God,
I want to write a great prayer
in memory of the Black excellence of Desmond Tutu and bell hooks.
Something that shows their fierce dedication to freedom and compassion.
But all I can picture is Desmond laughing in heaven,
overjoyed by every person he meets
And bell hooks, finding new womanist, queer, feminist aspects we didn’t know yet!
The Rosa Parks and Toni Morrisons who didn’t make the history books
making notes and translating it to us in a language we can feel in our souls!
God, I keep reflecting on how much of Tutu and hooks’ theology
is part and parcel of my everyday theology
“find why the babies are in the river”
“Love is an action never silly a feeling”
“if you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor”
“queer is the self which is constantly at odds with everything else”
I am fluent in the love of bell hooks and Desmond Tutu, without ever having met either one of them, or even having heard them speak.
It was mostly informal–through osmosis, their love broke through!
Here I am– standing in the shadow of Black beauty and knowledge
Thanks to them.
Thank you for the gift of their lives God. Thank you for their work, their bravery,
their love,
their imperfections, their power
and most of all their willingness to teach us all.
Thank you God.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
Images From: https://assets.vogue.com/photos/61ba2fdf8dfa948c34e8914c/4:3/w_4159,h_3119,c_limit/GettyImages-1178375349.jpg
and
katyandtheword 
Thank you for linking these precious warriors. I discovered this while trying to provoke folks from a black/white church dialog. And yes, on another less: I said it to my wife last night: Betty is “something we can all agree on.”
In return, as you are in the theo-world, I invite you to search the name Alexus Rhone, an acquaintance who is theologian/ pastor/, performance/ artist storyteller.