SUNDAY AT THE FORUM LOCATION: Online (unless otherwise noted) TIME: 10:00 am
Sunday, January 17, 2021 The Evolution of Equal Protection in the United States
Dan Pinello, Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, explores the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause since World War II, and how constitutional history and language have impeded the full realization of equality in the United States.
Feeding the Hungry: The Work of Crossroads Community Services
BIshop Dean Wolfe introduces Jesse Ramos, the new Interim Executive Director of Crossroads Community Services, and together they discuss the important work Crossroads does to combat hunger and homelessness in New York City. For this forum only, please email questions to , or leave them in the comments on YouTube or Facebook.
The Assumptions of Whiteness and the Challenge of Discipleship
As we look back on an eventful year for The Forum at St. Bart's and for the larger world, we replay our most viewed conversation of 2020: "The Assumptions of Whiteness and the Challenge of Discipleship" with Fordham professor The Reverend Dr. Bryan Massingale.
Sunday, December 27, 2020 Magnificat: Women's Voices in Advent and Christmas Music
Episcopal Church musicians Janet Yieh and Carolyn Craig discuss their platform Amplify Female Composers, its Advent Calendar Project, and the importance of expanding the representation of women in the musical life of the Church. Organist and Choirmaster Paolo Bordignon joins them in a presentation that will include recordings of musical performances by the St. Bartholomew's Choir.Janet Yieh is Associate Organist at Trinity Wall Street, where she directs the St. Paul's Chapel Choir, and Carolyn Craig is the Senior Organ Scholar at Trinity-on-the-Green in New Haven, CT. For more information about Amplify Female Composers and to watch featured videos, click here.
Because of our guests' schedules, this week's presentation of The Forum was taped in advance. Unfortunately, we will be unable to consider live questions.
Sunday, December 20, 2020 Healing and Hope: Technology and the Future of Healthcare
Clay Williams, St. Bart’s parishioner and founder of healthtech startup Medaptive Health, reflects on how technology can positively impact the healthcare system. The Forum will appear here on Sunday morning and stream on our Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. Please send your questions for the speaker to the Reverend Peter Thompson at
or post them in the comments section on YouTube or Facebook during the live stream.
Sunday, December 13, 2020 The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization
Psychologist Peter Coleman, a professor at Columbia, discusses the deep divides in our national life--and how we can transcend them. Read more about Professor Coleman and his research here.Professor Coleman has asked that attendees review his open letter to the President-elect ahead of Sunday’s session.
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Sunday, December 6, 2020 What future for this garden, our island home?
Elaine Pagels, a leading scholar of early Christianity and the Harrington Spear Paine Foundation Professor of Religion at Princeton University, outlines the most enigmatic book in the New Testament and the lasting impact it made on politics and culture.
Tending to the Sick: The Future of Healthcare in America
Heidi Allen, Associate Professor at Columbia School of Social Work, offers insight on how future healthcare policy could better protect the most vulnerable. https://socialwork.columbia.edu/faculty-research/faculty/full-time/heidi-allen/
The Future of Education: Sowing the Seeds of Renewal through a National Tutoring Corps
Michael Duffy, who as President of the Great Oaks Foundation oversees five public charter schools, explores how an emphasis on tutoring could transform our approach to education. https://greatoakscharter.org/about/staff/
Heaven & Hell: Contemplating the Ultimate Future Bart Ehrman, the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, chronicles the historical development of Christian ideas about the afterlife. https://www.bartdehrman.com/
It Ain’t Easy Being Native: Indigenous People, The Doctrine of Discovery, and the Episcopal Church
On the eve of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, The Episcopal Church’s Indigenous Missioner, The Reverend Dr. Bradley Hauff, examines the Church’s problematic approach to indigenous people, both historically and in the present.
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Christianity and Animals David Clough, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chester (UK) and the co-founder of Creature Kind, outlines the responsibilities Christians have to protect and care for non-human animals.
On Sunday, September 27, we mark the Feast of St. Bartholomew by celebrating our wonderful community established in his name. The Forum feature our clergy speaking on the fall’s upcoming programming.
Cole Arthur Riley, the creator of the Instagram account @blackliturgies, shares some of her beautiful prayers and speaks to the importance of amplifying Black voices in the liturgical life of the Church.
Who Is My Neighbor During a Pandemic? Part 2: Vaccines and Public Health
After an initial overview of COVID-19 in June, Dr. Jamie Ferrara and Dr. Jim Marion return to discuss progress being made towards a vaccine. Dr. Ferrara and Dr. Marion suggest reviewing this article in Foreign Policy for background on the topic.
Not of Charity, but Justice: Labor Rights and the Common Good
On Labor Day weekend, the Reverend John Wirenius, Deacon of St. Bart's and the Chair of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board, discusses the importance of securing labor rights as part of our effort to build a just society. Read a 2011 article by John in The Journal of Catholic Legal Studies:
As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of 19th amendment, Lee Ann Banaszak, Professor of Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, reflects on the past, present, and future of the women’s rights movement.
Tolle Lege! (Take Up and Read!): Reading as Revelation
Lauren Smith, a PhD student in Religious Studies at Brown University, examines the close connections between the experience of reading great literature and the experience of conversion.
Robert P. Jones (CEO and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute) reflects on his new book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, which outlines the long and unfortunate connection between white supremacy and Christianity in America.
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Sunday, August 9, 2020
Racism and Climate Change: Understanding the Link, Preparing for Action
Malik Saafir, GreenFaith’s Arkansas Organizer and a long-time racial justice activist, will speak about these interconnections and how faith communities can make a difference.
Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and a Story of Reconciliation J. Chester Johnson discusses his latest book, Damaged Heritage, the account of his discovery of his beloved grandfather’s participation in the worst race massacre in our country’s history, his meeting of Sheila L. Walker, a descendant of African-American victims of the Massacre, and their commitment to a journey of racial reconciliation and abiding friendship.
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Sunday, July 26, 2020
We Are George Floyd: A Filmmaker Reflects on Black Lives Matter Protests Filmmaker Julian Marshall reflects on the passionate protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the constructive steps we can take to move forward now.
Responding to COVID-19 Across the Anglican Communion
Robert Radtke, President & CEO of Episcopal Relief and Development, discusses the steps his organization is taking to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 within the United States and around the globe.
_______________________________________________
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Adding to Your Theological Toolbox: Resources for Living with the Realities of Suffering and Grief The Reverend Molly James, PhD offers guidance on how to cope with the painful episodes that we experience in our lives. James is a theologian, professor and priest and the author of With Joyful Acceptance, Maybe. She currently serves as the deputy executive officer of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. View presentations slides here.
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 Abolition at Yale, reflects on Frederick Douglass’ landmark Fourth of July oration and the profound questions it continues to raise about patriotism, Christianity, and race.
As we celebrate another Pride month, The Reverend Justin Crisp draws on queer voices and classic Christian theology to offer a new vision of the nature of sex itself. Crisp is Associate Rector and Theologian-in-Residence at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in New Canaan, Connecticut and a PhD student at Yale University.
Sunday, June 14, 2020 Who is my Neighbor during a Pandemic? A Medical Perspective Part One: The Current Lockdown and How to Lift it Safely St. Bart's doctors Jamie Ferrara, Jim Marion, and Peter Scardino discuss the current state of the COVID-19 crisis and what the next steps are.
Sunday, June 7, 2020 The Assumptions of Whiteness and the Challenge of Discipleship. As protests continue across the country, Bryan Massingale, the James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics at Fordham University, joins us for a discussion about how white people can confront their own prejudices and the systemic injustices of the larger culture.
Sunday, June 1, 2020 Pentecost 2020: Spreading the Good News Online This morning at 10 am, our regularly scheduled Forum conversation was set aside as welcomed the Reverend Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Stewardship of Creation. Thank you to Canon Spellers for leading us to find a way forward.
ARCHIVE: We invite you to enjoy recordings of past Forums.
The Reverend Keith Anderson, author of The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World, talks with Professor J. Patrick Hornbeck II of Fordham University about the future of the Church beyond 2020.
Indigenous People, The Doctrine of Discovery, and the Episcopal Church: On the eve of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, The Episcopal Church’s Indigenous Missioner, The Reverend Dr. Bradley Hauff, examines the Church’s problematic...
David Clough, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chester (UK) and the co-founder of https://www.becreaturekind.org/, outlines the responsibilities Christians have to protect and care for non-human animals.
Cole Arthur Riley, the creator of the Instagram account @blackliturgies, shares some of her beautiful prayers and speaks to the importance of amplifying Black voices in the liturgical life of the Church. https://www.instagram.com/blackliturgies/
It Ain’t Easy Being Native: Indigenous People, The Doctrine of Discovery, and the Episcopal Church
On the eve of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, The Episcopal Church’s Indigenous Missioner, The Reverend Dr. Bradley Hauff, examines the Church’s problematic approach to indigenous people, both historically and in the present.
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Christianity and Animals
David Clough, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chester (UK) and the co-founder of https://www.becreaturekind.org/, outlines the responsibilities Christians have to protect and care for non-human animals.
On Sunday, September 27, we mark the Feast of St. Bartholomew by celebrating our wonderful community established in his name. The Forum feature our clergy speaking on the fall’s upcoming programming.
Cole Arthur Riley, the creator of the Instagram account @blackliturgies, shares some of her beautiful prayers and speaks to the importance of amplifying Black voices in the liturgical life of the Church. https://www.instagram.com/blackliturgies/
Who Is My Neighbor During a Pandemic? Part 2: Vaccines and Public Health
After an initial overview of COVID-19 in June, Dr. Jamie Ferrara and Dr. Jim Marion return to discuss progress being made towards a vaccine. Dr. Ferrara and Dr. Marion suggest reviewing this article in Foreign Policy for background on the topic.
The Forum live stream will appear here on Sunday morning and stream live on our Facebook Page and YouTube Channel
Not of Charity, but Justice: Labor Rights and the Common Good
On Labor Day weekend, the Reverend John Wirenius, Deacon of St. Bart's and the Chair of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board, discusses the importance of securing labor rights as part of our effort to build a just society. Read a 2011 article by John in The Journal of Catholic Legal Studies: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1148&context=jcls
The Forum live stream will appear here on Sunday morning and stream live on our Facebook Page and YouTube Channel
Women’s Suffrage: 100 Years Later
As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of 19th amendment, Lee Ann Banaszak, Professor of Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, reflects on the past, present, and future of the women’s rights movement.
Tolle Lege! (Take Up and Read!): Reading as Revelation Lauren Smith, a PhD student in Religious Studies at Brown University, examines the close connections between the experience of reading great literature and the experience of conversion.
Robert P. Jones (CEO and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute) reflects on his new book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, which outlines the long and unfortunate connection between white supremacy and Christianity in America.
_____________________________________________
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Racism and Climate Change: Understanding the Link, Preparing for Action
Malik Saafir, GreenFaith’s Arkansas Organizer and a long-time racial justice activist, will speak about these interconnections and how faith communities can make a difference.
Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and a Story of Reconciliation J. Chester Johnson discusses his latest book, Damaged Heritage, the account of his discovery of his beloved grandfather’s participation in the worst race massacre in our country’s history, his meeting of Sheila L. Walker, a descendant of African-American victims of the Massacre, and their commitment to a journey of racial reconciliation and abiding friendship.
_________________________
Sunday, July 26, 2020
We Are George Floyd: A Filmmaker Reflects on Black Lives Matter Protests Filmmaker Julian Marshall reflects on the passionate protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the constructive steps we can take to move forward now.
Responding to COVID-19 Across the Anglican Communion
Robert Radtke, President & CEO of Episcopal Relief and Development, discusses the steps his organization is taking to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 within the United States and around the globe.
_______________________________________________
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Adding to Your Theological Toolbox: Resources for Living with the Realities of Suffering and Grief The Reverend Molly James, PhD offers guidance on how to cope with the painful episodes that we experience in our lives. James is a theologian, professor and priest and the author of With Joyful Acceptance, Maybe. She currently serves as the deputy executive officer of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. View presentations slides here.
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 Abolition at Yale, reflects on Frederick Douglass’ landmark Fourth of July oration and the profound questions it continues to raise about patriotism, Christianity, and race.
Sunday, June 21, 2020 The Forum live stream will appear here on Sunday morning and stream live on our Facebook Page and YouTube Channel
As we celebrate another Pride month, The Reverend Justin Crisp draws on queer voices and classic Christian theology to offer a new vision of the nature of sex itself. Crisp is Associate Rector and Theologian-in-Residence at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in New Canaan, Connecticut and a PhD student at Yale University.
Sunday, June 14, 2020 Who is my Neighbor during a Pandemic? A Medical Perspective Part One: The Current Lockdown and How to Lift it Safely St. Bart's doctors Jamie Ferrara, Jim Marion, and Peter Scardino discuss the current state of the COVID-19 crisis and what the next steps are.
Sunday, June 7, 2020 The Assumptions of Whiteness and the Challenge of Discipleship. As protests continue across the country, Bryan Massingale, the James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics at Fordham University, joins us for a discussion about how white people can confront their own prejudices and the systemic injustices of the larger culture.
Sunday, June 1, 2020 Pentecost 2020: Spreading the Good News Online This morning at 10 am, our regularly scheduled Forum conversation was set aside as welcomed the Reverend Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Stewardship of Creation. Thank you to Canon Spellers for leading us to find a way forward.
ARCHIVE: We invite you to enjoy recordings of past Forums.
St. Bart’s Rector, Bishop Dean Wolfe, discussed our upcoming pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2019. Listen in and learn about the wonder and spirituality of a pilgrimage to the land where so much sacred history took place.
The Treasures of St. Bart’s: Matthew Moretz completes his introduction to the spectacular sequence of sixteen capitals carved by the Piccirilli Brothers in our church. See these works of art in close-up detail, each their own dramatic...
“Faith and Science”Today we welcomed Dr. Jamie Ferrara, professor of Pediatrics and Oncological Sciences at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and Dr. Peter deMenocal, Dean of Science at Columbia University, who explored the living link between the...
“Welcoming the Stranger” Dr. Larry Welborn, Professor of the New Testament at Fordham University, guided us on a lively survey through the Gospels and their teaching on hospitality and welcome to all people, providing his expert...
Celebrating Difference: Beyond the Melting Pot Our Minister for Children, Youth, and Family Formation, Lucy Breidenthal Bernardin, led us in conversation around matters of diversity and our common life as a parish. What does it mean to celebrate...