A Rainbow Prayer for the Methodists After all the rain A promise written in the sky that violence will cease Love will be covenanted kept and celebrated
A rainbow prayer for the world that the world will call you by your chosen name that your chosen family will be found nestled in sanctuaries you can escape to
when needed
A rainbow prayer for all the children who cradle the wonders of the wonder when they look at the rainbows and see Dreams Wonder and Beauty
Rainbow Prayers Breathing in the Alleluias Even as tears stream down reflecting tiny rainbows of the world as it will be When we all realize
the Fierce and and Wonderfully Made Beauty of the Rainbow
Amen
Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
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Call to Confession: Come let us confess our Hope in God
Confession: God, we confess that sometimes it is hard to hope for rainbows. We do not believe that every storm will run out of rain, we have trouble remembering that you are not a violent God when people who call themselves Christians scream hate. Stop their hate, Protect us, and help us to see the rainbow we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Nothing Can Separate you from the Love of Christ: Not height nor depth nor floods nor hate. Know the truth and affirm it to one another: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God, let us be proud of you as the rainbow God, and stand proud that before we knew, you knew the full meaning of the rainbow. Thank you. Amen.
We are Stardust, Praise be to God, the Creator of Stars!
Call to Confession: Come, let us confess and sparkle to God
Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that we sparkle and glitter, but sometimes it does not feel like we are wonderfully and fiercely made. Help us when we forget. Show us the stars. Remind us that we are beautiful and everything we do counts, just like every star in the sky counts. Amen
Assurance of Pardon: You loved us into being, just as when you created the magnificent heavens, so we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God, remind us that like stars, our sparkles count. Help us to glitter we pray. Amen.
Call to Worship God you anoint the outside The outcast from their family: the queer, gay, nonbinary, lesbian, ace—you will go with them on their journey to find a home.
God, you promise to be with them, no matter what
God be with us
Imprisoned, Abused, Lied about, False witness, You promise, You will still be our God
God be with us
There are no empty footsteps in the Sand for Joseph, You will still be in our dreams, you promise
God, be with us today.
Call to Confession: God, let us confess and be our full selves with ourselves today.
Confession: God, we confess that it is hard to be our full selves. We are ignored, mocked, sold into slavery, imprisoned and abused. We confess that even though you know what we go through, we feel ashamed, less, alone. Help us when we are broken. Remind us that we do not need to be forgiven for who we are—that Joseph wore women’s clothes and ran away from sex with a woman way before Jesus was even born, and was beloved, by his father, his brother, the King and you. May safe spaces be formed for all people we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Jesus longs for this to be a safe space of forgiveness for all, though we may not have achieved that yet, know that one thing is always true: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: Let us go into the world our full selves, proud, loud and beloved children of God. Amen.
Call to Confession: Come let us rest with God today
Prayer of Confession: God, we confess that it is hard to believe that you would part the ocean for me. Don’t I complain too much? Is it not too much work? Are you sure that I am worth it? Yet I look at the complaints of the Hebrews, and am reassured that you want not only to rescue me, but to listen to my worries and complaints. Help me when I am troubled an in trouble I pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God longs whisper the good news to you, so let us whisper it to one another and be reassured of its truth: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God extend your protection into the world with us as we go we pray. Amen.
God let us hear your commands as promises of hope, not hammers or laws
Come, let us feel God’s grace
Call to Confession: Let us confess ourselves to the Graciousness of God
Prayer of Confession: God, you know I don’t like rules—they are weapons of hurt instead of tools of justice. We humans cannot be trusted with them. Grace is but a trickle in my life, and I am still looking for that cup overflowing you promised. I confess, the moment you lift me up on Eagle’s Wings will not be too soon. Please help us to lift each other up, and to treat each other with the grace we long for. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God is full of grace, your forgiveness has already been made complete as soon as you confessed yourself. Now we get the opportunity to practice that grace together and say: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God, give us grace as we go. Send it on the wings of your Holy Spirit, touch it to our brows we pray. Amen.
God, you are fully God, today, tomorrow and everyday
Come, let us renew our relationship with God.
Call to Confession: It is good to be with God, come let us be present with God today
Confession: God, we confess that sometimes its a lot to be our full selves. It takes time and work to integrate who we are, with the mystery of who you are. Does anyone ever have a full handle on that? Please help us to do this as a community, so that we might have a fuller and richer perspective of your Godhood we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God is our God, no matter what, so we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God please help us to renew our relationship with you and with ourselves as often as we need to so that we might fully know who we are and who you are as we go about the world. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ who was somehow fully God and fully human. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God longs to wrap you under her wing and assure you that you are safe and forgiven, so know the good news: In Jesus Christ we are always beloved and always forgiven. Amen.
If you want a document version of this entire series for easy viewing and formatting just email me at Katyandtheword at gmail and title it Narrative Lectionary and I will be happy to send it to you.
If you would like to support my work, please give to my GoFundMe for my D. Min in Creative Writing or you can support me via Venmo @Katy-Stenta (last four 7841), Paypal @KatyStenta, Google Pay Katyandtheword at gmail, Cash App $bookkats
O God of Pronouns, We give Praise to the Great One the one who is identifiable as God
“I am, what I am” you say! The great They!
The Incarnate He and She– the God of Trans-Being!
Impregnating Mary, Fathering God, Breastfeeding God of Many Mounds/Breasts* God of Mountains and Might!
You shatter all stereotypes!
Making every single person, male and female, in your image. Exactly in your image! male-and-female, intersex, nonbinary,
Spectrum, rainbow God who put your promise for nonviolence in the symbol for queer love, before humanity knew
Because you knew who had Joseph, who could not sleep with a woman in a beautiful lady’s cloak, perhaps of rainbow colors, before we knew, you knew.
God of pronouns, who said, you can call me he or she or they; whatever makes you feel closest to me.
Invisible and Visible God: on this day where visibility is not enough where celebration, belovedness, affirmation and acceptance is the bare minimum
Remind us that you are the God of Pronouns, so of course you affirm and celebrate them.
God of Saul/Paul, Jacob/Isaac, Mara/Naomi, Abram and Sarai and Abraham and Sarah–
God of Joseph of the Coat of Many Colors, of the Ethiopian Eunuch of the Virgin Mary,
God of all the found families in the Bible.
Remind us that you affirm us in our full identity: Name, Pronoun, Found Family, All of it.
And for this we give you thanks and praise, to the great I am, the great They/Them.
Thank you God!
Amen.
Feel Free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
*In Hebrew the word we often translate as Almighty means God of many mounds which can mean the God of many mountains (places to worship) or the God of many breasts (places to get nourishment)
To modern day readers, this encounter with the Eunuch may be one of the wackiest texts we encounter. All the reasons that stick out to us as being weird or miraculous were fairly typical of ministry of the day.
Philip is awoken by an angel and told to hit the road and travel on a specific road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Then the Spirit tells Philip to join the chariot, so Philip runs to catch up to a chariot! Then upon baptism the Spirit whisks Philip away, poof, and the Eunuch goes on rejoicing. In the era that this was written, none of these encounters with angels ro the Holy Spirit would be remarked upon as strange.
The parts that are not as strange to us, are the real miracles of the time:
Philip being converted by his mission experience
A Eunuch who can read ancient Hebrew text and is studying it
A river appears in, what is likely to be, the desert road between two cities. It is unusual for water to be in a place that is not a city, and yet it appears at the exact time that the Eunuch seeks baptism. We do not think hard about water in the desert, but we can be sure the ancient Hebrews and Greeks and Ethiopians did as they traveled.
In modern times, we have learned a lot. We know that those who go on missions go to convert themselves not others, and think hard about the nature of toxic charity and heroism. We think that reading the texts is normal, or should be and encourage as many people as we can to study them. And we absolutely hope that all people are accepted into the faith.
So what we consider miracles were considered normal and vice versa. Except for the fact that the Eunuch is queer individual, and we still aren’t sure what the answer to their question “what should prevent me from being baptized?”
Whether swept up in the suddenness of the moment or not having a good answer, Philip does not answer the question, and that itself becomes the answer.
There is no objection to the baptism, so the moment passes.
The Ethiopian is so excited to be baptized, that Philip cannot in any circumstances say no.
No doubt the flashing neon signs fo the angel and Spirit served to help too. Yes that EXACT chariot, that’s the place we mean. No need to wonder if this is the right person, and the fact that they are reading Ancient Hebrew on a scroll is incredible. Here is this person, probably not even allowed in the temple, who takes their faith seriously enough to journey to Jerusalem and is educated enough to read, and not only to read, but to read a different language then that which is spoken in Ethiopia.
How? Is this Eunuch a descendent of the Hebrews who journeyed and stayed in Egypt? The borders of such countries are unclear, but this individual is clearly a different gender, country and culture than Philip. They even garner such great power as to be the treasurer for the queen. They are riding rich, in a chariot. Did Philip feel overwhelmed by all of these differentials? Did he wonder if he was the right person for the job? Did he rejoice that God gave him such a challenge?
It is important, as anti-trans legislation rips through the US and the UK, as anti-queer policy rips apart the Methodist and Reformed traditions, as the Pope proclaims that gays cannot get married in the Catholic church, it is important to look at this precedent.
“What is to prevent me from becoming baptized”
In John, Jesus says: I am the vine and you are branches, abide in my and I in you, so that we might bear fruit. We are once again, reminded that our fates, our health, our prosperity, our faith is intertwined with one another. We must acknowledge one another, work with one another and grow with one another, so that we might all bear fruit. When we put barriers up, when we say we cannot welcome one another, we die on the vine. This is so very true in churches, where people want only people like them to attend.
Philip knows what it is to be an outcast and is by no means the least of the disciples, no doubt some part of him sympathized with the Eunuch. After all Philip was almost stoned to death. Philip knows what he is doing.
So imagine after this incredible journey, after he is swept back to the disciples, after he has baptized this individual, the story he tells–the precedent he sets, is the a eunuch: A queer gender non conforming individual is part of who should be baptized!
“Go and baptize all people” in Matthew 28:17-20 could be glossed as “I really mean it.”
I am the vine and your are the branches could be glossed as: we are not meant to discriminate
And Psalm 22 definitely emphasizes that God is for all people and that God promises to be for all generations, even those “Dang Kids” future generations who no doubt will do things differently in the future.
Hopefully this passage can inspire us to pursue baptism more inclusively and more joyfully.
And if not, hopefully God sends an angel, the Holy Spirit and a river to help us along the way.
Sing to the Lord a new song, praise God’s Holy Name.
For another child has claimed their name and identity!
Sing with thanksgiving and pray for protection! For every single person who has to defend and define and redefine on a regular basis. May they feel protected and loved.
Send out the birth announcement, for God’s beloved has found more beauty in themselves to rejoice in!
God, we know you are beyond binary. Black and white are but human lines drawn in the sand. He, she, they, xi, ze, zir, hir, co and ey; You know and recognize and use all of the pronouns! Your name is a pronoun! You are the great I am, the we, the they that is God!
Whenever we discover the complexity, mystery and variety of gender and attraction, we will rejoice.
We will say–we have a God whose image is reflected in the beauty of both Laverne and Elliot. Mighty and Bounteous God, you are the right God for us.
For you created them…
….and they are wonderfully and fiercely made.
God who calls each and every one of us by our living name,
We give thanks for all the beauty* of the earth,
especially that beauty* that is encapsulated in the uniqueness an plurality that is the queer+ community.
We praise you God for this creative work of your hands, today and everyday.
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
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when you looked into Joseph’s face, laced with drama;
when you saw their heart–full of queer notions…
And their coat/cloak/princess dress that was rainbow to its core.
When you truly got to know who Joseph was.
Then, and only then did you call them by name.
I know this, because you are God, and you are with us.
You don’t call us as strangers who might be able to help.
You call us as beloved children who you know can be more fulfilled serving others.
You didn’t ask Joseph to take off their rainbow dress, or to change, or to be better–you just asked them to come.
And it is beautiful that you can take a dreaming child, who was too flamboyant, and dramatic, and talked to much, and turned their dreams into hope.
First for all of Egypt, and then for the very siblings that betrayed them.
May we all have the grace to remember that God calls us exactly as we are. Remind us, that just as God knows each and every star, God knows and calls us all by name.
We pray in the Holy Names of Christ
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
Faith is opening oneself up to interpretation. Laying your whole being and existence of the line in order to interpret
the who of oneself
the why of existence
the where to now of being
These interpretations are done, usually, using a text, speaking from the Presbyterian perspective that text is the Bible, followed by the Confessions of faith and the Book of Order (our rules/discipline/consistituational documents)
But opening ourselves up to interpretation means being open to the interpretations varying, and interpretations themselves to change, because GOD is not a static being.
Consistent and faithful–God can be counted on.
Generally most people think God does not change, altho this does little for the times in scripture when God changes God’s mind (go figure).
But I say, if God can change God’s mind so can we.
If God is not static, neither should our faith.
If something is not growing, its not alive, we want a lively faith, we need to be growing in our interpretation and our understanding.
I have learned so much, by listening closely to all those people whose faith is especially different than mine. To my one best friend who never was churched but has a strong sense of God and Jesus. To my other best friend who was raised more Pagan than anything else and has a strong sense of the Greek & Roman Mythos of the world.
To my siblings all of whom are millennials, none of whom attend church regularly.
To all the fellow-clergy on twitter & Facebook who are feeling our way through social justice issues and the state of the world.
To my LGBTQUIA community who can interpret scripture in ways that are beyond my ken as a hegemonic individual.
To my brown sibs and and black sibs who are empowered, loving and honest in ways that need to be heard.
Here I am, open to interpretation, and my faith informs that, and the scriptures equally are being interpreted and re-interpreted.
And I read the Bible, and that is Canon, but I read the other texts too, Langston Hughes and Madeline L’engle, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Malala Yousafzai, Elias Chacour, and so much more.
If you are asking a questions of faith, be sure to be open to interpretation, hard as it is.
For you know, that’s the kind of faith that will change you.
placing all those who don’t fit into these “normal” parameters into a category of…
“sorry God just messed up when God was making you”
“God only believes that these aspects are valid in a human being”
“You are an invalid human being”
Don’t even get me started on ethnicity and differently abled folk
Seriously…what kind of mediocre God are you preaching about…
My God has way more flexibility, creativity and love
My God is so good that I fall to my knees before the Trinity–overwhelmed with a need to love & accept people for who they are in the way that God’s Wild Love can….
and if you say your God is very different from mine…I’m inclined to agree with you….Your God is a lot tamer than mine!
Christianity<–straight up!
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
You see, Aslan is not just a lion, but he’s a great Lion. He’s the King of the Beasts, and the real ruler of Narnia. Now, Susan asks the beavers, “Is he safe?”
Mrs. Beaver says, “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
Lucy asks, “Then he isn’t safe?”
And Mr. Beaver says this famous line about Aslan: “’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
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