On the night of April 4, 2026, St. Peter's by-the-Sea gathered in darkness to proclaim that Easter doesn't begin after the darkness lifts — it begins inside it.

The Rt. Rev. Nicholas Knisely, Bishop of Rhode Island, delivered the sermon for this year's Great Vigil of Easter. Drawing on the witness of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bishop Knisely distinguishes between optimism — "I think things will get better" — and hope: the conviction that God is not finished. In a world of war, fear, and exhaustion, he argues that the resurrection was not wish fulfillment. It shattered categories. It was an act of God that no one planned, predicted, or could have arranged — and that death could not undo.

The service includes the ancient Exsultet, five Old Testament readings tracing God's saving acts from Creation through the Valley of Dry Bones, the renewal of Baptismal Vows, the Epistle from Romans 6, and the Easter Gospel from Matthew 28. Fr. Craig Swan leads the Prayers of the People.

Scripture: Genesis 1, Genesis 7–9, Exodus 14–15, Isaiah 55, Ezekiel 37, Romans 6:3–11, Matthew 28:1–10

Keywords: Easter Vigil, Episcopal Church, Bishop Nicholas Knisely, Rhode Island, resurrection, hope, Desmond Tutu, Great Vigil of Easter, Narragansett, St. Peter's by-the-Sea