Perhaps what Nora says is obvious, but I think we need to be reminded from time to time about the power of story for our lives and in particular for our faith lives. It is the stories of Jesus and the stories about Jesus that have staying power in our faith lives. They more than anything else are what give shape to our faith.

So, let's consider for a moment the story about Jesus that we heard a few moments ago. As the introduction indicated, it's a fishing story – how many of them have been told over the centuries? But as in all stories in which Jesus figures – either as story teller or character – there are layers of meaning. We know pretty well straight off that this is more than just a story about the best place to place your nets. And we know soon after that, that is not really about catching fish – important as that was to the Galilean economy in Jesus' time. It's also about catching disciples – although one might wonder how fishing prowess can be such a compelling reason to drop everything and follow a path that promises to lead to a better understanding of what it means to live in God's community. And ultimately, as Jesus says in the story – it's not just about catching disciples, it's about catching disciples to catch people – if you don't mind the harsh minimalism of that phrase.

But what if it's also a story about God's economy? Jesus wasn't shy about talking about the economy, and he usually did it with stories. And he always pointed out that God's economy is usually quite different from ours. Surely the story about full fishing nets is a story about abundance and perspective.

We all know the old adage that actions speak louder than words. We know that we can tell what is important to people by the way they live their lives more than by the way they talk about it. In other words, the story people tell in their actions says more about what they believe than do their words, and if their words don't match their actions, well that's the worst situation of all. Our hypocrisy detectors are all pretty finely tuned machines.

But still, the stories that get told in words are important, and that's what I would like you to consider this day, a day on which we will consider the financial statements from last year and the budget for next year. Our story should match our faith – we don't want to set off the hypocrisy detectors, and so let's consider the story we tell by setting a budget for the things we will do in the coming year.

In Stewardship Circles the story we tell in setting a budget is called a narrative budget. We last had one in this congregation a couple of years ago when we had a stewardship campaign – which in itself is an opportunity to consider the story we tell as a congregation – what stories of thanksgiving and the desire for justice, the importance of a community of faith and learning about our faith? But these are not just elements of a stewardship campaign, they are elements of budget setting.

Budgets tell a story. They tell a story beyond dollars and cents. How many people do I know that say their eyes glaze over when they are presented with financial statements and budget forecasts? I might suggest that narrative budgeting is one of the ways that people can learn to see these documents in a new light. What story can be told by the statement of revenues and expenses. What do they say about what is important to us as a congregation? Do they tell a story of thanksgiving? Do they tell a story about our desire for justice? Do they something about the value we place on this community and the wider community of faith? Do they tell a story about the importance of education in the faith? Can you tell a story about the mission of this congregation – it's purpose and objective – with the financial statements and budget as your resource? Yes, you can. Just as there some whose eyes glaze over when presented with the spreadsheets full of comparative yearly figures and budget forecasts, there are others who clearly say that's all they want. For them the story is told in facts and figures. They look at the bottom line – expecting it to be in black and not red – but if it is, looking through the line by line accounting for anything that looks out of whack! Thank goodness for people like that – for sometimes they find something important that was overlooked. However I think such people can also benefit from story telling – hearing the story in words not just numbers, yet still the story told by the balance sheet, statement of income and expenses and budget.

We talked about this at our last board meeting – Terrilyn asked if there was anyone who had experience or interest in writing a narrative budget for today's meeting. I suggested that I might be able to do it in the form of a “reflection”. I haven't exactly done that, but hopefully I've set the stage for you to do it yourself. When it is time for us to think about what happened last year – and do that thinking not just about how we raised and spent the money – but about what happened to us, for us and with us as a community of faith. Use that experience as a window in which we look at the dollars and cents – they are only one way to tell the story. In other words, TYFS – no, it doesn't mean Tell Your Fishing Story – there are enough of them already, and they will still get told without my pleading. TYFS – tell your financial story – yes, but more importantly, TYFS – tell your faith story. That's what the line by line statements – taken as a whole are all about. We know that our faith is spoken louder in action than it is in words. So what actions, as represented by the accounting from last year and the forecast for this coming year get told. Go ahead – tell them. Use words if necessary. TYFS. Amen.