It’s Sunday afternoon, January 17, as I write this article. Today’s service sits on my mind with a little more to say. God gave a message to Cathy Lenoir that got through to me this morning as we tried to celebrate and renew our commitment to being Open and Affirming. When we open our doors and our lives, we will encounter people who expect us to listen – carefully and deeply – to stories that will not always fit within our previous experiences. But we don’t always have the ability or courage to hear what they tell us. Cathy reminds me that when God speaks through her or any of us, I better find a way to listen.

By the time you read this, our Mission Possible Decision Sunday will have fulfilled our hard work and faith in God’s providence for us. Along the way, some of you have been speaking to me. I pray to be hearing what you are saying. Here are two reflections that are getting clear.

• Some of us have examined our blessings and found more than we expected. In response, we have committed to the campaign, even rethinking our gifts into larger ones. Many of us have found great joy in this giving.
• Some of us have had a different experience. We have felt challenged or afraid. The sense of blessing and joy has not yet arrived. Fulfillment remains in the future.

Mission Possible is a decision we made together with very strong support. That choice has already brought us many gifts – financial, spiritual, leadership. One more can be to hear our range of responses. God is surely speaking through this experience. God is speaking to us not just about our gifts but about our money. What place does money play in our lives? How does it help and hurt our relationship with God? Answering those questions requires some hard work.

“Color of Money” columnist Michelle Singletary has a proposal for all of us, whether we are blessed by joyful giving or blessed by frustration (yes, I mean blessed by frustration because that sort of tension often reflects digging for direction). Practice a financial fast for 21 days. Spend only cash, no credit cards. Buy only essentials– no meals out, no stop for coffee in the morning, no movies or concerts, nothing but the basics.

Singletary comes to this practice as a Christian and financial advisor. She recommends it for people in financial peril as well as those who manage a tight financial ship. She does it herself twice a year. While fasting, she discovers the truth about her spending by using cash only, by deferring gratification not payment. She creates openness to God’s direction about her money by breaking her normal patterns. You can read more about the 21-day fast in Michelle Singletary’s book, The Power To Prosper. We’ll put links to the book and other resources on the Zion web page. Consider this for your Lenten discipline this year.

God has presented us with Mission Possible and a clear choice: how will I participate? But that’s not the only question. However we contribute, Mission Possible has also challenged every one of us to examine our own finances as a part of our relationship with God. We’re a brave and faithful people. Let’s be brave enough to engage each other in conversation and prayer about money and faith.