Tag: healing

#Advent Day 11, God of Wonder

@LauraKConnell “The traumatized brain is not open to exploration and wonder. It is imprisoned by black and white thinking, the need for certainty, and a desire to get things over with. 

Good God,
who whispers comfort
in the midst of the chaos–

Holy Spirit,
who inspires art
not for any capitalistic gain
but because humans need
to co-create with God

Jesus,
Sweet, baby Jesus
who came in the form
of a baby

I am reminded of all the ways
you invite us to wonder

You are the God
who compares us to the stars

You are the Holy Spirit
who is the wild goose,
heavenly dove
squawking pigeon

You are the Savior
who almost always
answered a question
with a question

And told stories
mysterious
stories
to unfold in our heart
differently
according to our experiences

You are the God of openings
trying to clear the way
to tell us that it is ok
to heal our traumas first

to let go of our black and white
and the permission to sit
wait
and linger
without fear

to look into the eyes of a baby
Savior

and wonder…

Jesus comes to save us
from our trauma
so we can wonder
once again–
this is why prescribed beliefs
is against my religion

Thank sweet
wonder-full
baby Jesus
Amen

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta, Trauma quote from Laura K.Connell

Rest is Resistance Week 6

For many of us clergy, overwork may be a sign of PRAGMATIC ATHEISM. We don’t trust God enough to rest, leaving what is undone in God’s care

“How do you make space to transcend the confines of a system that prays to the call of ‘profit over people’?” p. 56
1 King 19:4-7
Romans 8:22-26
Grief & Healing

Call to Worship
(Breathe in) I will give space
(Breathe out) I will let go

Prayer of the Day
God,
we have crammed
so much into our lives
we do not leave much
room.
What thousands of stories
are untold, because
we are not rested?
What work is the world
groaning towards
already?
What dreamwork
did Elijah do
under the fig tree?
Let us find more
space for all work
to be done
without us
we pray.
Amen.

Call to Confession: Let us turn towards God, and open our hearts to pour out any hurt and grief we might have, so that God can wipe away our tears and renew our hope.

Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that we are tightly hanging onto so much–that it is hard to let the Holy Spirit in. We feel like we need the perfect words or actions. We feel like we need to always be co-creating with you to get things right. We are afraid to stop. Afraid of what we will see when we rest. Give us the courage to rest. Tell us it’s ok to stop, remind us that the Holy Spirit will fill in all of the gaps. Grant us the trust we need we pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: The Holy Spirit is here, filling our hearts anew, granting us all the mercy we need, so let us assure one another of the Good News: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Suggested Rest Practices:
Make a Dream Journal
Make a Not To Do List, Rip it up or Burn it
Dismiss everyone to Take a walk/Quiet Sitting time for 10 minutes
Play with Playdo/Clay
Create a Grief Wall/Ribbon Weaving Symbolizing everything to let go of
Have everyone commit to one time they are going to rest that week
Share around the room/small groups/on paper a new rest practice they have started (Fit your needs to the extravert/introvert nature of your reality)
Go Outside and look at the Clouds

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Notes

“My uncle says the architects got rid of the front porches because they didn’t look well. But my uncle says they was merely rationalizing it; the real reason, hidden underneath, might be they didn’t want people sitting like that, doing nothing, rocking, talking; that was the wrong kind of social life. People talked too much. And they had time to think. So they ran off with the porches. And the gardens, too. Not many gardens any more to sit around in. And look at the furniture. No rocking chairs any more. They’re too comfortable. Get people up and running around” -Ray Bradbury; Book Farenheit 451

Art a man in a white beard, snooze-like, sitting on a porch. Photograph by Sonny Lee

People miss small talk in the Pandemic (and how that might be feeding into the violence of today): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/opinion/coronavirus-small-talk.html, https://hbr.org/2021/03/remote-workers-need-small-talk-too, https://www.khaleejtimes.com/long-reads/the-big-power-of-small-talk, https://www.thestar.com/life/parent/opinion/2021/05/18/small-talk-is-the-glue-that-keeps-society-running-and-gossip-is-a-force-for-good-i-miss-both.html?rf (Google it, there are so MANY articles)

Self care

Self care means setting boundaries so that people don’t abuse you

It means saying no

It means tearing down the structures that don’t serve people

Jesus knew about self care

Jesus would have torn up the ordination test into pieces

He would have held the traumatized and told them their gifts were worthy of the church

Jesus would say this does not need an overture, he would have healed the wounds immediately

Jesus would have listened to those arguing for order and structure and tradition and asked, patiently, with compassion: where do you hurt?

Jesus would have said well done good and faithful servants to the committees who put in 3 years of work, and then dismissed them to do other things, not to worry that everything would be changed

Jesus would then sit and tell people the beautiful story of the kin(g)dom; where peace is everlasting, everyone has food and shelter and healthcare, no one argues over the color of the carpet, and violence is unnecessary

And the children will play

And everyone will have access to their counselors, their comfort books, movies and music

Before they snuggle up and sleep safe and warm.

Because pain is not holy, trauma is not holy

But healing and love and access to the means to do so…that is

Advent Unleashed

Advent
Is the prayer
For justice
And healing
In the midst
Of impatience
And pain

It’s the cry of love
In a world of no

The grace of yes
Reaching out
To the whole of humanity
Without question
Qualifiers or pause

All Amens and Alleluias
Of Mary’s Magnificat

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

Surgery, A Prayer

God,
is there any prayer like going into surgery?
Closing your eyes to the world–
Holding your beloveds close to you.

Somehow you try to remind yourself to breathe

Is that how it felt Christ,
when you healed?

Did you hold their beloveds close to them?
And remind them to breathe?

Bless those undergoing surgery
their beloved
the doctors, nurses, and all the technicians, custodians, secretaries and support staff who we work too hard along the way

May we all be granted
Belovedness
and Breath.

Amen.

Operation Game with a lot of blue gloved hands around it

Image

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

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Speed Bumps–A Prayer

OK God,

Do I complain about this speed bump now?
The Covid standing in the way of surgery?

I’m taking a deep breath–of gratitude for quadruple vaccinations
And so few symptoms that I did not know

And thankfulness for masks

and frantic prayers that I didn’t infect anyone–and really that I didn’t infect anyone vulnerable.

And for a Day of Work that somehow came together in Coverage
really its a miracle, so easy that I feel guilty about how easy it was
I know you gotta be laughing at that one God
How easily we humans feel guilty, right?
(But I planned to be there and had been excited to see all the people and miss them)

But really, I long for deep healing
The rest and restoration that I could almost taste

The baby-sitting, rides, meals, work, set-ups, coverage, therapy, bracing

I really do not want a drop of it to go to waste, and the idea of setting it all up again is
Daunting
Wearying
Soul-wrenching

So I pray that you have this figured out already
Just like the Church Government meeting I obviously could not go to this week–what with the surgery and/or covid (that I thought I wanted to sign up for)

And so many other things as they go past that I thought, oh I thought I wanted to sign up for that, but I’m glad I didn’t because I realize now that I did not really have the time for that.

Ok God,

What now?

The wait for Monday is a Lot–
And this feels more like a speed bump to healing
It feels like a mountain, or a quest

I lift my eyes to the hills
the annoying, freaking have to climb them hills
From whom will my help come?

Fine it will come from the Lord my God…

But I don’t have to like it today.

Here’s hoping for surgery on the other end.

Amen.

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

Healing Stories

Psalm 40:1-5

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

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.

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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).

Back to “Normal” A Prayer

Jesus, when you were born. A political and religious refugee in the midst of a religious apocalypse, in an occupied country, with no citizenship or even personhood to be acknowledged. Brown Hebrew child born in the frailty of a human skin, did you ever long for normal?

When you scared the, excuse me, BeJesus out of your parents and taught in the Temple, did you wish that you could have been a normal boy running with your cousins where your parents could easily find you?

When you preached your first sermon and almost got thrown over a cliff, when your cousin John the Baptist was arrested and beheaded, and as you wandered around with a bunch of smelly disciples who were really great guys but who didn’t really get it. Did you worry about humanity’s obsession with being normal?

When you healed on the Sabbath–taking the withered hand into yours, touching the forbidden flesh with your flesh, ignoring the precepts of the day. Did you think, but yeah normal is overrated.

When you reached out to the Samaritan woman and banqueted with the tax collectors and enjoyed the miracle of feeding thousands of people with meager faire, is that when you thought, in your anachronistic, asychrononius way that normal is only a setting on the washing machine?

I bet that when you told the storm to shut up, when Mary bathed your feet in perfume, and when you climbed the mountain to hang out with Moses and Elijah you really embraced that your normal is counterintuitive and counterculture and anti-institution land anti-nationalism.

I bet flipping those tables felt really good, Jesus.

So here is my prayer, that we don’t go back to normal, not really. Because normal saw a lot of wrong and a lot of idols and a lot of vanities. Normal was all about the have and have-nots and racism and inequity and cis-hetereo-patriarchy was the name of the game.

I hope we know, that THAT game is already lost. Because Jesus promised, has and will always win.

And there ain’t nothing normal about that.

Thank you Jesus, for all that you are, and all that you stand for–fix our fixation on normal, and focus our eyes on you and all that you stand for: equity, sanctuary, healing and love, we pray in your mighty name Jesus.

Amen.

More Pandemic Prayers

calendar but the as the return to wholeness, health and peace in the community ‬

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Standing in the Breach

Lord, I am not the beggar with a disability waiting at the gate of the church. But I understand their plight better this year. As I stand in the breach of church–trying to hold open the bridge between the world and worship. As we collect money for food pantries, and try to find ways for communities to meet and pray. I feel like we too are stuck at the gate of the temple.

Sometimes we are outside the temple, begging to get in, yet unable to pray.

Sometimes we are at the gates of heaven, barely breathing in and out.

Sometimes we are waiting by the side of someone who is on the cusp of death.

Lord, the breaches are gaping right now: the gap between rich and poor, healthy and sick, abled and disabled, the privileged and the marginal, essential and nonessential, the black and the white and the rest of the people of color.

Help us to be the disciples at the breach, fixing our eyes upon them, seeing not just their stated wants but also their deeper needs. Help us to to touch those who are stuck, and to take their hand and walk with them in the community. Even if that touch and walk is only metaphorical today.

Lord we know what it’s like to be in the breach.

Show us how to be the helpers, the healers, we pray.

Remind us that no help is too little, that we are longing for one another’s company, touch and presence.

Help us to be present and stand in the breach, we pray.

Amen.

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