Tag: Covid

CW: Suicide, A Prayer for the Pastors

Here is a prayer for the pastors*
The ones who are quitting
the ones whose therapists ask
“Is there another line of work you can do?”

Here’s a prayer for the pastors
Who get phone calls about another piece of the building breaking…
Another pillar of the church in the hospital…
Another person threatening to leave…

Here’s a prayer for the pastor
who hears the whispers
who thought they would be backed up at the meeting
only to hear silence

Here’s the prayer for the Pastor
who draws the firm boundaries
but grinds their teeth
or gets migraines
or talks to their therapist, spiritual director and prayer partner to keep it all
together

Here’s a prayer to the pastor, who gets asked
“Are you the pastor???” on the regular
But has been serving faithfully, for many a year;
competently and well

Here’s a prayer of the pastor, who has intrusive thoughts
And suicidal ideation
Here’s a prayer for the pastor, who gets a donation for the poor
And thinks–but I am the poor

And has to figure out, which bill not to pay each month
And is striving to help their congregation
Even as they cannot meet their own needs
Because church’s cannot conceive what salary is needed to live on these days

Here’s a prayer for a pastor
who is far away from colleagues
And is lonely, and trying to preach from their scars and not their wounds
Here’s a prayer for the pastor

Who knows self care is not bubble baths and massages
But has little time, money or energy to do what needs to be done
Especially post-Covid
Here’s a prayer for the burnt out pastor

Here’s the prayer for the pastor
Banging on the governmental doors:
Civic, Denominational; Local and National
And says, “God give them ears to hear” and goes home with empty hands

Here’s a prayer for the pastor
who needs support
At every level
and cries in the shower

“My God, My God Why have you abandoned Me?”

Here is a prayer for that Pastor
I’m praying for you,
so you don’t have to

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

*This prayer is an amalgam of all those pastors who have been overwhelmed throughout my ministry life and does not represent any one person

A Prayer for the Traumatized Savior

Here’s a Prayer to the traumatized Savior
Who no one,
Not one disciple
understood

Here’s a prayer to the mysterious Jesus
Who was beyond ken
who told stories and parables
and riddles
and answered questions with questions
and ministered to the hurt behind the questions
and only maybe, maybe answered 5 or 6

Because Jesus knew that ministry is not about answers
But walking with people in their hurt
and listening to their stories
and sitting by the well
waiting

Here’s a Prayer for the Jesus who saw people
really saw them, and called them, each
by their chosen name, and did not care
if it was different than their birth name, what miracle

This is a prayer for Jesus who felt more at home
with Lazarus Mary and Martha (or maybe there was just Mary
and we conflated one woman into two?) and believed in found families
and who had to retreat there when the crowds became overwhelming.

A prayer for the Savior who had to nap and escape to the middle of lakes
and the tops of mountains.
A prayer for the Savior who cursed fig trees and flipped tables
and yelled at the hypocrites and screamed SHUT UP, when the waves got too scary.
Here’s a prayer for Jesus, survivor of trauma, even before
Even before they went on that hill to the cross
And called misfits and the marginal to do the work with them:
tax collectors, widows, outcasts and those with foot in mouth syndrome

Here’s a Prayer to Jesus–who said, look for me in the most unlikely places
the immigrant, look for me on the edges of society.
Do not worry about me getting you,
Look for me among the lost sheep, the prodigal
the poor, the hungry
look for me among the imprisoned
those who speak gibberish
the sick
those without power
those without citizenship
the queer ones
the naked
the children
the lonely

This is a prayer for Jesus–who does not care about branding
or power, or how many people are Christian,
how many Christians we produce
Christianity is not a product

Here’s a prayer for Jesus,
Who is sitting with all of us
after a worldwide pandemic
from which we all hold grief and trauma
and from which, I still haven’t shaped the right prayer
So I’m sitting with Jesus–who knows what trauma is
and is making the prayer with me.

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

If you care to support me, please do so at my GoFundMe for my Doctorate in Creative Writing as a Public Theologian at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Here (and many thanks to all those have supported my first 2 and half years I could not have done it without you!)

Prayer for the Changes

This is prayer for those who are making the changes

Who are doing the hard things.

Who are saying goodbye.

Who have accepted that death is a part of resurrection.

This is a prayer for all those who know, in their heart of hearts,

that normal isn’t real anyway.

That Jesus doesn’t hang out with the normal people in the first place,

and that the tiny hurts, that you are uncovering, are real, and valid, and it’s ok that they feel lonesome.

This is prayer for those who feel like its just one thing too many…

it that you feel like its your own failing: your too old or too young or too weird or too poor, too tired or just too whatever to handle it.

Because Jesus knows, she knows, and she will swoop down, like a mother bird, and wrap you her wings, and love you to her bosom, and hug you

til you remember you are too whatever, and still beloved,

somehow both and.

Here’s a prayer for moving on,

because we humans are made to transition all the time, and yet emotionally it is like the hardest thing to do

Why is that God?

And we are in the midst of some big Apocalyptic transition thing

From Pre-Pandemic to

Not Post pandemic.

But whatever it looks like

Here’s a prayer for that

For all of us

Help us as we do this thing, and love us through we pray.

Amen.

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

With thanks to RevGalBlogPals, the Board, the Writers, the Community

–Katy “Katyandtheword”

Pandemic Prayers

Praying with Covid

God,

Here’s a Prayer

for those with Covid.

Because, you know God

so far my family has a light case.

But it’s scary–

scary that it might get worse;

scary how easy it is to ignore the warnings and go on with our lives.

…

Here’s a prayer for those in isolation–

because they have covid,

or are avoiding it, still

after all this time.

Lonely, and alone.

…

Here’s a prayer for the sick,

the ones who are caretaking

the long haul covid people

wrestling with something we still do not understand

…

Here’s a prayer for the world-weary

those who feel like they are screaming into the abyss

Who are tired of playing Sorry,

hearing sorry, when covid is bumped into again,

and oop back to start again.

…

Jesus how do you deal in humanity?

Our pride, our ignorance?

Worst of all our frailty,

which someone you know but we are able to boisterously ignore?

…

Here’s a prayer for us humans,

silly, confused, and still beloved.

May we still walk the road to Emmaus together,

especially when we are confused or tired, or frail we pray.

Amen.

(Pastor Katy’s family has covid, but it seems like a light case at the moment)

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

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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).

Aunty God

God

Nothing makes me want to scorch earth faster

Or with more fury

thank suffering children.

My heart clencheswithin my chest, when children suffer.

Especially when it is due to the incompetences of adults.

It’s is our job to protect children—not from inconveniences or hard things—

But from bullying, bigotry, mistreatment and evil.

Lord you know that my niphling, your niphling has COVID

And that each and every child sick with COVID right now (at least in the United States)—

Is a failure.

Because we know how to keep each other safe.

We just need to do the hard work, and we keep tripping up

On our ignorance

Selfishness

And greed.

Tonight I will probably pray some people shaped prayers;

But right now I need to rage and and spit and cry out:

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Break our Hearts of Stone

So that we might do better—God help us to do better,

I know we can do better!

And keep your baby niphlings* safe,

All the baby niphlings For you are the Mighty Aunty God

Ready to hug us and rage on our behalf

And love us back to health

Come on Aunty God and help all your sick niphlings

Till each of us is better I pray

—and thanks again for the vaccines and masks—

In Aunty God’s name I pray

Amen

*niphling is one of several gender neutral terms for nieces and nephews. It’s my favorite because it sounds like something out of a fantasy novel.

Please feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Pandemic Prayers & Resources

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