Sunday Forum

About the Sunday Forum

The Sunday Forum takes place 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m., September-May. You do not have to be a member to attend, and no registration is required. On most Sundays, St. Stephen's clergy or other staff members speak. On occasion, we welcome outstanding guest speakers. 

Traditionally the Forum has been held in the Fellowship Hall. This fall, however, we'll move this even to the nave (the church), to allow for more space to enhance safety. As with all other events at St. Stephen's Church, masks covering both nose and face are required for all, regardless of vaccination status.

We are excited to return to an in-person format, and to continue our tradition of featuring high-quality speakers and teachers,drawing upon the best of our tradition through biblical, theological, and artistic lenses, both from within and outside the community of St. Stephen’s. In this time of transition and discernment, the forum will also provide space for dedicated engagement and conversation on related topics with the wider parish. 

For those who cannot attend or who do not feel comfortable being in a space with lots of others, we will livestream the forum on this page.

The Forum will open with the Rev. Patrick J. Wingo, our interim rector. In fact, Pat will have the first three Sundays (September 19 and 26, October 3) in the Forum schedule, and will be joined September 26 by the Rev. Sarah Brockenbrough, the transition minister for the Diocese of Virginia. 

On October 10, our guest speaker will be the Very Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan, the dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.

A panel of our new clergy and lay staff, including the Rev. Will Stanley, the Rev. Cate Anthony, the Rev. John Jenkins, and Ron Brown, will speak on October 17.

On October 24, we’ll welcome the Rev. Whitney Edwards, upper school chaplain at St. Christopher’s School.

A three-week series will take place October 31, November 7 and 14, featuring the Rev. Thom Blair. Thom was rector of St. Stephen’s from 1994 to 2004, and is known for his outstanding biblical teaching.

On November 21, Allison Seay, associate for religion and the arts, will speak in the Forum. Allison’s presentations are always extremely popular.

November 28 is the First Sunday in Advent, and there will be no Forum that day so that all can participate in our intergenerational Advent Fair.

On December 12 and 19, another popular Forum speaker returns when Dr. Gardner Campbell, a St. Stephen’s parishioner and associate professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, will present a two-part Forum on an Advent.

The Forum will then be on hiatus until the new year.   

Forum livestream and recordings

The livestream of the Sunday Forum can be seen below each Sunday beginning around 10:10 a.m. Between sessions, you may see a recording of the most recent Forum. After the conclusion of a Sunday Forum, a video of the livestream will be posted on this page.