All posts filed under: Religion

Has the Pandemic brought an end to our hyper-mobility?

April 5, 2021
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Religion

Susan McWilliams Barndt has a brief essay posted on the new site “Current” that talks about the implications of new sociological data showing that Americans are moving less and putting down deeper roots than they have in decades: Rooting for the Future – Current: Because we know that the more people move, the more they tend to be focused on their individual selves rather than on their communities, favor “duty-free” relationships, have less of a […]

The Lent that never ended is about to begin again.

February 13, 2021
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Religion / Sermons and audio

In this past year, it seems we’ve had the longest Lent ever. And now we stand ready to start Lent again before it feels like the previous one is over. But this Lent is different. It brings with it a promise that we can walk with Jesus and participate in hastening the redemption of our community. In Rhode Island the government is choosing a different strategy to vaccinate the population. Other states are working to […]

A new version of the Lost Cause begins to emerge

January 11, 2021
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Religion

David Blight, author of the magisterial biography of Fredrick Douglass, explains how we may be seeing the unfolding of a new cultural/political movement in this moment: David Blight: How Trumpism May Endure – The New York Times: The important Lost Causes in history have all been at heart compelling stories about noble defeats that were, with time, forged into political movements of renewal: the French after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and the profound need […]

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent in 2020

December 19, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Religion / Sermons and audio

We finally draw near to the threshold of the Feast of the Incarnation. But before we join Mary and Joseph beside the manager in Bethlehem, we need to take a moment to understand the miracle of Jesus’ birth, and what his two natures, human and divine, mean for us today. And while we wonder about that, we can wonder too about how we can be like Mary. How can we make God incarnate for others?

A short service of Lessons and Carols from St. George’s School

December 12, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Religion / Sermons and audio

One of my favorite events each December is attending (and participating) in the Service of Lessons and Carols in the chapel at St. George’s School here in Rhode Island. My first one was soon after I was ordained the Episcopal Bishop of Rhode Island and it’s become our family tradition each year since. This year, with the school rightly limiting people’s access to the hilltop it wasn’t possible for people from the community to participate. […]

The Sacramental Interpretation of Scripture & the Renewal of the Church — Earth and Altar

May 29, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Blogging / Religion

There’s a reconnection with Holy Scripture during this time of quarantine. People are joining to read the Office on Sundays, and clergy and lay people are gathering online to read the Daily Office in record numbers. All that scripture needs to have some sort of interpretive framework. James Stambaugh, writing on the site “Earth and Altar” delivers. He sets out a proper Barthian style hermeneutic and grounds it in the historical method of interpretation that […]

Rhode Island Faith Leaders on Reopening

May 27, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Religion

We recognize that congregational worship has high risk of spreading COVID-19 and could jeopardize the safety and well being of our congregants and our clergy members.  All of our traditions prioritize the care of the most vulnerable as a cornerstone of our values.  We are ever grateful for the right to freely worship and know that with it comes the responsibility to safeguard the greater good.  We yearn to be worshiping together in our traditional […]

A Prayer in a time of Pandemic

May 1, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Religion

Healer of souls and stiller of storms; calm the tempests of our hearts in this time of turmoil and fear. Grant us a share of your spirit of Wisdom and Peace that we might proclaim and model your new and redeemed life among the people we serve and in our own families. We ask this in power of your name and placing our trust in your transforming love Lord Jesus. Amen.

The Seven Gifts of Aslan: Sacraments in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | Tor.com

April 29, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Books / Religion

I just came across a lovely article by Matt Mikalatos that’s part of series he’s writing on the children’s series of Narnia books. The books were written by C.S. Lewis back in the middle of the last century. They were written at roughly the same time as Lewis was working on his popular presentation of Christianity: “Mere Christianity” and there are some obvious connections between Lewis work on Christianity and his Narnia books. I remember […]