Church Tomorrow?: What Nones and Dones Teach Us About the Future of Faith
The Reverend Canon Stephanie Spellers, Assisting Priest, draws on the experiences of those at the Church’s periphery in her effort to chart a future for faith itself.
Every Sunday at 10 am
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, June 1, 2025
The Renewal of the Church for the Healing of the World: Why the Story of Church Decline is Wrong
The Right Reverend Matthew F. Heyd, Bishop of New York, offers his thoughts on the renewal that is already happening within the Church.
Upcoming Speakers at The Forum
June 8
A Personal Story of Palestine
The Reverend Canon Leyla King, a Palestinian American priest and the author of the forthcoming memoir Daughters of Palestine, provides a way in to the conversation about the current realities in the Holy Land through the lens of her family’s experiences as Palestinian Christians.
June 15 Jon Key, author of Black, Queer & Untold, on art, sexuality, and race
June 22 Jacqueline Goldsby, Professor of African-American Studies and English at Yale University, and Charles Cuykendall Carter, Assistant Curator at New York Public Library, on James Baldwin
June 29 The Reverend Mihee Kim-Kort, co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, Maryland, on queerness and faith
Watch or listen to The Forum from previous weeks below.
Featured
Perspectives from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Two Fathers Speak Out
07.25.21 | Articles | The Forum
Rami Ehlhanan, who lost a daughter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, shares his story and reflects on the importance of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. Rami is a member of The Parents Circle-Families Forum, a joint Israeli-Palestinian...
Picturing Mary Magdalene
07.18.21 | Articles | The Forum
Our newest clergyperson, the Reverend Meredith Ward, Interim Associate Rector, explores the story of Mary Magdalene through art and scripture and examines how early interpretations of her have shaped our current understanding of this first...
Re-opening The Great White Way: Race and Redemption in Upcoming Broadway Musicals
07.11.21 | Articles | The Forum
The Very Reverend Nathan LeRud and the Very Reverend Peter Elliott, cathedral deans and hosts of the podcast The Gospel of Musical Theatre, preview the upcoming Broadway season, focusing particularly on revivals of West Side Story, The Music Man...
Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July
07.04.21 | Articles | The Forum
This is a replay of a popular installment of The Forum from July 5, 2020. David Blight, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and...
Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality and Spirit
06.27.21 | Articles | The Forum | Pride Month 2021
The Reverend Dr. Patrick Cheng, Theologian in Residence of our neighboring parish, St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, examines important issues at the intersection of race, sexuality, and religion. Please note: Because of Father Cheng’s...
Seeing Gender Diversity in Scripture
06.20.21 | Articles | The Forum | Pride Month 2021
Author Austen Hartke returns to St. Bart’s to explore stories of biblical characters who didn't fit the mold when it came to gender roles and expression and talk about how these stories can call us to welcome our gender-expansive siblings...
Lessons from Pauli Murray on Being a Problem
06.13.21 | Articles | The Forum | Pride Month 2021
Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities at Rice University, reflects on the legacy of The Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray, a civil rights activist, lawyer, Episcopal priest, and trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ Community.
Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life
06.06.21 | Articles | The Forum
The Reverend Dr. Randall Balmer, John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College and author of Solemn Reverence: Separate of Church and State in American Life, returns to St. Bart’s to discuss his new book about the separation of...
We Remember Them: Memorial Day Reflections
05.30.21 | Articles | The Forum
The Right Reverend Carl Wright, Bishop Suffragan for Armed Services and Federal Ministries, The Episcopal Church's Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, contemplates the significance of Memorial Day and discusses his role...
Filled with the Holy Spirit: The Meaning of Pentecost
05.23.21 | Articles | The Forum
Cheryl Bridges Johns, the Robert E. Fisher Chair of Spiritual Renewal at Pentecostal Theological Seminary, reflects on the meaning of Pentecost, often called “the birthday of the Church.”