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.
Computer scientist and St. Bart’s parishioner Clay Williams offers insights into how Artificial Intelligence (AI) works and the challenges it presents around consciousness, morality, and spirituality. Please post your questions in the comments section on Facebook or YouTube, or email the Reverend Peter Thompson at
February 2
Yale Divinity School and Institute of Sacred Music Professor Melanie Ross on the connection between liturgy and everyday life
February 9
Author and academic Isaac Sharp on the changing landscape of American evangelicalism
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
Karuna Mantena, Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, discusses Mahatma Gandhi's influence on the thinking of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the connection they both perceived between social change and...
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as many as 20,000 people of African descent were buried in a cemetery located in lower Manhattan. Historical Consultant Peggy King Jorde speaks about her efforts to preserve that burial ground and the...
As the celebration of the Lunar New Year comes to a close with the Lantern Festival, Ying Yen, Executive Director of the New York Chinese Cultural Center, provides background on the multi-week observance and its place within Chinese culture.
Professor Emeritus at Yale Divinity School John Collins, author of the book "What Are Biblical Values?", tells us what the Bible really says about highly debated ethical issues.
Rob Radtke, President & CEO of Episcopal Relief & Development, reflects on his recent sabbatical, during which he walked the famous Camino de Santiago in Spain.
The Reverend Dr. Maurice Wallace, Professor of English at Rutgers, explains how Martin Luther King, Jr.'s voice served as an asset to him in his ministry.
Tara Marlovits, Bailey Regan, and Veronica Shea talk about their new roles on the St. Bart's staff and share their hopes for the year ahead.
Scott Thumma, Director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford International University, looks at how the church has transformed in the COVID-19 period and contemplates its future.
Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of The Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program, talks about growing up as Sikh in South Texas and reflects on the lessons he continues to learn from the teachings of his tradition...
Amy-Jill Levine, prolific author and the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, places Jesus and Paul within their Jewish context and...
On the eve of the election of the next Bishop of New York, our Rector, Bishop Dean Wolfe, talks about why we have bishops and what they do.
