And Transphobia doesn’t protect families–but breaks them
And making abortion illegal, never, ever prevents abortions
God,
How can we humans be so confused
as to take the truth and completely
misconstrue it
so that somehow we make Christianity about power
and Church about politics?
Sometimes I think about this and I think,
only us humans are silly enough to mess up
messages as simple and easy as:
Love and serve one another
or the last shall be first.
Yet here we are God,
Tangling Truths around our Tongues,
Tricking ourselves, with comforting lies.
Ignoring the whisper of the Holy Spirit that says:
Fear Not.
Nothing can separate you from the Love of God
You can never be replaced.*
I hope you have some truth for us today, God.
Some clear, cool and collected truth,
gathered into the waters of baptism–
spilling into our hearts and souls.
Because we need your truth.
Help us to tell ourselves the truth
I pray.
We pray.
Amen. Feel Free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
*replacement theory is a dangerous white supremacist theory that white Americans are being replaced usually by Jewish and Black People and it promotes violence and terrorism against said “replacement” races and religions. It is dehumanizing, bigoted, wrong and as stated a terrorist training ground. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/us/replacement-theory-shooting-tucker-carlson.html
All the violence and the ongoing bombing across the nations
that is so commonplace, we don’t even report it anymore.
I reject all Violence,
What I’m saying is…
Peace of Prince; you need to deal with this.
And as for the ongoing fires, floods, tornados and hurricanes of the earth
Whew…Lord. I don’t know, because we have just done so little,
(so I’m sneaking in a prayer about that too)
I also deny the evil that prevents
Trans girls from playing soccer
Trans Families from taking care of their children
Trans Individuals from accessing healthcare
I call God’s judgement on you–because Lord Knows its above my pay grade.
I call God down upon those govern and who want to
force pregnancy and birth on all people, risking their lives, livelihood, liberty and happiness
but cannot keep enough baby formula on the shelves, free school lunches or childcares open
May God have mercy upon you, in the sweet and loving way that God because I do not even know what to do with this information.
God I am calling you–who gave your very body and blood as the sacrifice for peace–you who always set the table overflowing so every single person could eat,
You who never ask someone their immigration, sexuality or gender status before you heap their plates with food, and extras and leftovers to take home with the communion feast–
I ask you to come down here and talk to these people.
Because I am done with your Children today.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/Share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
wouldn’t be–and so they wept a thousand tears, and said goodbye
before they had an abortion.
Here’s a prayer for those for whom the decision was quick,
and definite, because there was no time for anything else–and no room for any other decision to be made. And you know that God.
Here’s a prayer for those who felt too young or too old to bring a child into their lives; there are reasons why Sarai laughed folks,
This is a prayer for those who had too many children–do we know why Abraham and his coat of many colors and his stepmother died– and those who work too many hours, and those who do not feel like they would make good parents–Abraham I’m looking at you.
This is a prayer for those who were raped–like Bathsheba , whose bodies were violated who then had to make a hard decision afterwards.
Here’s a prayer for the widows or those hungry or alone or in hard situations like Naomi and Ruth. Here’s a prayer for those who choose sex work, who cannot be pregnant right now, the Rahabs who work in good faith.
This is a prayer those who might have wanted a child, but were definitely too unsupported–the would be Marys if they could have been–but they would have gotten thrown out, or who would have been in danger if they had said child–the ones who gave up their child, physically or medically because was just not to be–the Moses’s mothers of the world.
Here’s a prayer for the trans and the nonbinary people for whom healthcare and pregnancy or cost or some other piece was just too dangerous, I’m so sorry.
Here’s a prayer for the black and brown women, for whom birth control and abortion has become a tool of white supremacy to poke into their sex lives and to make them feel dirty–for all the Hagars of the world.
Here’s a prayer for all those who are not mothers, for whom abortion was healthcare, may you feel affirmed and blessed,
and know that there is no excusing faith becoming a weapon, to hem you in or to beat you up.
This is a prayer for all those who had moments of not-being mothers,
because Jesus knows that are beautiful, you are important, your choices are valid.
And he greets you by the well, and understands and affirms your decisions, and calls you lovingly, by name.
This is an anti-mother’s day prayer for you.
May you hold this prayer close when things get hard,
and know that God loves your full self,
the part that said no,
to say yes to a thousand other things–
God knows you and loves you.
May you feel blessed.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
The Resurrection of Tabitha/Dorcas is truly a wonderful miracle. There is Peter, and there are all the widows taking care of her who stand as witness as he says, Tabitha get up. To me, the most amazing part is, she does. She must have loved her discipleship. She must have had things to do on earth. Because part of me wonders if Tabitha laid down because she was really, really tired, so tired that she was burned out. In a time where more than half of women admit to being burned out according to Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2022/04/26/women-continuing-to-face-alarmingly-high-levels-of-burnout-stress-in-the-new-normal-of-work/?sh=12cd72432e5c.
What kind of world are we running where we decide that the women of our society are allowed to be run off their feet? It’s ok to work our women to death—a truth I think which has only been laid bare by the pandemic. Certainly, most of our churches are primarily run and kept in order by women. And the more that is put on women’s plates, the less the church is able to do—plain and simple.
One of the main reasons Christianity grew was because it empowered women—it is shocking to see it as a place that now conversely hems women in. Shutting them up, taking away their individuality, sexuality, independence and power—regulating them to baby making volunteers for Jesus. A place where abortion becomes a dividing vote: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/03/politics/abortion-politics-analysis/index.html Meanwhile, Acts makes it clear that the women were the original founders and financiers of the church, making disciples and decisions going forward.
I imagine that Tabitha wanted to get up because she had more good works to do—because she found the charity work in her life fulfilling, because she was a woman who empowered women. Why else would all the widows be there? Widows, who are politically powerless, but clearly have purpose beyond baby making in Tabitha’s world. They are the ones who are present. They are very, very important.
That my queer siblings are unsafe, that genders are clearly & stupidly divided (by baby making abilities) and uteruses are a commodity to be bought and sold and that my value to many is about how many Christian white babies I can make—and that I am not a real pastor to most because I am a woman. I am tired, and very, very angry.
But I am reminded, that resurrection in Jesus Christ, is complete resurrection, one of joy and energy and that the work is good, and moreover—the widows are waiting. So I guess I better get up and get to work.
A version of this appears in the resources available in “The Immediate Word” section of The Sermon Suite subscription resource that gives all kinds of help in sermon writing and worship planning: https://www.sermonsuite.com/the-immediate-word. I am a regular contributor, and my colleagues are fantastic writers if you are interested.
O God of Pronouns, We give Praise to the Great One the one who is identifiable as God
“I am, what I am” you say! The great They!
The Incarnate He and She– the God of Trans-Being!
Impregnating Mary, Fathering God, Breastfeeding God of Many Mounds/Breasts* God of Mountains and Might!
You shatter all stereotypes!
Making every single person, male and female, in your image. Exactly in your image! male-and-female, intersex, nonbinary,
Spectrum, rainbow God who put your promise for nonviolence in the symbol for queer love, before humanity knew
Because you knew who had Joseph, who could not sleep with a woman in a beautiful lady’s cloak, perhaps of rainbow colors, before we knew, you knew.
God of pronouns, who said, you can call me he or she or they; whatever makes you feel closest to me.
Invisible and Visible God: on this day where visibility is not enough where celebration, belovedness, affirmation and acceptance is the bare minimum
Remind us that you are the God of Pronouns, so of course you affirm and celebrate them.
God of Saul/Paul, Jacob/Isaac, Mara/Naomi, Abram and Sarai and Abraham and Sarah–
God of Joseph of the Coat of Many Colors, of the Ethiopian Eunuch of the Virgin Mary,
God of all the found families in the Bible.
Remind us that you affirm us in our full identity: Name, Pronoun, Found Family, All of it.
And for this we give you thanks and praise, to the great I am, the great They/Them.
Thank you God!
Amen.
Feel Free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
*In Hebrew the word we often translate as Almighty means God of many mounds which can mean the God of many mountains (places to worship) or the God of many breasts (places to get nourishment)
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