[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!
Melanie Faith
Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.
Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.
The Society of Professional Journalists
In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.
I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.
Maxine Greene
Philosopher and Education Scholar
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What I Want to Say to Michelle on the Occasion of Her Installation
Dear Michelle,
On Sunday you will officially begin serving a new congregation. As a friend, as a person who was raised in the United Church of Christ, as person who aspires to embody love and compassion in word and deed, I want to celebrate this moment.
I think back to where I learned about love and service. I think about my baptism. I think about my confirmation. I learned about love and service in the United Church of Christ churches in which my grandparents and parents raised me. I make the United Church of Christ distinction because its important in this time when a Christian upbringing can mean very different things to different people. You are a leader in the church that formed me. You are a gift to the families that will bring their children to learn about a loving God. You are a gift to the community of Belleville and beyond. The very community that nurtured you as a child has called you home. Quite literally, you have been called home in the most love made manifest way I can imagine.
When I was confirmed, I was asked to write a letter to God that explained my take on religion, faith, and our church. (Heavy stuff for a 7th grader.) My letter talked about what it means to be a Christian. I mentioned delivering turkeys at Thanksgiving to the shelter in my church’s neighborhood and donating eyeglasses to a local eye doctor who took them to Africa. I think I even talked about being in the choir and feeling connected to God when I was singing. My letter built to a crescendo: God is love. Michelle, know your work is that sacred. Through you, people learn God is love.
I want you to know your example of loving kindness matters. Especially right now. May your light shine even brighter tomorrow than it does today. I wish I could be there with you to celebrate this important moment in person. Please know I am there with every once of my spirit.
My Uncle, who was also a United Church of Christ minister who attended Eden Seminary, would sign his letters with the Greek word agape (which I was taught can be translated as selfless love). As you experience this special weekend, may the spirit of love that is agape fill your heart and the heart of your community that will commit to love and support you on your path.
Agape,
Katie
About Katie
From Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.
