All posts filed under: Rhode Island

Statement regarding the new statue of Blackstone in Pawtucket

August 25, 2021
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Reconciliation / Rhode Island

My statement regarding the statute of the Rev. William Blackstone in Pawtucket RI: It was with surprise that we learned today of the William Blackstone statue erected in Pawtucket. It is regrettable that such a monument would be approved and given municipal funding without seeking more input from our Indigenous neighbors. Colonizers like Blackstone are a troubling feature of our American history, and we would do well to reflect on the opinions of those who were on this land […]

Encourage one another, lest we lose heart

August 20, 2021
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Rhode Island

From our diocesan newsletter this week: Usually, this time of year, I’d be writing a message encouraging you to unplug and relax in these final days of Summer. But this year, as much as we wanted to do so, national and global events and the resurgent pandemic make all that feel impossible. The sad truth is this is the second summer in a row that we can’t take a breath. This long slow series of […]

Crusty Old Dean: The Episcopal Church’s Lost Causism

September 18, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Reconciliation / Rhode Island

A friend, Episcopal priest, seminary professor and writer, The Rev. Thomas Ferguson, has a searing essay posted about the historical denial of our denomination’s participation in the evil of White Supremacy: Crusty Old Dean: The Episcopal Church’s Lost Causism: Thankfully, there have been a number of really great histories written in the past 25 years, efforts to correct the systemic racism in how we have told our history:  Prichard’s “History of the Episcopal Church,” Hein […]

What will church look like as we return to the buildings?

April 30, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Rhode Island / Weblogs

My colleague (and friend) Jim Hazelwood, the Lutheran bishop of New England, posted a letter about the first steps in the COVID-19 recovery process. He’s been a key conversation partner with the Episcopal bishops in New England and what he shares here both represents a large part of my thinking and includes some helpful suggestions I hadn’t thought of. He writes particularly of the immediate stages of returning to the buildings as the state governments […]

Rhode Island COVID-19 and the Tuesday jump

April 22, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Rhode Island / Science

Yesterday Rhode Island reported its highest number of new positive tests for coronavirus so far. But is this a cause for worry that things are unexpectedly going sideways, or is it something else? “Dr. Drang”, an engineer and data expert, has noticed a consistent bump in the national numbers every Tuesday for almost a month now: The Tuesday jump – All this: These plots are for the daily figures, and you can see by the […]

Masks: Individual vs Collective Responsibility

April 20, 2020
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Rhode Island

I saw a comment online yesterday that helped me to better understand the resistance to wearing masks in public in the midst of this present pandemic. (Such reluctance isn’t unique to this moment – there was an anti-mask league in San Francisco in the 1918 pandemic that led to an unnecessary increase in infection and death in the city back then.) The point of the mask, as I’m sure you’ve heard, is that my mask […]

Remarks at the Providence Jewish Community Vigil following the Tree of Life Shootings in Pittsburgh

October 30, 2018
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Religion / Rhode Island

It is written in the Book of Proverbs (Chapter 16) that:     The mind of the wise makes their speech judicious, and adds persuasiveness to their lips.     Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. And a little further it is written that:     Scoundrels concoct evil, and their speech is like a scorching fire.     A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.     The violent entice their […]

Please join in prayer for those murdered in Pittsburgh

October 27, 2018
by Nicholas Knisely
Reconciliation / Religion / Rhode Island / Sermons and audio

Today we are reeling from the news of the senseless and evil violence done to the innocent worshipers at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Our elder sisters and brothers in Judaism are God’s Chosen people and nothing will separate them from the Covenant their ancestors made with Holy and Living One. I ask Episcopalians across Rhode Island to please add this prayer to God asking for rest for the departed (El Maleh Rachamim) to […]

Prayers for South Carolina from Rhode Island

June 18, 2015
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Rhode Island

Beloved in Jesus, the Prince of Peace; Our hearts are breaking today as we take in the news of another mass shooting. Today’s crime, apparently motivated by racial hatred, has taken the lives of nine innocent victims while they were gathered in prayer and Bible study.   Church bells are being rung across the nation calling us to prayer for the victims and for all who’s lives have been forever shattered by this tragedy. I […]