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...
Once in Royal David’s City: The History of Christmas Lessons and CarolsJust before St. Bart’s first-ever service of Christmas lessons and carols, Associate Rector for Formation and Liturgy Peter Thompson takes a look at how the...
The Crisis of Human Trafficking, Part 2 of 2: Why All Our Children are Vulnerable and How to Protect Them Each year thousands of children, average age of 11-15, are trafficked right here from our own communities in and around NYC. A growing...
What Does the Lord Require?: Bishop Gene Robinson on Faith and JusticeIn 2003, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson made headlines when he was elected the Bishop of New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay person to be elected a bishop in...
The Lessons of the Wilderness (Part 5—The Struggle Continues: Revelation 12)At the present moment, many Christians feel that they are “in the wilderness”: church membership is declining and talk about Christianity is vanishing...
The Lessons of the Wilderness (Part 4—Sojourning in the Wilderness: Perseverance with Confidence) At the present moment, many Christians feel that they are “in the wilderness”: church membership is declining and talk about...
The Reverend Dr. Dan Matthews, the retired Rector of Trinity Church Wall Street, has served the Episcopal Church with distinction for decades. What is so great about our denomination? Hear the perspective of someone who knows it very well.
The Lessons of the WildernessPart 2—Jesus in the Wilderness: Responding to God’s Call At the present moment, many Christians feel that they are “in the wilderness”: church membership is declining and talk about...
The Lessons of the WildernessPart 1: The Wilderness Generation: Disenthralling Ourselves from IdolatryAt the present moment, many Christians feel that they are “in the wilderness”: church membership is declining and talk about...
