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.
The Reverend Dr. Mihee Kim-Kort, co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, Maryland and author of Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness will Transform Your Faith, reflects on how practices of reading and listening might open us up to God’s presence and help us show up in courageous ways. Please post your questions in the comments section on Facebook or YouTube, or email the Reverend Peter Thompson at
The Forum is on hiatus for Independence Day weekend. In its place, join the clergy of St. Bart's for an in person conversation about what it means to love our country in times like these. A virtual version of the conversation will be held on Zoom after the 11 am service. If you can't join us in person, please register for the Zoom call below.
Ethnomusicologist and St. Bart's parishioner Margaret Farrell reflects on how music can lift spirits in difficult times.
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
William Stell, Faculty Fellow at New York University and author of the upcoming book Born Again Queer, uncovers the hidden history of gay evangelicals and the opposition they faced within the evangelical movement.
The Reverend Canon Stephanie Spellers and the Reverend Zack Nyein reflect on the Episcopal Church's four day “festival for the Jesus movement” held recently in Baltimore.
Liz Reiner Platt, Director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School, discusses current legal trends in religious liberty law, especially from a progressive perspective. Though “religious freedom” most commonly...
University of Michigan musicologist Mark Clague, author of the book O Say Can You Hear? A Cultural Biography of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” discusses Americans’ changing relationship with their national anthem.
The Right Reverend Deon Johnson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, reflects on his experience as the first openly gay Black bishop in The Episcopal Church and the ways in which the Church is still working towards the full inclusion of...
Film Director Yuval David and Executive Producer Mark McDermott discuss their new documentary, Wonderfully Made, which explores the challenges of LGBTQ+ Roman Catholics. The film is accompanied by an art project, which aims to expand the viewers...
The Reverend Robbie Pennoyer, Head of Lower Manhattan’s Grace Church School, reflects on the state of our young people and the role that faith can play in their lives.
Roxanne Stone and Katelyn Beaty, co-hosts of the podcast Saved by the City, both grew up in white evangelical America and now live in New York City. Together they examine Christianity, evangelicalism, and other religious topics from the...
Evangeline Warren, who grew up at St. Bart’s, talks about the emerging role of young adults within the Episcopal Church. Eva, the daughter of Mary Abraham and Rob Radtke, is currently working towards her Ph.D. in sociology at Ohio State...
The Reverend Canon Faiz Basheer Jerjes, the priest of St. George’s Church in Baghdad, speaks about conditions on the ground in Iraq and the difficult work of serving as a Christian leader there. Thank you to Stand With Iraqi Christians for...
My Name is Pauli Murray Betsy West, co-director, and Dana DiCarlo, co-executive producer of the documentary My Name is Pauli Murray, talk about the beloved Episcopal priest, lawyer, scholar, poet, and civil rights activist who once attended...
