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...
An open-ended conversation with the Right Reverend Mary Glasspool, one of our three bishops.
Transforming Lives, Transforming the Church, Transforming the World: The State of St. Bart’s 2019 On Celebration Sunday, as our program year begins, Bishop Dean Wolfe offers an overview of where St. Bart’s is and where it will be...
Pilgrimage Then and Now: Paul’s Journey to Ephesus, and MineIn the Acts of the Apostles, Paul travels to the Greek city of Ephesus, spreading the Good News of Jesus, baptizing new believers and healing the sick. He also came into conflict...
Let my People Go: Liberation in the Bible The Israelites escape from Egypt; the sick are healed; Jesus triumphs over death and sin: throughout the Bible, people experience liberation -- freedom from all that oppresses them and holds them back...
There's Something About John: What's Different in the Fourth Gospel? The Reverend John Wirenius, Deacon, discusses the unique way in which John tells the story of Jesus' life and outlines the main differences between John's outlook and the...
Luke-Acts as Sweeping Epic: Jesus’ Ministry and the Early Church Many churchgoers are not aware that both the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were written by the same author, who likely intended them to be read...
Blessed Are You: The Ethics of the Sermon on the Mount In the Gospel of Matthew, most of Jesus’ ethical teaching is concentrated in chapters 5 through 7, which compromise what is often called the “Sermon on the Mount.” The...
The Sacrifice of Isaac: Reading the Same Story Two WaysThe sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1–19) is one of the most striking stories in all of Scripture and has inspired a great deal of theological and philosophical thinking, including Soren...
How can an ancient library of books speak to modern challenges and concerns? Is the Bible still relevant in a twenty-first century world? Join Associate Rector for Formation & Liturgy Peter Thompson for a viewing of a talk by Yale Divinity...
