Category: Uncategorized

The Key Bridge

God,
An ancient bridge*
Connecting the infrastructure
of everything

crumpled

A boat
that was huge
lost control
(investigation pending)
And hit it

And six people
who happened to be Immigrants
who were hard workers
with families
seeking a better lives

they were
fixing pothole

Instead they drowned

And I have been pondering

The metaphoric proportions
Of a ship too big to stop
out of control
Heading the wrong direction

A bridge connecting everyone
Needing repairs


the working people
stuck in the cold
dark
at 1am
almost nameless
voiceless
faceless

The insufficiency
of the boat
bridge
repairs
to meet the infrastructure needs
anyway

and God I’m
a bit flabbergasted

Thankful for the 1am
Mayday call
the quick response
The fact it wasn’t Midday
Midnight, Mayday, not Midday

And Yet
I am prayerful
Over

the Symbolism
as the Newsreel
soldiers
on

God
there seems to be
more
and I think of simple messages
that we have for one another
When we listen

God be with the families of the lost
God be with our midnight workers, immigrant and here for generations
God be with our infrastructure
God be with our emergency workers
God be with us we pray

Amen.

*According to my youngest son anything from my time or before is “ancient times”

Feel Free to use/adapt/Share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Peter’s Denial, Thrice

I don’t know him
God you know
The kind of denial Peter made

Sudden, unbidden, accidental
Yet complete

Peter did not mean to deny Jesus
But the words once said
Felt true in the moment

He did not know this man
Who willingly went to the cross
Spoke in parables
And left him alone in an angry mob

And Peter
God knew
Never had the gift of keeping quiet

No I do not know him

The words echoed again
As Peter felt lost and alone

Peter watched himself say the words
And thought “what am I doing”

No I do not know him
Peter said a third time
Cock—a—Doodle
Doo

And on the third Day
I will rebuild the Temple
A voice whispered

And Peter say hands breaking bread
And embracing Lazarus
And Jesus resting on a rock

And a tear trickled down
And Peter thought

Did I ever know him?
And his tongue
Finally
Stood still

Feel free to use/Share/Adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Palm Sunday walk

Enter Jerusalem by the back door
Be Greeted by children
Proclaim Peace
Accept Hosanna as the Call to Liberation
Scare the Powers and Principalities 
Through Healing 
And Preaching if the Good News

Do not stop the Parade 
Let us add to the pile Good things

This week, Holy Week, Human Extremis Week 

Ride on on a Neutered, Baby Horse
Towards the Temple

Instead of the Palace
Beginning an Apocalypse
The Revealing 

To turn the word upside down 

Hosanna 
Save Us 
Blessed

is the
One
(Save us)
Who comes 
In the Name of
(Hosanna, Lord knows we need saving)
the Lord

Are you coming 
Prince of Peace?
Where is the backdoor anyway?

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

Hosanna: A Dangerous Prayer https://katyandtheword.com/2023/03/28/15347/

Dissertation Time

Guess what is due this week?????? My Dissertation! Guess what happened. I went from needing $600 to less than $350 ($340 to be exact) I am going to print out the pages and try to do final final, FINAL edits and send it all in for the 15th

All the support has been amazing $10-$100 gifts are making all of the difference!

I am down to the last 10% of my FINAL year goal. It is amazing. Thank you so much

Donations accepted at my go fund me https://gofund.me/554d36e3 and also
(I’ve been lowering the goal for all other donations)

Venmo @Katy-Stenta (last four 7841), Paypal @KatyStenta, Google Pay Katyandtheword at gmail, Cash App $bookkats

THANK YOU!

Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings Blessing
Blessings on everyone. ESPECIALLY every single person who works through Daylight Savings.

Blessings on overnight who get to skip an hour of work.

Blessings on the parents who will have their schedules thrown into chaos forever.

Blessings on pet owners who don’t speak dog and cat.

Blessings on sanitation workers, nurses, teachers and ever other early morning worker who even have to get up earlier.

Curses on capitalism that cannot let us just work an hour less in the winter without having us pay for things on productivity.

Blessings on the children, sweet and innocent, grumpy and yet still full of energy—how do they do that? We were that and yet it remains a mystery.

Blessings on the sunshine, returning to us, may we appreciate it and treat the earth with respect.

Blessings on coffee, tea, milk, water, fruit juice, our favorite breakfast—whatever it is that keeps us fueled and going through the day. Only God would provide such beautiful variety for us.

Blessings on the coming evening, full of respite and relief.

Blessings on this change, may we transition as best we can, though we are only human. Give us the life-giving practices we need to sustain and grow through it we pray.
Amen

Feel free to change/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta KatyandtheWord

Life Breath

Breathe in: God you are with Me
Breathe out: Be with me God

It is a serious thing
Oliver
Comma
Mary says
To be alive
On this fresh morning

Is a serious thing

Because we know the world
is still broken
But listen a bird is singing
the sun breaks through the cloud
And the children are asking
Impertinent
and true questions
that break through the mire

Startling a laugh
because evil is ridiculous
and life is breathlessnessly

wonderful

We are seriously alive
taking in the pneuma
That refills our souls

As I remind myself that
asking for help
is a hope-filled
Community affirming act

And that repair
Respair
Resurrection
is what I believe after all

Most days

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

sun rising over the mountains art by Shelby Thane “It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.” Mary Oliver

How Many Times Lord

CW: Violent images

When I say,
How many times Lord?

I am not talking about some
nebulous math problem
that I want solved

I am more pointing to the fact
that the human brain
is incapable
of processing more
than a certain amount

of sensory
input

And the battering
of an apartheid
is so True
that my brain
has trouble processing the

Fact of the Matter
I know it, I see it, I say it

But I know
I have not processed it
the images, numbers and facts

the screams, blood and children

lie strewn across my brain
And all I can think is
How many times Lord?

It is a variation
But not the same
prayer I pray
about Gun Violence

The angry tears that clench my jaw
and make me a bleeding heart
That believes this time we will all figure out
how souls will out weigh the capitalism of violence

A rainbow in the sky promises

How Many Times?
Nonbinary Kids
Trans Women on Sports Teams
Trans Men trying to Dance

To Kill a Mockingbird is Banned

A White Woman in a Kitchen calls a Human Being Illegal
And calls for everyone to be scared

How Many Times Lord?

The Math of Getting it,
Doesn’t seem to be getting through

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

Almost May…

It is so close to my graduation date
I have written so many prayers and poems
40 for my disseration
80+ pages
a number of updates
Attending countless beautiful classes
Met 34 heartfilled colleagues

and it is all possible because of the support of my readers
and I am so thankful

now I am abut $700 away from being fully funded
Every gift from $5, $10, $25 to $100 has helped me to get there

If you are able to give towards my graduation so I cross the finish line
I would be grateful
If you can’t give, please send your good wishes and support
I have hopes that I can publish and continue to write

Venmo @Katy-Stenta (last four 7841), Paypal @KatyStenta, Google Pay Katyandtheword at gmail.com, Cash App $bookkats 
GoFundMe

Email KatyandtheWord at Gmail for Mailing Address to Send a Check or to request a Receipt

Thank you
Katy
“KatyandtheWord”

God see to Your humans

Get Behind me Satan…for the days when I can’t even..

I can’t even
When the death-dealers
call themselves
“pro-lifers”

I can’t even
When science
Bible verses
and news
is cherry picked

I can’t even
when cultural norms
are made into accusations
and real offenses
are buried

I can’t even
when children
LGBTQIA individuals
Let us be 100 percent clear
Who are
made in the image of God
can’t exist
as their authentic selves

I can’t even
when
food for kids
is voted down
and laws to protect
their work structures
are stripped away
but parents cry about
their parental rights

I can’t even
when religion
and politics
mix
into a noxious
perfume of power
intoxicating
all the wrong people

I can’t even
when wars rage on
healthcare
wages
and equity is neglected
for “Look a distraction” issues
And more is poured into the military

When people plug their ears
And refuse to hear
much less name
or work on
the real issues *


I
can
not
even

*I haven’t even had time to open the Pandora’s box of the environment, climate change and how we need to be working on alllll of that…

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

Support my writing as a working public theologian

  Venmo @Katy-Stenta (last four 7841), Paypal @KatyStenta, Google Pay Katyandtheword at gmail.com, Cash App $bookkats
GoFundMe

Prayer for the Nonbinary

Here’s a prayer for the Nonbinary
those who are represented
in the Twilight
the Dawn
And all of the beautful shades of gray in the world
which can contain a rainbow of colors within it.

Here’s a prayer for the Nonbinary
Those who are both/and
The ones who feel at home in the Trans* community
and those who are created in the image of God
Male and Female

Here’s a prayer for the children
Who should be safe in their identity
Beloved in their
Zir
Xyr
Eir
Full selves
Able to Name and Claim Who they are

And yes
Use the bathroom
Without peering eyes
questions
or even a second of discomfort
Is that not what we want for all of our children?

Here is a prayer for the Nonbinary
the ones who understand the importance
of a well-placed pronoun
those who ones who live bravely in the thin places
the in-between
for we know that those places are blessed
and Holy

You are Holy

Here’s a prayer for the Nonbinary
For you are Beautifully and Fiercely made

Don’t let anyone tell you differently


For you are a Child of God
Who created you, loves you exactly as you are
and calls you by your chosen name
Amen.

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

This prayer is in response to the tragic and hate perpetuated death of Nex Benedict in Oklahoma. Details which are graphic can be found here: https://www.them.us/story/nex-benedict-nonbinary-teen-oklahoma-died-attacked-at-school

As the parent of a similarly aged NonBinary Teen, this one really gets me

Addendum: It seems that Nex was not able to come out fully–as articulated in this article and he/they might have been trans https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/vigil-friends-remember-nex-benedict-fiery-kid-rcna140440