Additional Compositions
AUTHOR AND POET SONJA STUCKEY
Encounters of The Prophetic Kind
Photo credit Quino
Reviews
“Encounters of The Prophetic Kind” is a solid collection of poems that convey the author’s passion, devotion & necessity to acknowledge the totality of God’s presence in a real-life context. Through the detailed imagery of her words, she shares several different scenarios that could easily take place in your own life. They provoke you to take inventory of where you are in your own walk with God & encourages to take the path that leads to the light of Christ. It’s difficult to choose poems that stand out from this book, because they all hold weight in their own right. Sonja not only conveys situations for what they are, she points you to God who is the only one with the power & authority to provide the solutions for them. This book is for anyone who loves poetry. It’s an invitation to the non-believer to find God for themselves, and a reminder to the believer that God is a necessity and not an option. If you’re in need of inspiration, encouragement or hope, this book is a must have for your library.
NOEL A. FIGUEROA,
POETS WITH PURPOSE
I felt myself at times nodding along in agreement while at other times convicted. In the tradition of the biblical poetry of the Psalms, Encounters manages to leave the preachiness outside while still being a call for spiritual introspection both individually and collectively as a church. We're all prodigal in some ways, wasting time, resources, and gifts to fit into today's culture or pursue our own desires while neglecting the work of God. Still, Minister Sonja reminds us in each line of musical prose that we were created to be filled by Him and carry out His will here on the earth.
I would love to get this in the hands of my young people and others who would be able to receive its message in a way they often fail to in the traditional Sunday morning services. But also as a lens to possibility, to see that our faith and our call to go can be expressed in so many different ways. "Faith is [our] freedom," and there is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person like Minister Sonja walking in her God-given gift without the restrictions of religious rules and boxes. Yet, I would also recommend this to fellow teachers and preachers of the Word to allow the rhythmic cadence and lyricism to inspire and edify them as they prepare to go before God's people.
Minister Sonja has a message for the church! In this poetry collection, she declares that we show relevancy not by assimilation but by being walking manifestations of this great Gospel. You'll find godly admonishment in perfect balance with encouragement as she compels us to not give up under the weight of complex, seemingly impossible things like death, waiting for the promise, and reminding you of just how lavishly loved you are by the God of all creation.
DAWN ROBINSON
NEW HOPE TABERNACLE
Encounters of the Prophetic Kind, a beautiful offering by Minister Sonja Stuckey combines two subjects that can confound and intimidate many-Poetry and Christianity. With love, wisdom, and honesty, she brings her strongly-held beliefs and the art of Poetry seamlessly to the reader in a way that welcomes, invites, entertains, and educates.
Written almost exclusively in iambic pentameter, Encounters is a collection of poetry that can easily be read as hymns, psalms, and prayers for a modern world. At the same time, each piece can be read simply as the relatable feelings of another person on this realm, or just good instruction for life. For example, “The Prodigal Ones” reads as straight talk for parenting, reminding us that when we forget to instill the proper lessons in our children, we fail to prepare them for a dangerous and uncertain world. In “Learn the Lesson,” she examines the common question, “How did I get here?” She explains that even with the best intentions, we can undermine our own missions in life and end up on the wrong road.
Throughout the text, she holds no punches in addressing the ills that can be seen in the church performed by the very people we look to for spiritual guidance. In “Immaculate Misconception,” she takes on performance preachers who use the pulpit as a stage instead of a place of teaching and healing.
Minister Stuckey makes wonderful use of literary devices in her poetry, such as alliteration and metaphor. A notable piece for me was “Ecclesia,” a seemingly effortless Abecedarian, making use of almost every letter of the alphabet in order to craft her piece.
Another standout piece is her powerful plea for social justice, “Passover.” You can feel her pain, her anger, her confusion, and, yet, her will to keep fighting to attain true freedom for Black lives.
What I love most about this intelligent, thoughtful, and heartfelt collection is that it is clearly a Christian work, but never overly preachy. Anyone who comes to this work with an open heart and mind is surely to take something away from it that enriches their life.
DIMONIQUE S. BOYD
POET/AUTHOR/EDITOR
Bio
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Sonja Maria Stuckey received Christ at the age of 17 years old. Sonja has been the devoted mother of her four adult children Devin, Dana and Donald Stuckey II and Chantay Legacy Leonard (deceased 2015). Sonja’s background as a minister spans over three decades. Over the years I have served in the ministry of helps, administration, five-fold teacher as well as the prophetic gifts. I served for ten years as a Children’s Pastor, Adult Sunday School Superintendent, Praise and worship team member and Women’s Ministry Leader (Women of Warfare W.O.W).
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In 2010 God supernaturally removed me from my career as an early childhood program specialist and adjunct professor. I have currently created several programs that I have spent a decade laying the groundwork for Transcendent Life Outreach CCDC; a Christian community based program that specializes in providing services to young women in transition.
In 2012 Sonja authored a faith infused mentoring curriculum called Prepared 4 Purpose that has been used in several Christian youth development programs in the city of Detroit. Sonja has mentored young women in shelters, from the foster care system and has taken homeless youth into her home to help them transition. In October 2019 Sonja was ordained and licensed as a fivefold prophet and teacher of the gospel. Ms. Stuckey currently ministers on social media through a group called Teachers that Love Christ (TLC) which is a prayer line /group dedicated to education professionals as well as her newest on line community called COVID 19 Recovery Group. Sonja is an outspoken and radical advocate for equality. She currently serves in the marketplace as an intercessor, prophetic scribe) (writer, teacher, public speaker and has returned in her “twilight years” to the artist community as an emerging poet, storyteller and spoken word artist. Sonja plans to pursue a second graduate degree in Professional Writing in the fall of 2021. She is building community in the Detroit area artist community and has plans to open a Literary Arts Café called Legacy’s Loft L3C an dream that her late daughter founded. Sonja‘s testimony is that she has been “Gracefully Broken” and she welcomes this next season of her life as “Beauty for Ashes”. Sonja’s new release “Encounters of the Prophetic Kind” is her first book of poetry. She is currently working on her next collection to be released in 2022.