It’s not over

God,

When Adam and Eve had to leave the garden, they thought it was over. They had messed up too big for God to care for them.

And then God dressed them.

Abram & Sarai wandered the desert, Noah looked out over the flooded land, Moses’ mother hid her son in the reeds, Elijah wandered the desert of Sidon and as the widow gathered sticks for her last meal, they thought it was over. Jonah thought it was over, in the storm and then in the whale.

When the Hebrews fell under Caesar’s rule, subjugated and marginalized, forced to prove their citizenship–their very personhood and they looked for savior after savior, they thought it was over.

Then a baby was born in a barn.

The baby grew and taught and showed grace.

And then he died on the cross. And the disciples cried, because they through it was over.

God, you know it’s not over til it’s over. We can lose all hope–we can see the depths of evil, we can learn how selfish humans are capable to be.

We can confess that this is a part of who we are and how we live.

But God, we know, you are the master of sticking in extra time and grace and hiding abundance in plain sight.

Our God is the hope of the immigrant that causes them to risk everything for a better life.

Our God is the God of the addict, stretching and searching for the relationships they need to make it one more. day.

Our God is the God of the sex worker, striving to work any way they can.

Our God is the God of the queer community: defying stereotypes and dichotomies.

Our God is the God of elections: nail-biting, fraught and full of division.

Our God is the never-ending God. The God of imperfect and open ended stories.

We are a resurrection people. Our God is a God of love not a God of political power or wealth or oppression.

God, thank you for reminding us that it’s not over til it’s over. Remind us to take care of ourselves and to keep doing the work, because Evil will not have the final word.

Love will.

Help us to do the work of love we pray. Amen.

The Waiting Prayer

Hey God…….

It’s hard to wait…….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..I guess I’ll be praying on and off throughout the day……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. need to still get to the grocery store…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Take a drink of water…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..I hope they truly count every single vote……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Still hard to wait here God……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This is very stressful, deep breaths, maybe I should listen to music……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………????????????????………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Hey God, I’m still waiting, it’s really hard, please help……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….God, you must be weary too. Help everyone be safe please……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………remember to eat today……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Help me to wait please, Calling on your name God…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..If I can’t sleep that’s ok……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Grover said remember to breathe, in and out…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Amen

Election Prayer: Counting and Peace

Lord, help us during this time of anxiety and illness and woe to pursue peace.

Peace is not the quiet, stilled silence of two different sides, but the active and creative power that you put into being when you created the world.

God, you know it’s funny that you’ve made us to be counting beings.

When I am anxious at night, I count sheep, sometimes I count steps or play counting games to distract myself.

We’ve even been counting off scripture at worship: reading “together” at home when I hold up my fingers 1-10.

And sometimes we advise each other to count our blessings when things look their bleakest.

When Abraham was worried about his legacy, God advised him to count the grains of sand, or to count the stars.

When my son, who has autism, is anxious he counts off the schedule on your fingers.

One finger: go to the store, second finger: go to the bank, third finger: go to the blue house (home) and play iPad.

All will be well as long as he ends up home playing iPad.

God, I am aware that we are counting first: vote, second: wait (and wait and wait) for the results, third: accept the results and peacefully pass power, fourth: so we can all end up safe at home.

Funny how we are counting, each and every vote to pursue peace. Funny, and not so funny, because it fits so well.

Help us to count, God.

Help us count every single vote. Help us count as an act of peace.

Help us to count each and every vote. Help us to count each and every person as a child of God. Help us to count the steps of peace.

One

Two

Three

One Lord and Savior, Two Natures, Three Persons

One breath out, Two short breaths out, On Three we sigh together

(Just to be clear) One breath out, Two short breaths out, On Three we sigh together

One, Two, Three. Phew.

Amen.

My Application is In!

It took the support of my husband, many conversations with my parents and my best friend,

3 personal references (Thanks Amaury, Becca & Don)

4 Session Members to agree that I have the time

An Application

2 Transcripts

An Essay on Why God wants me write (seriously, good question, why does God want me to write?)

And 6 donors thus far….(thank you, thank you for supporting my writing)

And My application is officially in for a Doctorate in Ministry in Creative Writing at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Keep me in prayer please! Because I still need to get in and get the funds for tuition

Donations Accepted at PayPal https://paypal.me/KatyStenta?locale.x=en_US Venmo www.venmo.com/Katy-Stenta or Google Pay to Katyandtheword at gmail

Crises of Faith

God, I’m in the midst of some kind of crises of faith.

As a person who always believe in happy endings, I’m not convinced it will all turn out alright in the end.

Because God, we are still being called into your story.

Like Jonah, who first refused the call. He didn’t want to go. He wasn’t going.

Ninevah wasn’t worth it.

Or maybe Jonah wasn’t worth it.

Either way, he didn’t wanna and God couldn’t make it.

So he hopped a boat to sail away–like the runaway bunny.

And then, the storms came, the dice were rolled and the fingers were pointed to Jonah.

God, Someone said whoever needs to go to Ninevah better get going…

but I know the truth, I know why it’s a crises, because the answer is us!

We are Jonah. And my crises of faith, is I don’t know if we can right ourelves.

God, I know you are speaking, whispering, yelling in our ears. God I don’t have faith that we have the ears to hear.

You say, help those who are in trouble: the lgbtquia people who are threatened, the black people who suffer state violence every single day, the women who are losing their jobs and their rights, the children and families who are still in f—ing cages!

And see, I know I’m like Jonah, because if/when people repent, can I practice grace?

I don’t have faith that I can.

So I’ll have to rely on yours Lord.

Holy Spirit, help me to breathe into this crises of faith, I pray.

Amen

Image Found Here

Feel free to use/adapt with permission. Did you know that I have about 100 views a day? If everyone contributed $5-$20 my fundraising would be over!

About Me: My Story & My Writing

Donations Accepted at PayPal https://paypal.me/KatyStenta?locale.x=en_US Venmo www.venmo.com/Katy-Stenta or Google Pay to Katyandtheword at gmail

Dropping You a Line: A Prayer

God, I’m just dropping you a line,

On behalf of all the people I haven’t been able to reach out to.

Please send Blessings.

To those having a hard day, those who can’t focus,

To those who can’t peel their eyes away from politics, grant them rest.

Wrap your wings around those who are in pain.

Rub the stress out of our backs and foreheads

Smooth the hair, and kiss the brow of all of those who mourn

Sit with the troubled, Lord, give them the gift of time that they need.

Be with us, bless us with your love we pray.

Because times are hard, and we need you.

So I’m just dropping you a line, because heaven knows–

that line to you is how we are hanging on.

Help us to hang on, we pray.

Pandemic Prayers

About Me and My Writing

Jonah and God’s Mercy

Jonah 1:1-7; 3:1-10 [4:1-11]
Luke 18:13 Opt Psalm 88:3-7, 13

10am Drive in Worship Nov 1st

Announcements

Call to Worship

Lord God, when I am in the Pit, You are there 

I will come with the voice of Thanksgivingi

When I cry out to you, you hear.

In the morning, my prayer comes before your.

The steadfast love of the Lord never changes, God’s mercies never come to an end

Deliverance is the Lord’s,  Let us praise God together!

Praise Ye the the Lord, The Almighty 482

Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation

All ye who hear, Now to his temple draw near.
Join me in great adoration

Praise ye the Lord, Who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth, 

Shelters thee under His wings, yeah so gently sustaineth!

Hast thou not seen How thy desires e’er have been

Granted in what He ordaineth? 

Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him! 

All that hath life and breath, come not with praises before Him!

Let the Amen, Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him. 

Jonah 1:1-3, 7, 17, 2:1, 10, 17, 4:6-8, 10-11

(1 Finger) Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.’ 

(2 Fingers) But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; 

(3 Fingers) so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

(4 Fingers) The sailors* said to one another, ‘Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah

(5 FingersO But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights

(6 Fingers) Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land. 

(Pastor Katy) Jonah went to Ninevah, and all the people repented with fasting and rending of clothes, and God saw and changed God’s mind about punishing them, and Jonah was angry at God’s mercy and said let me die!

(7 Fingers) And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ 5Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there.

(8 Fingers) The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush.

(9 Fingers) But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’

(10 Fingers) Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?’

Children’s Sermon

Sermon     “God Among the Sinners”   Pastor Katy Stenta sermon video

Communion: Invitation

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Lift up your hearts

We lift our hearts to the Lord

Let us give thanks to the Lord

It is right to give our thanks and praise ..

Dear God, you are our creator. You keep track of us when we are hot or tired or complaining. You are among us, and give us the shade from the sun, and the whale in the floods. You come to us when we are sad and bitter, you cleanse us and give us rest. You welcome each of us into the communion of saints. Send your Holy Spirit here today, so that we may celebrate this meal with you, Jesus! Help us we pray…

(prayer continues…) as your son taught us to pray. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and Power and the Glory Forever. Amen.

For All the Saints 526

For all the saints who from their labors rest,

Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,

Thy name, O Jesus,

be forever blest. Alleluia, Alleluia

Thou was their rock, their fortress and their might,

Thous, Lord their captain, in the well fought fight

Thou, in the darkness drear, 

their one true light Alleluia, Alleluia

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

all are one in Thee, 

for all are Thine, Alleluia, Alleluia

Post Election Prayer

God, you are mighty,

and I feel so small.

Paralyzed as the election approaches–a million years away, and yet it’s coming any minute.

How are we supposed to plan for post-election, for advent and for Christmas when we don’t know what is going to happen?

How are we supposed to plan?

Don’t you know God, writing our sermons and prayers would be easier if we knew what was going to happen.

I’m not a skip to the end personality; but right now I am.

Anxiety is in the air.

God! I feel so small. So here is small prayer.

To survive until the election, to do the things that need to get done, to feed the kids, take care of the church, to stay safe and connected.

Take this small prayer that is in the hearts of pastors everywhere who are preparing to preach in a divided country, where some congregations are divided, or some congregations completely disagree with their pastor.

Lord, take this small prayer, and grow it into the prayer it needs to be for post-election:

I pray. Amen.

Pandemic Prayers

About Me and My Writing

My Story & My Writing–Katy

Hello,

I am a pre-Harry Potter Fantasy loving person. I’ve been reading my whole life. I majored in English and History (the Japanese History professor told history like a story) and minored in Philosophy at Oberlin College. I wrote so many papers, that I ended up taking a couple of math classes just to break things up! At Oberlin I co-founded the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall, a sort of co-op for ideas, and with the advent of Harry Potter my sister was able to live at the Hall 10 years later. I also did my Senior thesis on the power of story in folklore, myths and fairytales.

I then went to seminary at Princeton Theological Seminary. I ended up Dual majoring in Divinity and Christian Formation. There I helped pick out the books for “Curriculum and Methods of Teaching, Teaching the Bible in the Church, Children’s Fantasy Literature, and Moral Formation.” There, I realized how formative writers like Tolkein and Lewis and especially Madeline L’engle were to my theology.

I went into ministry, fully loving how my the job changes every single day. However something that someone said towards the end of seminary, that has stuck with me like a blessing, is that a pastor is one of those professions where you are writer who is paid very regularly to write.

When I started ministry, I started doing some twitter support for the LGBTQIA (unofficially) as a pastoral form of support. Additionally as disasters struck, I found myself wanting to share some light or hope. I shared thoughts on “Look for the Helpers” from Mr. Rogers–I wasn’t the only one, but people found it helpful, and Calvin & Hobbes “people would act differently if they looked at the stars more.”

I also missed fantasy and squeezed in being a fellow at Brainery Writers Workshop: Science Fiction Fairy Tales: A Hypoxic Style Writing Workshop – with Dr. Jilly Dreadful featuring authors Daniel José Older, Ellen Datlow and Cathrynne M. Valente. Sadly most of my 1,000s of fantasy books remained in boxes in our small rental.

I also began to be frustrated with the Revised Common Lectionary, which is a wonderful 3 year cycle of working through the Bible. Christians started practicing lectionaries together in 1969. However it carries a lot of baggage–bigotry, racism and sexism, and I was tired of rewriting the resources.

I switched to Narrative Lectionary a couple of years in, and began to write my own prayers and doing my own research. I started canvassing people to help to develop Advent & Lectionary resources. Then my mom completed her Doctorate in Liturgy and resumed church ministry so we have been writing Narrative Lectionary Seeds of Prayer Resources together.

I also started writing resources and worship to be more inclusive as my middle child, Westley, was diagnosed with Autism, ADD, anxiety and diverticulitis, and is primarily nonverbal. I co-founded TrailPraisers Inclusive Worshiping which is currently on hiatus. I’m hoping to restart, but God knows if that will fit anymore. We will see where we land post-Pandemic.

When the Pandemic hit, I was full of feelings and prayers, and I found myself writing fairly prolifically prayers relating to the Pandemic. These resources got a lot of attention and began to be used widely. I began to discern a larger call to public theology in writing.

Currently my three children are 8, 10 and 12. I love writing and I love school. A doctorate in Ministry at Pittsburgh Theology came across my social media in Creative Writing. The logistics seemed–surprisingly possible. It is only two weeks in person, you are expected to be working in ministry at the same time, and my kids have just reached the point of being able to be left for longer. This was especially a concern for my child with autism, obviously.

The only question is financial. My family suffered greatly having just graduated when the first recession took place. We know a lot of people who went back to school when the affordability came into question. We are the last generation who unquestioningly took out whatever college loans we needed to, and had that come crashing down when 9/11 happened our second week of college (we were only dating long distance then). With a disabled child and living in a city in New York, costs are high, and important to meet.

So, I am trying to fundraise. Tuition is $8,000 a year. I will probably get some financial help from my church: that looks to be $2,000 right now. So I am fundraising $2,000 through my writing, and hopefully $2,000 some other way, so that it is a four way split. Half fundraised, 1/4 from the church and 1/4 from the family funds.

So I got to work compiling some more extensive advent resources (thanks to a 1,001 Worshipping Communities grant for a 24hr retreat at home I was able to take the time to do the bulk of the work)–and since I like to start advent early, they start Nov 22nd.

Typically my prayers and resources get hundreds of views a week. If everyone who regularly used my resources put forth $20, math says (yay math) I only need 100 people at that level to reach my first goal. Any help $5-$25 is greatly appreciated. As always all resources can be used and adapted with credit to Katy Stenta

https://gf.me/u/y83935

Donate to PayPal https://paypal.me/KatyStenta?locale.x=en_US Venmo www.venmo.com/Katy-Stenta or Google Pay to Katyandtheword at gmail

Thanks!

Katy Stenta