God – katyandtheword

Easter Blessings, throughout the Season

Good News can come through emptiness

Mary didn’t know Jesus was risen
She turned to a stranger
The person who was tending the dirt
And asked for help

Do you see the Easter moment

It’s hiding right there

It’s not in the race before
No trumpets or proclamations in John

It starts in a moment
of hoping for hope
of reaching out
in planting seeds
After all God was the first Gardener
Is it little wonder that
Jesus is once again on his knees
in the dirt

And Mary reaches out to him
Easter has started
There in the dark
Even before she knows it

The resurrection
starts in those moments
of planting and tending

and then slowly
unfurl
for days
months
as long as we need
to turn
our mourning
into dancing

Here’s hoping
you have those moments
Throughout the
Easter season

Good News can
Come even
through
moments
of emptiness

Creation came
through Holy
Darkness

I hope you
Experience
that this
Easter Season

Almighty Trans* God

Trans* God
You are the
God of Abram to Abraham
of Mara to Naomi
Saul to Paul

You call us by our Chosen Name

You are the God of Joseph of the
Rainbow, Princess, Coat of their mom
who found a family in Egypt

Jesus who found Kinship with
Mary, Martha and Lazarus
You understand the importance of
Belonging somewhere other than with blood relations

Almighty Trans* God of Abraham, you know
That sometimes you have to pack up
and leave to find your true home and acceptance

And that the journey might have lions
and dangers and toils and snares

And yet here is your promise
You will see us
You will accept us
You will call us by our chosen Name

You will always be our God
Will always be your people (if we want
not in any kind of creepy way)

Jesus, Person created without any sperm
who chose to be male
Divine Trans* entity

God, the royal They
The great NonBinary

Holy Spirit
The She who can impregnante
A Woman

God you are the Almighty
the God of Many Mounds:
Which means both many mountains
to accesss and worship you
(note the inclusiveness)
and the God of many breasts
to feed every one
(Again inclusive and accessible)

We translate that
Trans* word as Almighty
Almighty Trans* God indeed!

Almighty Trans* God
You not only
See
Accept
Affirm
and Celebrate
But especially
Protect
all of our Trans* Siblings
during this turbulent time

Almighty Trans* God
May
we forge
many mighty Trans* Elders
make their names almighty
We Pray
Amen.

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”’

May be an image of text that says 'If you're visiting family for Easter, and they won't respect your gender, remind them that Jesus's chromosomes are canonically XX, as he inherited all of his human DNA from Mary. Unless of course they think that Mary was actually a child-bearing XY cis woman, which is also a delightful and realistic possibility. So either Jesus is Trans or Mary is Intersex. Or it could also be both! Happy Easter Day of Trans Visibility!'

Hosanna, a Protest Song

Hosanna is a Protest Song
Sung
in the words
Of the meek

it starts from the back door
with a murmur
a request
for a healing for a friend
an opening in a roof
a touch on a cloak
a plea for an (unnamed) daughter at home

Hosanna is a Protest Song
it bends the norms of society
blurring the lines between
Samaritan and Jewish
Sadducees and Pharisees
Male and female
Salve and Free

Hosanna is a Protest song
Reshaping the very bounds of our understanding
allowing children to come in freely
valuing the widow like the rich man
seeing no difference between the younger and the elder
calling the eunuch to God

Hosanna is a Protest Song
Forgiving Peter before he even denies Jesus
Reminding of Thomas bravery more than his doubt
Telling the story of the Resurrection straight from the women’s lips
Reminding us all that if we want to see Jesus
He is already here, among the poor, the imprisoned and the hungry, Go and serve and you will surely see Christ

Hosanna is a Protest Song
That the world should not be like this
We know it, and we are not going to try violence to bring Jesus back
Because our God is the disarmed God, the one who hung their bow permanently in the sky, to remind us that they are the God of Peace
And when we didn’t Get the message
Sent Jesus to walk the walk of peace even unto the cross again

Hosanna is a protest song
It says
Save us
Saving us
Salvation is worth it
Kin(g)dom is an active verb
It is embodying the prayer
Thy Kin(g)dom Come, Thy Will be Done

Reminding us that Our God wants to save
most likely, probably everyone
And hard as that truth is
That God doesn’t need us to protest for Christianity
Instead, we protest,
To save EVERYBODY
And we need our actions
to fit those words

Because God Loves every stinking one of us

Hosanna
Save us
Indeed

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Disarmed God

Disarmed God
I remember
that

You disarmed
Your Divine self
Permanently

That you hung
your weapon in
the sky:
Publicly
As a reminder
That you are
the Nonviolent God
The God of Love

It is little wonder
That some people
find Rainbows
Offensive

Jesus Christ
I remember
That you disarmed
Those who would
Stone a woman
in the street
with a few words
of compassion

That you healed
The blind man
Of sins and his disability
so that he had to be seen
as a person with or without
your disability
Stopping so called
microaggressions
Disclusion and other
forms of ableist violence
against him

(we can talk about
consent
and disability
not taking away
From your wholeness
Later)

Jesus I remember
You disarmed
everyone
At YOUR ARREST
when things could
go down in
absolute violence
with healing

An ear got cut off
And no one could hear the
other’s side (talk about symbolism)
You heal the slave of the enemy
…Holy Spirit the fact that you
come to the marginalized
and oppressed at this moment

and heal and disarm
at the tensest of moments

You are the God of
Disarmament
And healing
And give ears
to those who are willing to hear
And help those
who are bystanders
powerless
marginalized

There is no God of
Guns, bombs or violence
Not here
You repeat
that is not You

You don’t know any such presence
The power you exude doesn’t need
any buffoonery of triumphalism

Instead you come clothed in peace,
“Peace I will give you” Jesus,
Prince, Keeper, Steward of Peace

Disarm us
Disarm Humanity
So that we learn the art of War
No more

But only grow food
Food
to feed one another

We pray

Amen

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

The Muppet Movie cast singing The Rainbow Connection (Finale) | Fan art ...

All the muppets singing rainbow connection, under a rainbow

Psalm 3

God,
Why are there so many enemies?
I feel like
I can’t ask people
in Kansas
if they are friends
of Dorothy anymore

And the Scouts
do not feel
trustworthy
Today

Jesus Christ
How many times
Do we cry out

Hosanna
Hosanna
For the Trans Kids
Hosanna
for the Sex Abuse Survivors
Hosanna
for the Women’s Athletes
Hosanna
for the Black Actors, Artists and Musicians
Hosanna
for the kidnapped, the revealed deaths, the scared immigrants
Hosanna

Hosanna for the World
for Iraq, Pakistan, Cuba, Ukraine

Hosanna

I call to you, and many say
Why do you call to God
God doesn’t help Woke people

But I cry out
And God answers

I go to sleep and I wake up
God is sustaining us

We are not afraid of the people who are against us
Even if they number tens of thousands

God,
You are already
Awake
So I say
Rise Up
Save us
Hosanna,

O My God!
Deliver us,
Strike All my enemies on the cheek
You
Break teeth of the wicked

For

Deliverance
is God’s

Blessings belong to your People

God, protect the vulnerable
and stop evil
we pray
Amen

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

Crumbling Empires

Herod doesn’t win
Nor does Caesar
The Empire will crumble

God is with the marginalize
the poor
the imprisoned
the oppressed
the abused
the tortured

Jesus walks
with the different
the disabled
the forgotten
the misgendered
the repressed
the voiceless
the hurt

Our Divine is all about housing
everyone
feeding the hungry
clothing the naked
and meting out equity and justice
and true liberation

It is written
It is proclaimed
It is the Good News

This is the true Glory of God
Anyone who thinks they can tame
the Holy Spirit
is a pretender

We recognize Jesus

in every act
Peace
Empathy
and Love

Don’t you?

Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Advent Time

Advent
Because we aren’t ready
And
God is here
In the dark
In the waiting room

God is here
In the sadness
In the not quite revolution yet

There is no shame in advent
There is sanctuary in the quiet

Anticipation
Itchiness of almost
There is holiness
In the time of not quite

There is connection
In the confusion
Of complicated
Not having our
Shit together yet

There is beauty
In creating rituals
to wait together
So that we remember
…that we are not waiting
Alone

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Advent Hope

God I know I don’t need
To look for you

Advent is in
a minor key

Because

Christ is already here
In the ICE prisons

Christ is already here
with the unhoused

Christ is already here
at the wartorn rubble

Christ is already here

But it’s hard
to see the face of Jesus

Fear not
You say

And you coax us to
free the prisoners

To distribute food
without worry about who is deserving

As you remind us
What peace and wholeness means

Fear not
The Holy Spirit
Inspires us

Laying Groundwork
for the key change
to take hold

We wait with you God
Because we want the miracle
of Christmas

To be about
the seeds that are
planted
to mean
Universal flourishings

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Trans Day of Remembrance

Content warning: Trans* Day of Remembrance: Mentions Abuse, Death, Murder, Abuse, Suicide

God
You know that
when your very
existence
is resistance

Then remembrance
is more
than a story

It is a celebration
that Life
is complication

And beautiful
and every time
We remember

Our Trans* siblings
We co-create
A world

Where mourning
and lament
are not it

We re-member
re-connect
re-present
reality

Knowing that
one way
one being
even one name
is not enough

Complicated
mysterious
God-
THE God of Pronouns
The Almighty
Multiplicitious* God

It is You who blesses us
calls us by our chosen name
Blesses our found families
understands the mysterious, complicated way
hurt, imperfections, love all mix up into life

Perhaps more than anyone else

Help us as we do the hard work
of mourning those who have been lost to this world
through the tragedy of violence

Trans* individuals who have been killed by
intimate partners
family
strangers
or if they lose their life yet another way and died by suicide,
We hurt still from all the abuse and death
that is ongoing

Protect especially our Queer
Siblings of Color

We Celebrate their lives
as a testament and Embodiment
Of the Diversity in the World
Knowing, that their living into themselves
Still counted and was important
even when it felt incomplete

Protect especially our Queer
Siblings of Color
Who are particularly vulnerable

Put a shield across them
We demand your care for them

Melt the hearts of hate
For all who do harm
Physical
Political
Emotional

And may we resist forever
Any injustice in the world
Fighting for a Place

Where all are
Accepted
Fed
Safe
Celebrated
Justified
Recognize
and Known

To be
Fiercely and Wondrously made
In the Image of our Multiplicitous God
Amen

*This is a new word, as of today, pronounce it with confidence

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

ShutDown, A Prayer

Am
Heartsick

Healthcare
SNAP

Lord Hear our Prayers

Vaccines
Homelessness

“Cease”less
Cease fires

Peace-less
Talks

Rubble at the White
House

Workers

Without Pay

No Meds
No Food
No Water
No Care

Holy Spirit
Give us Rest

Politicians
Who Talk

Another Nazi
Revealed

Another Person

Who won’t

Pass the Baton

Another
Black Woman
Cassandra-d

Another Immigrant
Ripped
From Her Child

Lord Have Mercy

God
Forgive Us

Teach us
Mercy

God
The Anger
Burns

And
My Soul
Mourns

Teach
Our Hearts

We
Pray

Teach
A
New

Way

To
Be

Because
I Can’t

Exist

This Way
Anymore

Amen