Meet Bishop W. Nicholas Knisely
Bishop Knisely became our diocesan bishop in November 2012. He 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, he decided to leave behind his studies of Physics and Astronomy and was sent to Yale/Berkeley Divinity School to study for the priesthood. He completed his Masters of Divinity and was ordained to the diaconate in Delaware in 1991, then to the priesthood in 1992. In 2013 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity, also from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.
Bishop Knisely 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 an adult daughter named Kenney.
Connect with Bishop Knisely
Email: bishopsoffice@episcopalri.org
Twitter: @wnknisely
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BishopWNKnisely/
Personal Blog: http://entangledstates.org
Diocesan Blog: https://www.episcopalri.org/connect/the-bishops-blog/
Instagram: @wnknisely
From the Bishop
- Messyness versus Clarity. There’s a reason for that.
A few months ago I posted some thoughts inspired by my learning why it is that most plants on Earth are green, or have green leaves. I explained that green leaves, on a planet that orbits a green star, would seem surpris … - Remember who you once were and shall yet be.\
The most common miracle that we experience is, I suppose, the weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist. As we gather as a community around God’s table, the presider says the words that call to mind the night that Jesus s … - I am *not* text messaging you asking you to buy gift cards…
I’ve heard from people around the state of Rhode Island today that they’ve been contacted by text message by someone claiming to be me and asking them to buy gift cards and send them to me. That’s not me. Really. I would … - The inverse of Christmas
A bishop I once served with used to say to us, with a look of joy upon his face, that, because of the Ascension, there was a human heart beating beside the throne of God. I was more impressed back then with the look of j … - The Holy Spirit. God’s Genie?
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as our Helper, our Advocate, the one he sends to be with us in his apparent absence. But what does that mean in a practical sense? At one level, people understand the work of the Holy Spir … - Love is the Way
Thank you again for your prayers and good wishes as I was recovering from my latest bout with Covid. Thanks to all of you and the wonders of science and medicine, I’m doing much better now. I’m impatiently waiting out th … - Loneliness Is an ‘Epidemic,’ Surgeon General Says. How can congregations respond?
From CNET: Loneliness Is an ‘Epidemic,’ Surgeon General Says. Here’s What to Know: There’s no getting around the fact that we are social beings at our core. If we’re removed from a sense of community or do not have a fee … - Mozilla Social Private Beta Launch
Content moderation is the hard part of any online social platform. It was a big problem early on with email and email lists, with Usenet, and with any chatroom. It’s a problem on websites, particularly discussion sites a … - ‘Godfather of AI’ quits Google with regrets and fears about his life’s work – The Verge
A few months ago, I was part of a team that made a presentation to the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church about the intersection of the Science, Technology and Faith. It was, as is typical, a wide-ranging conversa … - Are we brave enough to walk through the gate?
My apologies. I’m home ill with COVID and not feeling well enough to get a sermon filmed and posted this week. God willing, we’ll get back next week. I do have a sermon to share that I preached on Easter 4 (Good Shepherd …