
God promises
It will not be
Always winter
And never Christmas
Herod will not win
Angel’s Good news of Great Joy
Breaks Thru
Wise Men will find their way
Shepherds will hear it all
Dreams will come true
Good will escape evil
God promises
It will not be
Always winter
And never Christmas
Herod will not win
Angel’s Good news of Great Joy
Breaks Thru
Wise Men will find their way
Shepherds will hear it all
Dreams will come true
Good will escape evil
This is a prayer
For all those
in the middle
Of canceling Christmas
Because everyone is sick
Or the storm is raging-Mr. Freeze Miser or Elsa is Raging
Or the Hell has frozen over, and the weather is downright Disrespectful
This is a prayer, for the pastors
boards and and councils who have to figure out
If they are videoing, scrounging
or just calling the whole thing off
After years of hoping to finally be in the warmth of one another’s company again
We thought it would be Hallelujah chorus again
And we were looking forward to lighting the Christ candle again
And were happily scrapping and squabbling about service on Christmas day
When…it came to this…!
And even though, Pastoral Leadership Promises
That Christ will come anyway (every time)
This year is bitterly Hard
So I will not say these words to you
So I’m going to pray
And validate every curse word
Every Sigh
Every Grunt
Every Frustration
Every Headache
And remind you that Yelling at God is an Option
And the the “wise men” got lost
Joseph had no idea what he was doing
Elizabeth and Zechariah were clueless
The Shepherds were fairly uninvited
and pretty much no one knew what was going on but Mary
Prayers friends…I hope you get some support this Christmas
Some affirmation
And some kind of God moment in the mess
Because, truly is what Christmas is all about,
Amen
Feel free to share/adapt/use these words as they are helpful. Please give credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
Look at my broken cross cookie, seems appropriate
Nativity, 2022 (Ukraine) by Irenaeus Yurchuk.
Jesus,
Sweet Baby Jesus
Born in the midst of a collapsing empire
Hidden in plain sight from everything and everyone official
When different factions of the religion
were all claiming to be the “truer” one
Each saying if you don’t worship our way
You don’t belong to God.
You were born when a Messiah
Seemed to be around every corner
Lamps were left on at night and demagogues and dynamic cult leaders
Were followed at whim, because people needed hope
And the gulf between who was poor and who was rich
The distinction between who was citizen and who was not
The taste in one’s mouth when people called one another
Foreigner, Outsider, or Different was sour and full of hate
Violence was everywhere
Children, the Poor, The Elderly, The Lonely, the Sex Worker
were Ignored or Forgotten
Laws were passed against anyone deemed Unclean in any way (oh my Queer siblings!)
Jesus Christ, you were born in a time
When no one was receiving proper healthcare
So people banged down your door
for a bit of healing
And my heart aches
With the familiarity, you could be born today
Is this why you have to be born into today’s world?
Have we forgotten why we need you?
Sometimes I wonder if you haven’t returned
Because we haven’t learned enough?
Heretic thought I know
But I sit in the hate and terror and worry Jesus
Jesus Christ, we need you. A baby
A sneak king full of healing and mischevious teachings of Grace
Jesus we need someone who will sit in the dirt with the marginal
and embody the Peace so much that we will sit in the dirt with you.
Sweet baby Jesus, though I know we picture angels, shepherds, & magi
I think that a baby born in the war-torn dark
might be the truth
Help us to sit with that, in the shortest day and longest night I pray.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
Prophets Promised
Angels Appeared
Mary Upended
Joseph Recognized
Elizabeth Visited
Zechariah Hushed
Stars Illuminated
Magi Perceived
Herods Lied
Israel Trembled
Shepherds
Animals Snuggled
Jesus Appeared
God Incarnated
Christmas Accomplished
Feel free to share/use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
In addition to being read as a poem, this probably could be used as some kind of Pop Up Pageant with silly masks, puppets or the like. I would hand it out and then have the congregation read the verb when the character “appears”
Please Support my Writing, I am Funding some of my Doctorate in Creative Writing as a Public Theologian through donations https://gofund.me/554d36e3 Thank you to all those who have donated, I have successfully completed 2 years thanks to your support.
God,
I’m praying
a tender prayer
for Christmas
For all those for whom
they have a tender and surrendered faith
because of all they have gone through.
Because you cannot surrender
until you’ve been through a battle
and so for all those who have felt like
Advent
Christmas
or just Living
has been a battle this year
I want to pray the prayer of thanksgiving
that you are still here
you are beloved
and God is with you–
And I hope you have found yourself in the Christmas story
whether it is in
Mary, not so meek,
Joseph conflicted but quietly obedient
Magi, shepherd, even if it is the donkey, the innkeeper or the star
I hope and pray that you find a corner to belong in
Because this is your story too
But if you do not, know, that’s ok
Maybe the space for you is in the silence
or the darkness of the night
or the wavering light of the candle
God I hope you know that
God is here
God is with you
God loves you
no matter what
And that is what makes Christmas
Especially when you feel tender
and like you have to give up
May God hold you in the Palm of God’s hand
Whenever and wherever that happens
Amen.
Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta and if you quote the tweet be sure to credit Traci Rhoades and Rev. Jes Last
Please Support my Writing, I am Funding some of my Doctorate in Creative Writing as a Public Theologian through donations https://gofund.me/554d36e3 Thank you to all those who have donated, I have successfully completed 2 years thanks to your support.
With thanks to Jes Last and Traci Rhoades for their inspirational conversation
God,
Today, I’m imagining
Joseph as the squishy parent.
Mary was the one with the justice cries
And the mom look, that got Jesus into ministry
Maybe Joseph was the one with the physical play
And the squishy hugs–
Maybe Joseph was the one who reminded Jesus
Your only human, too
Maybe Joseph was the one who showed Jesus
mortality was ok,
because he was (probably) the parent who died first.
God, I’m thinking of that fierce encounter with an angel
where Joseph was already, heart in mouth, trying to figure out
how to react full of humanity and peace
God, I’m so thankful for Joseph
And today I’m hoping
he was the squishy parent.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
Please Support my Writing, I am Funding some of my Doctorate in Creative Writing as a Public Theologianthrough donations https://gofund.me/554d36e3 Thank you to all those who have donated, I have successfully completed 2 years thanks to your support.
Canva artwork of Joseph by Pastor Katy Stenta feel free to use with credit
The Rich are against my religion
God,
I am ready to magnify
Pregnant calling for the downfall of the mighty
and the poor being filled with good things
Raising up all those who have
Never
Ever, Been empowered before
I can picture Mary and Elizabeth
glowing and tired, demanding you step up and step in God
In a world, where the hospitals are full of sick children
again
I am more than ready to demand healing
God I am tired of this human nonsense:
where money is ready for war, but not for childcare, food or healing
I am am ready for magnficat
to Magnify
All the things you promise (instead of the humans)
I am hungry for the time when justice turns the world upside down
the moment when we can see the hope of all children
incarnate
in a baby
I am pregnant with it.
As my kiddos say
Lets Go, God
Let’s Magnificat,
We have been waiting for it
Forever
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
Magnificat Artwork by Katy Stenta on Canvas feel free to use/share with credit
Advent is about waiting
Because we are waiting
For the poor to be filled with good things
For women to believed
For the prisoner to be set free
For healing
We don’t need practice in waiting
We know Christmas is a quiet participation in the miracle that is yet still unfolding
We want to participate in the waiting, and the greed smashing, equity making, creation beauty that is Christmas
So we are an advent people.
Proclaiming the Magnificat together with Mary:
Until the Alleluias of Christmas
Are born
feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
God,
God of joy
that tastes like justice
on the tongue
God of comfort
that are the warm embrace of
to be one’s full self on the street
God of blessings
that cannot be divided or mangled
that are not confused with wealth or greed
God, I hear your voice
establishing justice on the earth–
in the midst of all of this! Still, we hear it!
Under the stars, there is justice
You breathe it into your people–
A dignity that is inborn, that all people
are beloved and worthy of love
We are inherently made in God’s image
There is not one single exception,
and Mary’s Magnificat, calls down Justice
Come let us Sing with her
And Call down Food
and Fill those in Need with Good Things
Come Jesus, I Cry in Joy for your Justice
I cannot wait, so I too will dream and wrok
And Dream for this World.
And say a prayer for it too.
Amen.
Advent
Is the prayer
For justice
And healing
In the midst
Of impatience
And pain
It’s the cry of love
In a world of no
The grace of yes
Reaching out
To the whole of humanity
Without question
Qualifiers or pause
All Amens and Alleluias
Of Mary’s Magnificat
Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta