Empires Crush
Occupiers Crucify
Oppressors Jail
Betrayal and Denial
are in the air
It seems like
…Everywhere
And yet
Forgiveness is Spoken
without Apology
Criminals are Remembered
in Paradise
Crosses are Carried
For a Mile
By Strangers
Women Follow
Beating Their Breast
Confessions Are Made
Of Christ
At even the Last Moment
And It is
Ok
That Friday
Isn’t Good
…
Yet
Feel free to share/use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
Jesus Christ
I think about how
Bread is shared
the Crusty Full flat breads
That are more easily shared with
a quick tearing among friends for
Tapas
I think of how
Sharing is entrenched
In Christ’s ministry
of how Jesus spent
his last moments
Sharing food
and Prayer
The gentle
voices of how
to survive
this moment
come across
this very moment
and people say
Volunteer
Find a friend
a community
in Need
And I think
Of how
When You Return
Ever Knee
Shall Bow
Because
You will return
As you Left
Serving
On Your
Knees
Gardening
Washing Feet
Healing
Greeting Children
Praying
So we will all Kneel
To Serve
Beside you
The Mandate
Command–is not necessary
In stark contrast to law and order
The reign of Christ will come
through mercy
and Love
Love and mercy you
Say
and you will feed us
And we will
throw our doors
Open wide
Maybe it’s Agape Thursday
Or Hesed Thursday
But sure
Maundy Thursday
For Now
Holy Spirit
Come!
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
I don’t want to live
in a world
Where we live out
imprisoning
and killing
immigrants
innocent
and guilty
side by side
Why they cry out
for water
I don’t want to live
in a world
where
the loneliness
of those in power
manifests
in intimidation
betrayal
and
empty promises
I don’t
want the Palm Sundays
of Protest
to End in the
Fridays
of Violence
where
we think
Sacrifice is
the only answer
I don’t
Want us
to Cry out
“my
God
MY GOD
why…
Why have
You abandoned
Me?”
Feeling the
Hell of
Divine
absence
I don’t
want to
live out
empty
Saturdays
Of Mourning
Where there
is absolutely
no right
word of
comfort to Say
But I do
Want
the resurrection
of community
Where
White people
Learn
Listening
and Community
And Solidarity
for Real this time
I do want the
Apostle-ship
Of the Women
To be
whispered
At Dawn
And for the
Empires
To topple
at the truth
And I do
want the
Church
To be
Alive
and well
Not in pews
Or choirs
But in
Shared Meals
and understandings
Beyond denominations
And accountability
Liberation
And Mission
in the Neighborhood and Beyond
I want to
meet Jesus
And God
in the gardens
And for
the Divine to remind us
That all the
Seeds that we are
Planting Count
(Even the ones that don’t bloom)
And that
God is tending
some to produce
Resurrection
Harvests
Beyond
All Imaginings
And I
Want to
Remember
That Chuffing
Off
the Offal
Is Ok
And that
Jesus
will Rise
Again
And he
Will Kneel
in the Garden
To Plant
And so
Of course
We will kneel
Next to him
In solidarity
And so
With
the Holy Spirit
Whispering
Encouragement
In My
Heart
I walk
Towards
a Kin-Dom
Now.
Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
God
I am
so angry
I could
Curse out
all the Fig
Trees
That are poisoning
The land
I am so
angry
I could
Flip
the tables
of all those
Who are
Tricking the
Public
with Slight of
Hand
Money
Changing
Pretend
“Money
Saving”
Tricks
God I am so
Angry
That there is
Not actually
A Cursing God
Tuesday
There is not
and actually
Justice Making
Monday
There is not
An
Actually
Action-Making
Stay up all Night
Until things Change
Sunday
We play through
The Emotions
of Holy Week
And all I end up
with is another
Statement
From my Denomination
Don’t get me wrong
I am a Writer
In Love with Words
Grounded in
The Good News
I love Verbal Processing
As much
as the Next Person
And I think
That Art
feeds the Soul
of Movements
But we have to figure
Out how To
Stop our
Senators from
Posting
Mealy Mouth
Social Media
Statements
And Move from
The Theater
To actually
Tearing Down
The things that
Don’t work
Before the
Fig Trees
Are Replanted
Before the Temple
was rebuilt
Before the Table
Was put back together
Things had to be
cursed out
Deconstructed
Torn Apart
Destroyed
There is no
resurrection
Without Death
How do we
Kill Racism
Nazism
Homophobia
Isolationism
Christian Fascism
So that we can finally
Figure out
Liberation
Equity
Justice
and Extravagant Grace
Lord,
Teach us
to be a Resurrection
People
we Pray
Amen
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “Katyandtheword”
Because
We are Here
In
This World
Right Now
Even
Maybe Especially when
It feels like
Everything is on fire
Deep breath in
Deep breath out
I am here
I am present
My body is worth
being present for
God wants me
to be present
So God bless this Mess
Ashes I began
Ashes I’ll return
Life is messy
Dirty
Full of ashes
fire
renewals
Grappling with Mortality
Tis hard
Grappling with reality
is Hard
But
it’s ok
to be
fully human
to cry
To sit
in the dirt
sometimes
and wonder
will anything grow?
God sits
with us too
Rub a little dirt in it
maybe
the reality
the visceral mundanity
of life
We are
only
blessedly
beautiful
Ashes
and to
Ashes
We will Return
Life is Messy
Amen
Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
April 20
Resurrection
Luke 24:1-12
Psalm 118:17, 21-24
Call to Worship:
This day is marvelous
Because it is the Lord’s doing
What day is that?
Today, is the the day that the marginal stone, that the builder’s rejected became chief cornerstone for equity
This is the day, this must be the day that the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it
Call to Worship
We must recount the deeds of the Lord
We give thanks to God who has become Salvation
Salvation and Liberation, for are they not the same thing?
God is marvelous in our eyes
This is the day that the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be Glad in it.
Prayer of Confession: God we confess that your resurrection is too hard to believe. We confess that some days it is hard to talk about the good news, that sometimes the message seems to get lost. Help us to live in such love and relationship that we can understand the Good News we pray.
Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we confess that we are perplexed. Your love is too deep for us to understand. Teach us to be an Easter people we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Here the Good News, Jesus loved us, came for us, died for us and is the Resurrected living Christ, thus we know in our Hearts the Good News of Easter: In Jesus Christ, we are Forgiven. Alleluia. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, all sins have already been washed away, we have the promise of the resurrection and so we can sing the Good News to one another. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven, Alleluia, Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Dedicaiton: God, we are an Easter People, and we get to celebrate it every Sunday. May we go into the world with the promise of Resurrection in our hearts we pray. Amen.
Children’s Story: Summarize Velveteen Rabbit. (Being made more real/human by God’s Love)
April 13
Lent 6
Passion/Palm Sunday
Luke 19:29-44
Psalm 118:19-23
Triumph Entry, Jesus Weeps
Lost Peace? God weeps with you
Call to Worship
Let God open the gates of Equity
Whenever God opens them, I give thanks
When God opens the gates Justice will enter
I thank God who answers prayers—and becomes Liberation
The stone that the builders reject will become the chief cornerstone, it is God’s doing
God’s steadfast love endures forever, Praise God!
Call to Worship
When God opens the Gates, we shall know
Equity, Justice and Liberation will flow in the form of Lovingkindness
All that seemed marginal and rejected before, will become marginal
In God’s world, everything will be upside down, and peace will finally be prioritized
We love God who is all about love, salvation and redemption.
How can you no praise that kind of God? Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that we get tangled up in our words, thinking that this story is all about judgement instead of empathy. We confess that too often we are looking for the bad guys, instead of the purveyors of peace. Forgive us, teach us how to plant, sow and understand peace we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we confess that sometimes we want to weep without stopping. We feel stuck in the Good Friday moment, and we do not feel like a resurrection people at all. Sit with us when we cry, and teach us how to get up, walk and take the next steps we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News: Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ, nothing in the present, past or future. No angels, demons, laws, rules, governments, powers, principalities, churches or anything else. So hear and know in your hearts the Good, Good News. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God send us into the world, remembering that Jesus became fully human to walk and be with us. May we try to be fully present in love with one another too. Amen.
Children: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Viorst (bad things don’t take away from the good things, but good things don’t take away from the bad things in life) https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/alexander-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day_judith-viorst/253652/?resultid=b18ddc0d-6f7a-42ac-81a1-e6f4798e79ad#edition=2284278&idiq=4130587
April 6
Lent 5
Zacchaeus
Luke 18:31-191:10
Psalm 84:1-4, 10-12
Lost Sight of Things? God calls You
Call to Worship
How our souls long for God
My heart and flesh sing for the joy to the living God
Even the Sparrow (Freest of Birds) finds a home, and the Swallow (Smallest of Birds) a nest for herself.
Happy are those who live in your House, Singing your Praises God.
A day in God’s house is better
A day in your courts, are better than a thousand elsewhere
Come let us keep the door for God
Come let us listen for God, our sun and our shield, today.
Call to Worship
We long for you God
We want to feel your presence
Even when we can’t see you
God you see us and call us
Be with us
God, be with us today
Prayer of Confession: God I confess that it is hard to see Jesus. We look and cry out, and sometimes Jesus is not there. Teach us to be open to Jesus so that when he invites himself over to dinner, we may be able to open our doors to him we pray. Amen
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, Jesus is looking for us, and loving us into being. Thus we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we confess that we hate not knowing and feeling lost. We feel like we need to know the way. Allow us trust that it is ok to feel blind, and help us when we stumble and fall we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and will never lead us astray, so we know the truth. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God teach us to be ok with following Jesus, even when we feel lost along the way. Teach us to trust and follow we pray. Amen.
Children’s Book: Red by Michael Hall https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/red-a-crayons-story/9128924/all-editions/?resultid=8c659c58-dc2a-4647-8ab4-e5ea74a40596 Knowing how to see yourself (how God sees you) even when other’s don’t
March 30
Lent 4
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
Psalm 41:1-3*
Verse 3: Lord sustains them in their sickbeds could be translated as God sustains them mutually in sickness or health
Lost Life? God reminds you what really matters
There is a theme of mutuality and community
As well as an interesting theme about weeping here: weeping wounds, weeping from sadness, etc.
Call to Worship
Blessed are those who consider the Poor
God protects
For God delivers them trouble
God sustains
God provide mutuality, in sickness or in health
God restores
Blessed be the Divine
From Everlasting to Everlasting, Blessed be God
Call to Worship
God we look to you in mourning
You love us
God of resurrection, You are rich beyond compare
You are the God of Love
You remind us to live in Love
May we greet one another in Love today
Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we are a country that hoards things: goods, power, influence. We are not good at sharing. And you are honest with us, resurrection and life and the Good News are sometimes not enough for us to hear. We confess that we are afraid of losing things. Teach us to live into love, relationships and community and to embrace joy and good whenever we can, so that we do not miss the riches we have we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession: Jesus we confess that we worry, we worry sometimes that we are the Rich Man, other times we worry that we are Lazarus with weeping wounds unable to help others. Help us when we are uncertain or scared of the outcomes, to remember that Christ is with us, doing the work of resurrection.
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News Jesus came for us, loved us, taught us, died for us and is resurrected for us, so we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God your Good News calls us towards a Resurrection that is beyond riches. Teach us to hear and believe your Good News we pray. Amen.
Children: https://a.co/d/evgvo9h The Golden Goose Laughter and Joy over Money) Or the Selfish Giant The Kingdom of Heaven is sharing not Hoarding https://a.co/d/dJq9XqJ There are a million editions of both of these stories–and they could be told with figures too or cutouts as well
Themes: Lost, God is enough
Holding Uncertainty
Trusting that you can participate, plant seeds
and that acting in Love is enough
Every Story is God providing in unexpected ways
Food for thought Walking in Uncertain Times: Series Ponderings https://www.instagram.com/p/DFLTj3MP3n8/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DF1jwIVN10D/?igsh=NGF1aGQ1M2g3MTdk
March 9th
Lent 1
Good Samaritan/Mary and Martha
Luke 10:25-42
Psalm 15
Lost Neighbors? God brings Strangers/Enemies/Immigrants
March 16
Lent 2
Lament over Jerusalem/Fig Tree Bore No Fruit
Luke 13:1-9, 31-35
Psalm 122
Lost Fruit/People? God Gives Time and Dirt (remember what humans are formed with)
March 23
Lent 3
Lost Sheep, Coin, Son
Luke 15:1-32
Psalm 119:167-176
Lost? God searches, and searches and finds you (Instead of You Finding God)
March 30
Lent 4
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
Psalm 41:1-3
Lost Life? God reminds you what really matters
April 6
Lent 5
Zacchaeus
Luke 18:31-191:10
Psalm 84:1-4, 10-12
Lost Sight of Things? God calls You
April 13
Lent 6
Passion/Palm Sunday
Luke 19:29-44
Psalm 118:19-23
Triumph Entry, Jesus Weeps
Lost Peace? God weeps with you
katyandtheword 