn O'Neal-Dunham, CEO of Philanthropy New York, speaks about how philanthropic organizations and individuals enact love through the skillful exercise of their power.
As we celebrate the Church’s birthday, our Rector, the Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, reflects on the current state of St. Bart’s and progress that has already been made on our strategic plan.
Frank Collerius and Crystal Chen, co-hosts of New York Public Library’s podcast The Librarian Is In, return to St. Bart’s to offer suggestions for summer reading. Please post your questions for our speaker in...
The Right Reverend Mary Glasspool reflects on the role that technology should play in the life of the Church as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Please post your questions for our speaker in the comments section...
The Great Organ of St. Bartholomew’sDays before a St. Bart’s Conservancy gala concert featuring our celebrated Great Organ, Dr. Paolo Bordignon, Organist and Choirmaster, outlines the history and characteristics of the instrument and...
Funeral Planning for Invincible People (Who Have No Time to Die)
Amy Cunningham, Owner of Fitting Tribute Funeral Services, helps us think about a topic we often avoid--our own deaths--and guides us in the important work of preparing...
Values, Vision, and Belonging: How to Reckon with the Climate Emergency
Karenna Gore, the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, returns to St. Bart's to discuss the ongoing climate...
4/3 A Rabbi and A Priest in Conversation
As Easter and Passover both approach, The Reverend Meredith Ward speaks with Rabbi Sarah Berman, Director of Adult Education at Central Synagogue, about the connections between Christianity and Judaism...
Donald Romanik, St. Bart's parishioner, President of The Episcopal Church Foundation and author of Money Legacies, calls us to recognize and reconsider the ways in which we were taught to think about money as children...