God of Pronouns, A Prayer

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)

Creative Writing as a Public Theologian Degree Update

I got a Satisfactory in my favorite (and super tough) C.S. Lewis theology class. I compared “The Magician’s Nephew” with “A Wind in the Door” and how they both deal with with how personal choices effect creation. I’m (trying to be) satisfied with a satisfactory grade as the professor is very brilliant.

Also that’s when I wrote this short Narnia sequel piece about Susan which I really am proud of: https://katyandtheword.com/tag/c-s-lewis/

I am still in the midst of taking my children’s literature class, which will wrap up in about 5 weeks. It is very fun and exhilarating to be reading and talking about kids books, which I still read to this day. Because, I am a kid at heart. I am still working on writing my own story—though as I hinted at in my last post breaking into children’s publishing is actually the hardest kind of publishing to break into, so I do not know if it’s actually a realistic project or more of a imaginative exercise. Anyway, it’s good to keep practicing writing.

If you find my work helpful please consider contributing to my degree by donating to my go fund me.

Fiercely Listening, a prayer

God

sometimes I think about

how much of my job

is listening to those

who are hurt

Sometimes I pray about

all those without ears to hear

Those who are quick to judge

or center themselves

or say, if they had just…

So…

I think about how often Jesus just sat

and listened, really listened

and validated people’s pain,

and then called them by name.

Sometimes I think about

how much of the community’s job

is listening,

Fiercely listening to those

who are unheard, or drowned out our ignored

Fiercely listening

who are hurt,

without judgement

or agenda

…just listening fiercely

to those who have been

especially hurt

and then I

try to practice

that fierce listening

taking to heart

the cries of injustice

opening my ears to hear

and my heart to be melted

Help me me to do my job I pray.

Amen.

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

Teaching No More War, A Prayer

God,

Today I am thinking about how much

We humans have to devalue one another to go to war.

God, when I think of all of the lying that war involves.

Of all the hate and dehumanizing.

It chokes in my throat, and makes it hard for me to breathe.

Was this what it was like for the Hebrews,

walking in the desert,

homeless,

landless,

without water

immigrants.

Is this why you admonished them never to forget

that they were victims of war?

Is this why you promised them a land of milk and honey?

Does this symbolize a land where all people are valued as humans.

Does the promised land signify a place

where Terfs lies about trans individuals are muted

so we do not even hear their voices?

Is this a place where the bullying that

the right honorable judge,

and so many minorities had to stand by

and just take

Is not only unacceptable

but laughable.

If that is the Kingdom,

God–sign me up.

If that is peace,

I want to be there yesterday.

Teach us the ways of war no more, Lord.

Help us to pray for our enemies in such a way,

in such a way that we do NOT dehumanize one another.

Please teach us God.

we pray.

Amen.

Feel Free to Use/Adapt/Share with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Image: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/31/cd/ea31cd3b48ced7e685e9a03d959cd68b.jpg

Apocalyptic Prayer

God,

as things seem to collapse

and people leave

and give up.

I can’t tell

Is this the end of the apocalypse?

Or the beginning?

What are we uncovering?

Will things change?

Or will we trundle along,

insisting that everything is

has been

and will be normal.

Is this how it was on Palm Sunday Jesus?

When people were welcoming you

with open arms.

Was everyone saying,

I can’t wait til Israel

gets back to normal.

Did you bother to tell them

That’s not what I’m here for?

Or did you answer,

like to Pilate–

You say that is what I’m here for

More or less agreeable.

God, I find that I am agreeable

these days,

as I don’t know

what is happening next–

I agree that this might happen

or that

and then I always end the day

in prayer

God’s will be done

God’s kin(g)dom come.

Because heaven knows,

I’m just another human

living in apocalyptic times.

God, I don’t have a bigger prayer

than this–

your will be done

your kin(g)dom come.

Amen.

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

Forgiving God (A Prayer)

God, sometimes I wonder

If you stand for weak apologies,

or how you stand them at all…

The “I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt”

or the half-hearted apologies that blame…

other things like mental illness or pills or bad sleep…

or anything…

(I call these non apologies what do you call them God?)

and I also wonder…

and how you view our funding for guns and military complexes

while children are hungry in the street

How do we quickly fund war-things

and let people die of plague and hunger and homelessness

I know you are a forgiving God…

but I also wonder if we take that too much for granted

If that is why Jesus looked at Jerusalem

and cried.

But then I think of how Jesus

washed Judas’s feet,

and lovingly forewarned Peter of his

thrice, THRICE ill-timed denial.

And I think,

Only you Christ, know

that somehow,

we humans can still change.

Even when we humans

Might give up on humanity.

You don’t

Well, you and Dr. Who.

So I’ll hold onto that,

With my pinky fingers–

even when I lose grasp

and my hands no longer want to fold

in prayers

and words of forgiveness

do not come from my lips.

I’ll rely on your forgiveness,

instead of mine

and work on the pinky

finger’s worth of prayer

instead.

Amen.

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

Peace Makers-A Prayer

Blessed are the peacemakers

The ones who craft safety and sanctuary,

so that parents can read to children in their own beds at home,

instead of hiding in bunkers.

Blessed are the peacemakers, who stand up to bullies

for they value lives over money–

Flipping tables along the way…

and life over the color of ones skin or religion

knowing that God does not say “only let the white Christian people in”

But instead says “It is your job, always, without fail, to care for refugees, for you were once a refugee people.”

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they do not hide from conflict

but face it, head on, and name the injustices, in voices clear and strong.

God bless the makers of peace–who reach into their pockets

and pull together whatever bits and pieces they have on them,

and commit to make peace with whatever they have on them at the moment.

They are never silent in oppression,

They ask the right questions like “What happened here?” and “Let the one without sin throw the first stone?”

they never worry about inconveniences or being uncomfortable,

but choose to act out of the giving of their very selves–to make peace.

God bless the peace makers,

The rainbow promise keepers, the food-givers, the stranger welcomers, the least of these carers. God bless them, for theirs is the Kingdom.

And while you’re at it, God, help us to pay attention, so we too may be makers of peace we pray.

Amen.

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

Affirming Prayer

I want to pray for you and affirm

As the ashes have just been smudged

On your forehead

And we feel a little fragile these days

With war, and pandemic and climate change

And racism

And transphobia and homophobia

And all the Ableism

And all the hate—

So much hate that it’s bitter on our tongues

And it polluted the air we breathe

And we can feel it—

trying to X us out of existence

Because hate hurts all of us;

Even as it tricks the hater into feeling powerful.

But anyway I’m praying that you..

Yes you, know that you

Are created in the image of God

Exactly as you are.

With all of your so called flaw

And imperfections

And differences,

Remember that our God is

Manifold, and that they

Love multiplicity and variety

And invented rainbows

And galaxies

And microbes we can’t even see—

So trust me, and be affirmed

Even in, especially in your fragility

That you are known, created and beloved

By God, exactly as your are

And take their blessings I’m your heart I pray.

Amen.

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