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 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.
Living the Virtues: A special Forum series on the so-called “cardinal virtues” and how to pursue them in everyday life. Today: Bob Dannals on the virtues of courage and perseverance.
Forum handout
The trafficking of women and girls for sex is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, yet it is an issue that remains in the shadows. Many believe sex trafficking is taking place only abroad, or falsely believe that individuals...
On January 17, at the Forum, the Rector Search Committee shared the results of the parish surveys and roundtables. Click above for the copy of the PowerPoint presentation and an audio recording of the Forum.
“What Contributes to Spiritual Growth? What Gets in the Way?: Learnings from Episcopal (and Other) Churches.” A Forum with Jay Sidebotham, Director of RenewalWorks, a Ministry of Forward Movement
Jay’s work with Forward...
Do family interactions sometimes leave you wondering, “What just happened here?” Are you hoping to find a different, more satisfying way of relating for 2016? The Rev. Lynn Sanders presented a timely review of Bowen family systems...
Who Was Expected: What Did We Get?
Our Interim Rector, the Rev. Dr. Bob Dannals, explored the three major themes of messianic expectation in first-century Israel, and then what happened in Bethlehem and beyond.
Download the handout from...
Advent: ‘Tis the Season, Part 1 of 4. The Advent season is multifaceted, each offering its own gift to help us prepare our hearts and our hopes. During each Sunday Forum in Advent, we’ll explore a different, rich dimension of Advent...
The Rev. Dr. Daniel P. Matthews, Sr., Rector Emeritus of Trinity Church Wall Street, is a nationally renowned preacher and teacher, a leader, visionary and vigorous proclaimer of a relevant gospel to the world. Dr. Matthews' inspirational message...
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D. spoke to us on "A Christian Spirituality of Restorative Justice.” Dr. Battle is the recently appointed Herbert Thompson Professor of Church and Society and Director of the Desmond Tutu Center at General...
The Rev. Lynn Sanders draws on the latest thinking and teaching of visionary Episcopal Church leaders to explore the birth and continual rebirth of The Episcopal Church. How did we get here? Where are we going? Why might this be true: “The...