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 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.
Please post your questions in the comments section on Facebook or YouTube, or email the Reverend Peter Thompson at
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.
The following individuals were fully welcomed into the life of St. Bart's during Welcome Sunday on February 12, 2023. We invite you to send them messages of congratulations. Ackeem Duggan I am 31 years old and I am from Jamaica, West Indies. My...
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...
