Staff

STAFF DIRECTORY

Office of the Bishop

The Right Reverend W. Nicholas Knisely
Bishop of Rhode Island (as of November 17th)
Bishop Knisely 401-274-4500 ext. 223  
Bishop Knisely was elected to be the 13th Bishop of Rhode Island in June of 2012, and was ordained Bishop on November 17th, 2012.
The Bishop was born and raised in Pennsylvania and met his wife Karen while they were both students at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster. Later, as a graduate student at the University of Delaware, Nicholas decided to leave behind his studies of Physics and Astronomy and was sent to Yale/Berkeley Divinity School to study for the priesthood. He was ordained to the diaconate in Delaware in 1991 and to the priesthood in 1992.
Nicholas previously served as a priest in Delaware, Western and Eastern Pennsylvania, and as Dean of the Cathedral in Phoenix Arizona.  He has been active in a number of ministries with particular focus in the areas of homelessness, communications, college and youth, finance, and ecumenical relations. He taught Physics and Astronomy for nearly seven years at Lehigh University while he was serving in Bethlehem PA. He was the first chair of the General Convention Standing Commission on Communications and Technology and was part of the Moravian-Episcopal Dialog that drew up the full communion agreement between the two denominations.
Karen and Nicholas Knisely have been married for 30 years and have a teenage daughter named Kenney.

The Rev. Linda L. Grenz
Canon to the Ordinary
email Linda 401-274-4500 ext 232 
The Rev. Linda L. Grenz grew up on a farm in South Dakota, and came East to Cambridge, MA where she attended Harvard Divinity School (MTS in Old Testament) and the Episcopal Divinity School (MDiv in Liturgics). She was ordained to the diaconate in 1976 and to the priesthood in 1977 as one of the first 100 women priests in the Episcopal Church. She has served parishes in the dioceses of Delaware, Newark, and Washington. She also has served at the headquarters of the Episcopal Church in the Overseas Development Office and the Office for Adult Education, Lay Ministry and Leadership Development.
Linda founded and led LeaderResources, a publishing and consulting organization that distributed education and congregational development programs such as the Journey to Adulthood youth ministry program. She is completing a DMin in Leadership in the Post Modern Church at Drew School of Theology (NJ) with a project on helping congregations re-imagine church using Theory U and traditional spiritual practices.
Linda has been married to Del Glover for 20 years. Del has two sons. Christopher and Jonathan. Del is a retired DuPont executive who served in the chief operating officer role at Trinity Church (Wall Street, NYC) and the Riverside Church (NYC), and as the Associate Dean at The General Seminary (NYC).

Ms. Liz Crawley
Executive Assistant to Bishop Knisely
email Liz 401-274-4500 x223 
Liz started with the Diocese in 2007 as Bishop Wolf's Executive assistant, and served as Parish Administrator of St. John's in Barrington, from July 1994 to 2007. Liz now is the assistant to Bishop Knisely and supports him by keeping his calendar (a very busy one), maintaining parish and clergy files, event planning, serving as a point of contact for the Office of the Bishop, and a myriad of other duties. She lives in Wickford, has one son Adam who lives in Berkeley, CA, and one daughter Bethany who lives in North Kingstown. Liz was President and founding member of Beyond Our Walls, a
n interfaith non-profit organization formed to do deeds of outreach in the local community and beyond. She is also a board member of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Rhode Island. In her spare time she likes to read, garden, take a daily walk and spend time with close friends. Click here for Liz' staff duties

Betsy Fornal
Canon for Congregations and Clergy
email Betsy 401-274-4500 x225
Betsy has been working for the Diocese in some capacity since 1991, as Deployment Officer, Consultant and now Canon for Congregations and Clergy. Her job is to assist the Bishop in matters dealing with congregations and clergy. In the clergy arena, this includes managing transitions in congregations, recruiting and deploying clergy, working with clergy on vocational issues, supporting interim clergy and consultants, and managing our interface with other dioceses. For congregations, this includes congregational development, strategic planning, and mergers. She and her husband Pete have four children and two grandchildren. They also have one cat, Rookie, who came to them as a free agent and is now managing their team. Click here for Betsy's staff duties

Ruth Meteer 
Communications Director
email Ruth 401-274-4500 x226
Ruth has worked in nonprofit marketing & communications for more than a decade, and came on staff with the Diocese in 2008.  As Communications Director, a large part of Ruth’s responsibilities are the artistic and editorial work of RISEN Magazine, for which she has won many awards including the “Award of Excellence” for the best Episcopal Magazine or Periodical from the National Episcopal Communicator’s Conference. Ruth also has oversight of the Diocesan web & social media presence, E-RISEN events newsletter, advertising, and public relations. She spends significant time assisting Diocesan programs and departments with their communications needs, and serves as a consultant to our 50+ parishes. When not at work Ruth enjoys singing, writing poems, and popping up at open markets with her roaming vintage clothing shop, Gypsy. Click here for Ruth's staff duties

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