katyandtheword

Call to Worship

God we long to be Healed

We sorrow in the sickness in the world

God we gather together to pray

Come let us pray for one another to God

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we would prefer instant solutions to our problems. We would like for everyone to be instantly healed of their illnesses. Remind us to take responsibility, to do the work, and to hold fast to praying for one another and to not lose hope. Help us when we lose hope or are tired. Encourage us and surround us with support when we are worn out we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News: Jesus loves us and supports us, loving us into wholeness every time: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God please heal us in the ways that we need to be healed, that are perhaps beyond our human understanding, and bind us together so that we can continue to love and support one another in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymns: I love the Lord Who Heard My Cry, There is a Balm in Gilead, Lord I Want to Be a Christian In My Heart, Lift High the Cross, Love Divine All Love Excelling

With Children: Talk about ALL the ways of healing: physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, intellectual, relational, natural (earth), individual, communal. Discuss how the healing Jesus has promised is way more than just one kind of healing and how fixated humans are upon primarily physical and then secondarily mental healing and how we might work towards other kinds of healing.

If you find my work useful, please consider giving to my Doctorate in Ministry in Creative Writing https://gofund.me/70a114f9. It is a “working theologian’s” doctorate where I preach, write and share my work with the world all at the same time. If your church uses my work extensively and could use a receipt email me at katyandtheword at gmail and let me know!

Woman at the Well

Signs of God: Jesus Meets You Where You Are

Psalm 42:1-3

John 4:1-42

Call to Worship

Come as You are

Jesus will meet you

Come all you who thirst

For God will provide you the waters of everlasting life

Call to Confession: God, I confess that sometimes I am like the woman at the well. Not knowing what it is I am thirsty for, but knowing that I am in need of more, thirsty for something. Please help me when I am lonely or unsatisfied. Provide me with that which I really need, so I am not distracted by wants or wishes, but may instead focus in on that which is really important I pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon. Jesus promises salvation to all who ask, know the good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God help us to follow the ways of grace, so that we might further journey on the path that we need to take we pray in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymns: What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, We Meet You O Christ, Help Us Accept Each Other, More Love to Thee O Christ, They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love

With Children: Talk about how Samaria and Israel were fighting siblings: Very similar but had different customs and so they wouldn’t talk to one another so it was very unusual for Jesus to talk to anyone from Samaria, much less a woman. Indicate how Jesus meets everyone where they are–by a well, up a tree, eventually on a cross. Discuss all the funny places Jesus might meet people if he was walking around today

Nicodemus

Signs of God: Love and Rebirth (We Belong to God)

Psalm 139:13-18

John 3:1-21

Call to Worship

God you know us and love us

Thanks be to God

Who do we belong to?

We belong to God, Our Father

Come let us praise God

We will praise our God together.

Call to Confession: God I know that nothing is hidden from you, and yet sometimes I confess that sometimes I pretend that it is. Sometimes I worry that what I carry is too big to be forgiven. I forget that you promise always to forgive. Remind me that your forgiveness is rooted in love, I pray. Amen

Assurance of Pardon: Remember that God loves us, and know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Dedication/Day: God help us to show the world that we are Christians first and foremost by our actions and love we pray. Amen.

Hymns; To God Be the Glory, Amazing Grace, Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty, Our Father’s Love Begotten, Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine, Jesus Thy Boundless Love to Me

With Children: Talk about Baptism, discuss why we don’t use last names because we are baptized into God’s family, discussed how we are “born again” in this way

Writing https://gofund.me/70a114f9. It is a “working theologian’s” doctorate where I preach, write and share my work with the world all at the same time. If your church uses my work extensively and could use a receipt email me at katyandtheword at gmail and let me know!

Jan/Feb 2022 Narrative Lectionary

Signs of God

January 9th Wedding at Cana: Hospitality as Ministry

John 2:1-11

Psalm 104:14- 16

January 16th Jesus Cleanses the Temple: Making a Sanctuary

Psalm 127:1-2

John 2:13-25

January 23 Nicodemus: Love and Rebirth (We belong to God)

Psalm 139:13-18

John 3:1-21

January 30th Woman at the Well: Jesus Meets You Where You Are

Psalm 42:1-3

John 4:1-42

February 6th Healing Stories: Healing

Psalm 40:1-5

John 4:46-54 [5:1-18]

February 13 Bread of Life: Food for the Hungry

Psalm 34:1-19

John 6:35-59

Feb 20 Living Water: Baptism/Holy Spirit

Psalm 147:1-11

John 7:37-52

Feb 27 The Man Born Blind

Psalm 27:1-4

John 9:1-41

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Signs of God: Making Sanctuary

Psalm 127:1-2

John 2:13-25

Call to Worship

God you make this a sanctuary for us

Giving bread to the hungry, Rest for the weary

Surely those who look, will find God

Come, let us build a house of justice and sanctuary for God

Confession: God we confess that we often confuse peace with being subdued or quiet. We forget that true sanctuary means a place to not just feel but be safe. Help us to be safe with one another we pray. Help us to build your sanctuary, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon. God’s peace is from everlasting to everlasting, know the good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God’s mercies are renewed every morning. God’s mercies never come to an end. Let us go into the world renewed by God. Amen.

Hymns: Be Thou My Vision, Room at the Table, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Because He Lives, Worthy is The Lamb,

With Children: Chalk and Eraser Board Jesus can cleanse you every single time you make a mistake. Jesus wants you to keep trying!

A Prayer for Healing A Brood of Vipers

God the whole world is sick

No one is safe anymore–

there is no sanctuary.

You know that we are a world in desperate need of healing.

God I don’t want to live in a world

where healthcare is on the bottom of the to do list

Where people aren on the bottom of the to do list.

And God, I want to scream like John the Baptist:

You brood of vipers, you idiots, you fools!

Turn around! Change!

Don’t you want to be on Side that has already won?!?*

Don’t you know there is another way to win?

One where we don’t fight over scraps,

but we care for everyone?

One where we don’t say, “Did they have any pre-exisitng conditions”

but instead we say “don’t worry we will protect, you, and feed you, and care for you!”

And like John the Baptist, and Desmond Tutu, and bell hooks and so many others–

I want to hold you accountable,

because in the end,

God wants us all to heal.

At the end of the long day of work,

When the sun sets and we look around to see who has healed–from hunger and racism and every single kind of bigotry, and Covid

I want to be there, and I want to see you there too.

I want to party with you in the Kin-dom.

God almighty knows it.

God you know we need this healing–

teach us how to hold each other accountable

without screaming or shaming one another,

teach us grace and forgiveness and reconciliation.

Teach us I pray,

because Lord knows, we could all use a party right now.

Amen.

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

*This is a question that the great Healer Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to reconcile and convert and people (with way less anger I’m sure than it is used here).

Wedding At Cana Worship Resources Narrative Lectionary

John 2:1-11

Psalm 104:14- 16

Signs of God: Hospitality as Ministry

Call to Worship

God we gather here to celebrate your miracles

We thirst for your good news

Jesus we are ready for all you have to provide for us

Come let us do as Jesus Christ says! Come let us worship God!

Call to Confession: God we confess that sometimes we are not ready to party people into the kingdom of God. Especially not right now. We are busy, and worried, and scared. Now does not seem the right time. But you are the God of hospitality in all times and places Teach us how to share what we have, especially the good news of God’s love we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good news; God’s love is overflowing, Know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, send us into the world, filled up with the Good News of Jesus Christ, affirmed by God and and ready to do ministry we pray. Amen.

Hymns: Great is Thy Faithfulness, There’s a Widenss to God’s Mercy, Amazing Grace,

Mary’s Affirmation: Wedding at Cana Prayer

Mary’s Affirmation–A Prayer about Cana

Jesus,

Today I wonder if you shared some insecurities with your mom,

If you told her you had to leave home,

and start to do all of the dangerous things

she sang about

when you were still in vitro–

and I wonder if you had imposter syndrome

Because your were–after all, fully human,

I wonder if you whispered that you didn’t want to leave home to her

in the middle of the night

or if you worried about leaving your brothers and sisters

when Joseph is so conspicuously absent from the picture now

You, the eldest, the man of the house,

would be leaving too, just to cause a revolution, that’s all

and here is your Mother’s blessing,

at a wedding,

I wonder if she wanted to give you a good memory to start your journey…

if these were good family friends

who had more friends than they could afford–and I can just imagine God

how you looked Jesus when you were like,

“Seriously Woman, this is not what God’s power is for!”

And Mary, Chosen of God, doesn’t even deign to answer her son.

Lord, I just imagine the Mom Look she gives Jesus.

God, I’d love to be able to see someone giving

Jesus, Christ our Lord and Savior, a Mom Look—

Because aren’t those Mom Looks affirming of all that we are, and can be–

they are the opposite of imposter syndrome, are they not?

Mary, gives the Mom Look and then commands everyone in the Room

“You will do as my son says” and gives a grand exit,

Beginning Jesus’s ministry with a flourish…of hospitality,

She blesses Jesus’s ministry with a Party–She starts the ministry as it must end–

with the outpouring of wine.

There is no formal communion narrative in John, but it fits in right here…

as we on the inter-webs argue about what can make communion..

telling us all we need to know about communion

God you turned water into wine,

you know the truth–

its all real,

every drop of Hospitality and Communion,

and identity Affirmation,

All

Real

Ministry.

Don’t ever let us forget I pray.

In the name of your Partying Jesus Christ,

and his affirming Mother I pray.

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/Share with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

"Water To Wine" is a painting by Darcie Pike, — Image” https://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/Darcie_Pike_Water_To_Wine_sm.jpg

Epiphany Thoughts

Epiphany is being able to step back and see how all the puzzle pieces that have already been put into place form the picture–and realize what the picture makes. It doesn’t change the picture, it just allows you to understand the picture better!

That’s why, when big changes happen, a good thing to do is to go back to the things you know for sure: identity, facts, spiritual disciplines.

And of course, in the story of the Magi, the answer is Jesus! Same for John the Baptist and the Shepherds! And each of them figured it out by doing what they do best–studying the stars, baptizing and preaching, tending the sheep, etc. For the Magi, its a good news picture, for Herod, not so much. But when they look at the pieces of the puzzle and they go back and look at it, they realize, the answer is Jesus!

As we enter this year after 20 months of Monumental changes–people moving, changing jobs, retiring and dying. And all of these changes are happening on a huge global level, we can be pretty sure that humanity is ripe for an Epiphany, we are about to discover some things about ourselves.

So, now is a good time to hone in on the basics–who are we? what do we love? what are our spiritual practices?

So when we are finally able to step back and see how the puzzle pieces fit together, we are well grounded for that moment of epiphany.

All right, let’s go 2022. Let’s get ready for our Epiphany.

Betty White’s Timing

So…we are all going to mourn Betty White hard

Bc we need to mourn
And we all know why
And Betty White is something we can agree on
And so she is giving us that final gift.

The ability to laugh and cry and scream NO FAIR in one voice before this horrible year ends.

Thank you Betty White.
Binding us Together one last time in 2021.

And as someone noted—right before 2022 and her 100th birthday—her timing, as always, is flawless

We miss you already.
I hope you are making your husband laugh right this second.
Selah!

Thanks to @CrystalChetaham for her inspirational tweet about Betty White’s impeccable timing