Prayer Workshops are Back

After a season of being busy (a whole year) workshops are back!

This first one is short fuse and needs 3 people to run. I am looking forward to starting again!

Do you want to learn how to write prayers and liturgy? Psalms and Calls to Worship? Confessions and Personal Prayers? This Zoom Workshop is designed for all levels and experiences for people to engage in prayer writing–using the scripture as your guide. This will be an instructional, small group (limit 10) and experiential workshop.

Friday November 17th 10am-12pm (Eastern) $50 Per Person
Led by Katy Stenta, Pastor, Writer and Educator
For more information to sign up, email Katyandtheword at gmail.com. Titled “Liturgy”

Katy Stenta is a regular contributor to Sermonsuite, (formerly) RevGalBlogPals, and is published in Enfleshed, Presbyterian’s Today and Outlook. She received her undergraduate in English and History and Minor on Philosophy at Oberlin, her M. Div. and MA in Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She is currently pursuing her D. Min. in Creative Writing as a Public Theologian at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She also writes personal prayers regularly at katyandtheword.com.

(Min. 3 People to run)

O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Magnificat Version

Verse 1
O Come and help us magnify
Your justice in our heart and mind
Tear down the power structures that be
And the rich send away empty

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Those Who Seek

O Come thou mighty and find
Ways to scatter the powerful n proud
And show your strength through grace and mercy
And exalt those who are humble and meek. [Refrain]

Verse 2
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captives from all war
who mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear. [Refrain]

Verse 3
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily:
to us the path of knowledge show;
and teach us in her ways to go. [Refrain]

Verse 4
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadows put to flight. [Refrain]

Verse 5
O come, thou Root of Jesse, free
thine own from ev’ry kind of tyranny;
from depths of greed thy people save
and give them victory o’er the grave. [Refrain]

Verse 6
O come, Desire of nations, bind
all peoples in one heart and mind;
bid envy, strife, and discord cease;
fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. [Refrain]

Feel free to use with credit to pastor Katy Stenta “katyandtheword”

Prayer for the Weird Ones

A Prayer for the Weird Ones
the ones who don’t fit
the ones who take comfort in being scared

Here’s a prayer for those fascinated by magic
the mystical
the liminality, those marginal places in-between

Here’s a prayer for the lonely–
those who identify with the goblins, the witches and trolls
the ones who want to be able to go up to strangers and demand hospitality

This is a prayer for all those who can find beauty in what others find ugly
the ones who are fascinated with the inner workings of bodies
or diseases, or want to study psychology
or fear, or loneliness, or liminality

Here’s a prayer for the kind of holiness that comes from being different
The kind of prophecy that comes from telling the truth
the kind of radicalness that comes from opening your doors to the mess on the street

What kind of holiday is All Hallow’s Eve?
Where we say, life is messy and ugly and beautiful and short?
Where we acknowledge all that is scary in the world,
and fill it with the laughter and joy of children?
Here’s a prayer to celebrating that kind of holiday

Here’s a prayer for the children–who always understand it first
Who confront death with a sharp honesty that is refreshing,
And help us to confront our fears with real questions,
and the worrying answers of “I don’t know.”

Here’s a prayer for All Hallow’s Eve, where we celebrate
the complexity of humans, humanity
and human life.

Halloween Blessings to all who need it.

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

Peace

Peace tastes like
bubbles being blown
free and never poppin’
soapy clean on the tongue

Peace smells like
dandelions and clovers
Growing wildin’ clumps
across the meadows fresh
to roll across, the better to
catch the minglin’ your nose

Peace feels like cool autumn days
Just crisp enough for sweaters
and everyone to be out
walkin’ jumpin’ crunchin’ leaves

Peace sounds like the hush
after snow–where sounds
are crystallin’, sparkling in clarity
and the hush magicin’ throughout

Peace feels like abundance
enough food for everyone
a safe place to be layin’ one’s head
Kinship and friendship without jealousy
Space to be creatin’ and buildin’

Have you met Peace Today?


Melt our Hearts Prayer

CW: war and violence

Good God who is glorious, generous
full of bounty, food and other good things

I feel too exhausted to pray
about pieces of metal
that explode into
messes of blood
tragedy
and annihlation

As the weeping of babies
across oceans
haunt my dreams at night
and the artwork of Banksy
decorates the walls,
the walls of hate

My words seem like a meager choice
the cry of Peace
while those with nothing are crying
in war

Who will share this burden?
The prophets cry

And the artists will paint
with their tears

Call your Congressperson
I pray

Do not tell the story of the downtrodden:
the Palestinian Christian,
the hungry senior citizen
the beaten Black Lives Matter Activist
the forgotten Trans Teen
the shot kindergartener
Do not tell the story after the tragedy has happened

God
I am so tired of praying
about pieces of metal
empty of bullets
emptying lives
emptying souls

Teach me another prayer
Teach me the prayer of
Peace
Because

Because
I am all too familiar with the vocabulary of hate
it contains words like
animals
revenge
and dehumanization

Reteach me the
languages of love
teach me the
me the lexicon of
humanization

Melt our hearts
our weapons
our souls
into another shape
I pray.
Amen.

Feel Free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “Katyandtheword”

Pieces

Peace
Means wholeness
When no one
Is looking
For pieces
Of houses
Bodies
Or family
…….Members
Any
For
Ever
…. More Peace
And War Taught
Know
Told
Learnt
No
….Pieces of
My Heart
Lay Shattered
On the floor
I don’t
Have the
Energy
To pick
Them up

Puzzling out
Peace

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

How do we Pray for Peace? Prayer

God
We admit
Confess really

That we do not know how to pray for peace.
We want it to be a magic incantation.

One where we have picked the right side.
So peace happens

There you go God
the mystery of Shalom-Salaam is solved.

But Salaam-Shalom isn’t about sides,
You can’t take the word apart like that
You cannot take the world apart like that

These things are not meant to be broken

There are no sides to peace

Shalom-Salaam
the mystery of wholeness, health
hospitality, healing
peace

No wonder peace is
Created
Constructed
Made

It took a Carpenter-
Or at least someone who worked with their hands
to teach us that.

Blessed are the
Builders of Peace
For they Shall Be
Called.Invited.Named.
Children.Having the Nature of.Inheritors of
God
Allah
Yhwh

Salaam-Shalom (Have I said the spell enough yet, God??)

Our tongues ache
From the words of war
(revenge)

And we know
That we have
Taught it

My soul aches
to teach war
No more
no more
no more

Shalom-Salaam

Teach me
to sit with peace
To hammer
weapons into
Planting tools

Teach me
how find the broken pieces
to plant
And to mend
To nurture
And to tend

To sow
Until we find the wholeness
teach us the mystery of this binding

Salaam-Shalom,
Us
Because we Do Not Know How
And none of Us can do it alone
Salaam-Shalom us,
We Pray.

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/Share with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord.com”

Banksy Dove with a Bulletproof Vest https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2022/08/05/banskys-west-bank-dove-and-the-palestinian-shopowner-who-met-the-elusive-artist/