Nicholas Knisely

Sermon posting forecast: erratic

Over the next few weeks, including this weekend, my calendar is such that, between travel and other commitments, I'm not going to be able to keep my weekly sermon posting schedule. I'm sorry about that. And extra sorry that this weekend I don't have a sermon from…

Seeking in the Shadows Nicodemus came with genuine questions about what God was doing, even when the answers were confusing and incomplete. That orientation — toward discernment rather than recruitment — is what distinguishes faith from politics, even when they are standing in the same room.

Seeking in the Shadows

Nicodemus came with genuine questions about what God was doing, even when the answers were confusing and incomplete. That orientation — toward discernment rather than recruitment — is what distinguishes faith from politics, even when they are standing in the same room.

Pray for Peace and an end to War today

Please join with all of us in prayer today: Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on Military Strike on Iran – The Episcopal Church Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of…

A #lentenreflection from Rev. Anne at St. Columba’s Chapel in #MiddletownRI (part 2): www.instagram.com/p/DVMadSDkpx...

Drunken Monkeys Confirmed

Boozy chimps fail urine test, confirm hotly debated theory - Ars Technica In short, “We find widespread physiological evidence of the consumption of alcohol by chimpanzees,” Maro said. “If there’s any doubt about the drunken monkey hypothesis—that there’s enough alcohol…

The Assayer in the Wilderness The wounds from trauma, from broken institutions, from years wandering in cultural and spiritual wilderness - those are brought to the refiner’s fire not to be forgotten but to be transformed.

The Assayer in the Wilderness

The wounds from trauma, from broken institutions, from years wandering in cultural and spiritual wilderness - those are brought to the refiner’s fire not to be forgotten but to be transformed.

Jesse Jackson's campaign was the first and only presidential campaign I ever worked on (in Delaware back when I was a grad student.) He was one of the most inspiring American voices we have had in decades.

God bless all those who mourn his passing.

From Bishop Knisely @wnknisely.org: “Devastated by the news of today’s shooting in Pawtucket, I am holding all the victims and their families in my thoughts and prayers. I am also praying for the first responders as they grapple with the senselessness of this tragedy.”

Prayers for Pawtucket

Devastated by the news of today’s shooting in Pawtucket, I am holding all the victims and their families in my thoughts and prayers. I am also praying for the first responders as they grapple with the senselessness of this tragedy.

The Transfiguration: Living Between the Cloud and the Cross The Transfiguration reminds us: the voices worth listening to are often the ones being dismissed. Throughout Scripture, God's people repeatedly misunderstand what God is doing. And in our own time? We see this same pattern. We divide over worship styles, over politics, over who's in and who's out, while the prophetic call to care for the vulnerable, to seek justice, to practice mercy gets drowned out by certainty and self-righteousness.

The Transfiguration: Living Between the Cloud and the Cross

The Transfiguration reminds us: the voices worth listening to are often the ones being dismissed. Throughout Scripture, God's people repeatedly misunderstand what God is doing. And in our own time? We see this same pattern. We divide over…

“Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love… knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for...”

- “A Prayer for Those We Love”, BCP pg. 831

Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥️

(📷 of Christ Church, Westerly)

A wide shot of JetBlue Park taken from the right field seats with the sun rising over the ballpark.

Good morning and welcome to baseball season.

A City Set Upon A Hill Jesus is saying something challenging: the community he's building doesn't operate on the logic of retaliation. It breaks cycles instead of perpetuating them.

A City Set Upon A Hill

Jesus is saying something challenging: the community he's building doesn't operate on the logic of retaliation. It breaks cycles instead of perpetuating them.

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The message of the Cross is that this way of life — this way of justice, mercy, humility, peacemaking, solidarity with the vulnerable — will ultimately confound and overcome the…

https://entangledstates.org/2026/01/31/by-this-sign-you-will-conquer-2/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social

RT. REV. MARIANN BUDDE, 153 BISHOPS: The question facing America — Whose dignity matters? Episcopal bishops condemn Renee Good, Alex Pretti deaths, calling for ICE suspension and investigations into state-sanctioned violence affecting communities nationwide.

I'm one of the signers on this letter from Bishops of the Episcopal Church.

Tribalism turned to 11 via the Outrage Machine Om Malik: Our civic life is being poisoned by our inability to seek the common good because we're too busy defending "our side". And our tech is accelerating the harm.

Tribalism turned to 11 via the Outrage Machine

Om Malik: Our civic life is being poisoned by our inability to seek the common good because we're too busy defending "our side". And our tech is accelerating the harm.

Large and small – Gothic style churches dot RI landscapes Rhode Island is home to stunning Gothic churches characterized by pointed arches, stained glass, and intricate craftsmanship. These churches not only showcase the varied Gothic tradition but also serve as local landmarks. Notably, four of the seven highlighted are Episcopal congregations, with one unique church housed in a barn.

Large and small – Gothic style churches dot RI landscapes

Rhode Island is home to stunning Gothic churches characterized by pointed arches, stained glass, and intricate craftsmanship. These churches not only showcase the varied Gothic tradition but also serve as local landmarks. Notably, four of…

And immediately they left their nets and followed him We are never really ready to respond when God appears in our life and calls us to action. And that doesn't seem to matter. What matters is trusting that God will supply what we lack as we respond in faith to what God expects.

And immediately they left their nets and followed him

We are never really ready to respond when God appears in our life and calls us to action. And that doesn't seem to matter. What matters is trusting that God will supply what we lack as we respond in faith to what God expects.

Thilo, Kunst and Marcus: We’re in danger… AI-generated bot swarms pose a significant threat to democracy by making fringe views appear mainstream through manipulated social evidence. These bots can compromise training data for future AI models, exacerbating misinformation. While banning isn't a solution, changing the economic incentives behind manipulation is crucial to safeguarding democratic integrity.

Thilo, Kunst and Marcus: We’re in danger…

AI-generated bot swarms pose a significant threat to democracy by making fringe views appear mainstream through manipulated social evidence. These bots can compromise training data for future AI models, exacerbating misinformation. While banning isn't a…

Immigration gave America a huge advantage

This quote from John Steele Gordon came up in my daily review of passages that I've highlighted in my reading over the years: Worth keeping in mind right now.

Morality appears to be hard-coded in our brains.

Some moral acts matter more than others, study shows: Researchers found a surprising finding [...]. Even when participants were mentally overloaded—trying to remember long number sequences while judging others—their reactions to fairness and…

On the nature of evil

To my mind, more than anything else, the Gospels and the Parables in particular, are about teaching us as disciples to have empathy for others. Turns out that is also how we defeat evil.

Sneaky snow storm today

Sneaky snow storm today: This early snow today is already a surprise - at least according to the regular forecast models. But the AI based models have been sniffing out a bigger event all week though. We're in the "now-cast" at this point. This one could surprise us here in…

A note about brief notes

From time to time, I find myself wanting to share something that doesn’t quite rise to the level of a full reflection, like a short observation, a quick thought, a link worth noting, but not something that needs to be emailed to the thousands of you that subscribe to this…

The Lamb: Inaugurating the Beloved Community [...] How does the sacrifice of one, the offering of the Lamb, create a community, a movement, a new world? I think a glimpse of an answer comes from one of America’s great philosophers of the early twentieth century: Josiah Royce. Josiah Royce (1855–1916) was an American philosopher associated with absolute idealism, best known for his work on loyalty, community, and the moral meaning of shared life.

We cannot explain the Kingdom of God into existence. We must bring others into the fellowship where Christ abides, into the worship where his death and resurrection are remembered, into the spaces where love and mercy are practiced.

The Voice before the Wilderness Epiphany is a season that calls us to notice those moments when God breaks through into our lives. Scripture is full of such theophanies, little theophanies — moments when we catch a glimpse of God…

The Voice before the Wilderness entangledstates.org/2026/01/10/t...

A present that can only be understood by remembering the past. Once we see how Matthew reads history, we are forced to ask a more uncomfortable question: If God’s saving work repeats and deepens across time, where is it happening now? Where is the Christ Child today? Not sentimentally - but concretely. Where is new life appearing that unsettles old power? Where is hope being born in places that seem too small, too ordinary, or too marginal to matter?

Where is new life appearing that unsettles old power? Where is hope being born in places that seem too small, too ordinary, or too marginal to matter? Where are children - and others - whose vulnerability exposes the violence and fear that still shape our world?

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The Fast Day of the Holy Innocents Today I am fasting. It is the transferred observance of the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the day when the Church remembers the children killed by Herod as he sought to secure his position and prote…

The Fast Day of the Holy Innocents entangledstates.org/2025/12/29/t...

Lingering with the Light this Christmastide At the end of the Gospel we hear on Christmas Eve, we are told that Mary pondered these things in her heart. She did not rush to explain them. She did not try to resolve all the questions. She held…

Lingering with the Light this Christmastide entangledstates.org/2025/12/27/l...