peace – katyandtheword

A Tender Prayer: In the Aftermath

God,
I stand in prayer
for a country
where
guns are so glorified

That shooters
Think that
to go out
in a blaze of
gunfire
is better
Than getting
Care

Lord hear our prayer

Prince of Peace
We pray for all the
Victims of Violence
Those who lost
Their Beloved ones
Those who witnessed the
Devastation

Messiah Comfort them

Holy Spirit we pray
For all those who are
experiencing
and are experiencing
trauma as a result of
this tragedy
We pray
That we find a
way to change the Policies
to prevent gun violence
Before every single person
has to be touched
by Gun Violence

Come Holy Comforter, and hold us til we stop crying

Teach us to
Move beyond
Thoughts and Prayers

And how to Move and Act
With Purpose and Dfenition
of Peace
and Kin(g)dom Care
We Place ourselves
In your Tender Care
During this Time of Trouble
Amen

Praying for Each Other

God
I know
That you said
Pray for our enemies

And I know
that you know
That you meant
When it’s confusing
And you can’t tell who
your enemy is

Pray for them

When the nuance is lost
and you fear for your children
and their children
and all the children (again, and again)
Pray

And I know
that you know
That you meant
The kind of Prayer that Meant
Cry
Sigh
Rest

And then get
Back to
Doing all you can
to be a Peacemaker

Whether that is
Vote
Call
Protest
Talk to People
Humanize

Because Sweet
Beautiful
Dusty
Footed Jesus
Who
Walked the Walk
I know
That you Know

That Prayer
Is the conversation
That we have

with ourselves
others
and you

To remind one another
That
we are
all human
In the end

So here I am
Praying
for
Peace

Praying
For my enemy
Because what is
an enemy
in this
World where
Everyone (pretty much)
Wants the same things

But someone
We all think
The ways to them
are opposite

And God
If you can help us
Stop
All the bombs
Everywhere

Please
I would be Grateful

Praying
In the Name of
The Prince of
Peace
Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Thy Kin-Dom Come

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”

Psalm 41:1-3

God
We are calling down
Your protection

Because
I see the face
of terrified
College students
of Brown People with
Tattoos

Echoing
Those of
Separated
Families
at the border

I am still haunted
by a picture of
their jewelry
and crosses
piled like
Jewish
loot
during
the Holocaust

And the Fragile
Gaza
peace
has been broken

and so I pray
Protection
For the families

And for the Soldiers
in Yemen
And around the world

As OPSEC is said
but not Enacted

Though truly
My heart
Longs for Peace
I pray for a language
beyond bombs
and threats
and bullying

and even tariffs

Staunch Pacifist that I am

As the budget for food
and Veterans are cuts
but the Military remains
bloats
Military Industrial Complex
Indeed Lord, I cry

And God,
I cry out for all of those
with Cancer
longing for Treatment
whose funding was cut
The researchers
who have been sustained
I know that God
You work to sustain
All those with infirmities
I pray that you will work
To heal all infirmities

Open the ears and hearts
of those who need to
understand
Melt those with
hearts and brains of stone

Melt them
Reverse their Decisions
Transform things so Completely
That we do not even Recognize things

For God you know
When we pray for Health
We are praying for a healthy
World–
Not for just ourselves
But for me, my neighbor, my enemy
to all be transformed into
(almost unrecognizable) signs of mercy
Signs of the Kin(g)dom
And so I pray
For a Forgiveness of Debts
That I cannot comprehend

For Food for all people
In a Dailyness of Bread

For the coming of your Glory
Which of course will be in Mercy

And for
Your Kin(g)dom Come
Your Will Be done
Amen,
Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Psalm 41:1-3

¹ Happy are those who consider the poor;^* (marginal/oppressed)
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
² The Lord protects(guards them/covenants with them) them and keeps them alive;(like a. shepherd guards a sheep, like a sacred duty, like a hedge of protection)
   they are called happy in the land. (It will be a gifting, a granting)
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
³ The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; (a sustain, supporting, comforting, stability and continuity))
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.^* (Healed and transformed, reversed, turn over a new leaf) The grace and mercy of God will be through compassion.

Peace and Sanctuary: Psalm 122

I admit
I was relieved
When someone said
Let’s go
to a sanctuary
Come
Let us God
And Seek God

For I need to rest
my weary
soles
soul
something
somewhere

And my house
is way too messy

And before I knew it
My soles
soul
were standing at your gates

And we were knocking on heavens door
And I realized

that God’s Kin-dom
is unlike any other

Binding together people
who I had never seen
or known

And my heart leapt
To my throat
and I wanted
to scream
cry
and lay down
and rest
and never get up again
For here is a place
where everyone
would come up
and be welcomed

There are no locks
in heaven

and as I put my hand
On your door
my soles
felt the ground
itself
welcome me
And gratitude
Spilled from my lips
Unbeckoned

And Judgement Came
And it sounded like this
“Peace will radiate from you,
It will be part and parcel
of your homes, your walls,
your cities

It is promised
Even in our messy
houses
cities
churches
governances
countries
and streets

And that peace
will hum from our throats
And we will sing
greet
and radiate to one another
“Peace be within you”

And so
We will go
And seek
Good and Sanctuary

For the sake
of this
needed
Sanctuary
That my soul
and the itchy
Soles of my feet
ache for
I will
keep seeking it

And catch moments
of respite, whenever I can

Because God knows
We need it.

Image

Iconic Black Lives Matter DC Mural Is ...

Tears roll down the face of Starlette Thomas, of Bowie, Md., as she holds a chunk of pavement from the Black Lives Matter mural, Monday, March 10, 2025, as the mural begins to be demolished in Washington. “I needed to be here to bear witness,” says Thomas, who was present at the 2020 George Floyd protests. “For me the Black Lives Matter sign etched in stone was a declaration of somebodyness and to watch it be undone in this way was very hurtful. To walk away with a piece of that, it means it’s not gone. It’s more than brick and mortar.” (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Image

Childhood, a Prayer

God there are so many
worries I have in
the world

But then I remember
that Ozma**
was restored
to rule
and got
her happy ending
and became a girl***
without any fuss at all

And that stories of
Defying Gravity
for
Different
Divergent
Witches
In not Pink Skins
are inspiring
Songs everywhere

and that Glinda too
realized
she needed a castle
with women

I remember that
Banksy is creating
and recreating
for Peace

I read all the
Science Fiction
and Fantasy
about acceptance

I remember
that people are
upset about
Woke
things
Because they
sell so well

And I take a deep breath
And sing
the Magnificat
Again

With Mary
As
We Advent
(Wait, Long, etc.)
again
for Jesus

*Footnote: Link above Mary Poppins Spoonful of sugar was inspired by the oral Polio vaccine which was given with a square of sugar to help the medicine go down. I am very worried about the discrediting of vaccines in this day of age. I am also worried because I have a child with autism, and although vaccines do not cause autism, time and time again people have insisted they basically would rather risk death then have a child with autism. It is a sobering thought.

**Footnote: Read Ozma of Oz, it is one of the first happy endings for LGBTQIA. Also L. Frank Baum wrote many, many women based upon his feminist mother-in-law, some of them funny, some of them strong, all of them amazing. There is a lot of variation in Oz, because it is fantasy. It is amazing, per usual. Wicked also has LGBTQIA acceptance obliquely within it, however L. Frank Baum’s stories are wide open for interpretation as most fantastic stories are.

***Footnote: “became a girl” is not quite right but it’s fantasy and this is poetry I don’t want to ruin for you…so excuse my clumsy wording for the gist of the mystery of the book that you will now have to read.

Prayer for when you don’t know what you Need*

God,
I don’t know what I need
I don’t know what we need
The world
is not as it should be

My soul hurts
I am hurt
scared

overwhelmed with emotions
and I don’t know what I need

Because
there is no way
to fix this

Trust has been
broken
again

More
has been
uncovered
apocalyptically

And at this moment
the work
seems to be
too much

And so
I make time
to hug by beloveds

To
Breathe In: I Exist
Breathe Out: That is enough

To remind myself
That the very existence
of difference
joy
grace
love
solidarity
Is an act of resistance

So definitely,
today
That is enough
Breathe in: I exist
Breathe out: That is enough

Tomorrow
or Sometime Soon
I will build more community
Maybe figure out more
what it is
we need
Today
I will breathe

I exist
That is enough

Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

*With thanks to Rev. Tawnya Denise Anderson who first posted these words

Waiting for Results, a Prayer

God,
We just don’t know

Picture of the United States drawing scribbled over/colored by a child “What we know so far” Shared by Dan Chan @danchaon.bsky.social on bluesky social app

So many have done
what they can
to sew peace

To establish
humanity
human rights

And
Lord have mercy
because
we are
already
exhausted

“Next Week Has Been Exhausting” by Diane Duane

Anticipatory
Exhaustion
may be the hardest

I remember
when my child
was in the run away
and legitimate
insomnia
(beyond normal)
phase

And I would
wake up
looking forward
to a nap
I would have for
the day
after
today

God
you know
My soul is weary
Is your
soul weary
God?

Because
even after the
election

You know
We know
That no matter
the outcome

There is
hard work
to do

This is about more
than leadership

(I remember
in the Old Testament
When
Hebrew people
wanted a King
and you warned them
That is not enough)

And yet
Breathe in: I am here
Breathe out: God is here

This is true today
This is true tomorrow

This is how I will wait
Because all good work counts

Maybe especially
when
it seems
like it doesn’t

Pneuma
Holy Spirit
Breathe for me
When I can’t

Breathe in: I am here
Breathe out: God is here

Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

No More

Some days
They will
Not
Hurt
Nor
Destroy
On
My
Holy
Mountain
No
More

Any
More
Evermore
In any instance ever
No mourning
No more, no more, no more

Is all the prayer
I have left to pray.

Divinity in each other’s
Eyes
And mourning

No
More
Guns
No
More
Bombs
No
More
Apartheid
No more
Hostages
No more
Climate
Refugees

In the
Name of
All that
Is Holy
No
(Insert Your Favorite Curse Worship here)
More

Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

God and Small things, a prayer after Biden steps back, and Kamala Harris steps up

God is in the little things
listening ears
true communication
ice cream

(Today is National Ice Cream Day)

God is in the
small things
a woman’s voice
being
heard
acknowledged
supported

(Bria Goeller’s image of Kamala Harris walking with the shadow of Ruby Bridges, who integrated a New Orleans elementary school in 1960, went viral over the weekend, shared tens of thousands of times on social media. Image courtesy of Bria Goeller and WTF America-Good Trubble.)

people working
together

People
stopping and
celebrating
achievements

(Image thanks to John Michael Cleghorn) “Well done Good and Faithful Servant” Gold Rimmed Old-Fashioned Biden sunglasses lying upside-down on a table.

God is in the most important
Small things
dignity
respect
humanity
all those things
we hope
bind us together

God is in these things
And when we sit together
And look at the heavens–
God remind us of the
smallest things

Pic from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/345510602680019192/ Calvin and Hobbes looking at the stars “If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll be they’d live a lot differently.”

We pray
Amen.

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord’

Reminder: please always vote your conscience, no one from the pulpit or a church should tell you who to vote for. I, Katy can celebrate a smooth transition to a new candidate and a black woman as the apparent nominee for president as a historic moment, but no one should tell you how to vote. Especially not a pastor. Vote for the person who will love all the neighbors best and teach forgiveness, grace and respect. Bc those are three values of Christianity.