knisely – RI Future

It’s becoming somewhat of a tradition that one of the first media events of the legislative session is a call to action on poverty – a march to the State House led by interfaith leaders followed by speeches from the House speaker, Senate president and governor.

“The RI Interfaith Coalition, whose mission is to fight poverty with faith,” says this year’s press release, “believes that as people of faith they are called upon to hold their communities and themselves accountable to the moral standards of justice and compassion that are central to religious traditions.”

The march starts at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church across from the Providence Place Mall at 2pm and Governor Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nick Mattiello and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed are scheduled to speak at 3pm in the State House rotunda. Here’s what Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said last year and this will be Raimondo’s and Mattiello’s first time addressing this audience publicly on poverty.

The Interfaith Coalition is advocating for “payday lending reform, family cash assistance, and homeless prevention legislation,” according to the press release. Bishop Nicholas Knisely of the Episcopal Church will be there, it said. His counterpart from the Catholic Church, Thomas Tobin, wasn’t mentioned.

Here’s a picture from last year:

Rev. Nicholas Knisely, the new bishop of the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island, supports marriage equality and plans to change current local policy to allow priests here to bless same sex unions. He announced the decision in December at the Diocesan Convention just 14 days after starting his new job here in Rhode Island.

“I am going to give permission, indeed I have already done so in one case for a couple desiring a ceremony later this month,” he said, . “But my giving of this permission represents a significant change in policy for the Diocese of Rhode Island. While Bishop Wolf did vote in favor of the blessing liturgies at General Convention, she did not allow such services to take place.”

Knisely said he was going to work with a task force to “create guidelines for use by congregations in the diocese who wish to offer this pastoral office to their members.”

There are a few questions that need to be decided. How do we make the decision that a parish would like to offer this ministry? I would strongly urge, in fact I have already required, that the vestry or bishop’s committee pass a resolution expressing their support of the offering of blessings to be communicated, along with a letter from the rector or priest in charge, before the first blessing takes place. No priest is required to perform a blessing service, and the legislation enacted at General Convention was very clear that there must be no penalty for a member of the clergy who’s conscience will not allow them to do so.

A spokeswoman, Ruth Meteer for Knisely said he will be issuing a press release next week to clarify his and the church’s position. He is meeting with the dioceses’ standing committee on Tuesday, where they will discuss the church’s position on marriage equality.

She said he has received several media inquiries. Knisely met earlier in the week with Rev. Gene Dyszlewski, of the First Unitarian Church in Providence and chair of the Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality, who described their conversation as “positive.”

Earlier this week more than 100 religious leaders spoke out in support of marriage equality and Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin reaffirmed his opposition.

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Mattiello, Paiva Weed and Raimondo address poverty today

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