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...
The Reverend Dr. Randall Balmer, John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College, discusses his new book about the intimate–and often unexamined–connections between religion and sports.
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...