Harvest Time specifically engages with Christian people who see themselves as wealthy, seeking transformation through spiritual practice. The Christian Scriptures and tradition are our grounding, though we welcome people of all faiths who feel called to sit with us to journey with us along this path. Inside the Christian tradition, we are an ecumenical ministry that draws on contemplative, creative and other practices that we have found support transformation of our relationship with money. Money for us is a spiritual practice place, like the breath or yoga mat. On one level, the focus of our work together is very internal.

At the same time, we recognize that money also symbolizes our connection with others. Together, we support each other in listening for the Holy Spirit so that our choices with money will be in alignment with that Spirit. We also work deeply in community, sharing our money stories and numbers with spiritual friends and working interpersonal issues as places of practice so we can build authentic communities built on trust. Finally, we work systemically, understanding that our personal choices about money can serve to transform current systems and/or create new ones.

Harvest Time gatherings typically are also places where people feel comfortable being authentic about all the ways that we are not yet where we would like to be. We hold our limitations and shadows with compassion and a sense of humor and find that when we do so, new pathways open up.

The spiritual issues that bring us together:

• A desire to live the Christian Gospel with our money.
• A desire to become free.
• A desire to live in joy in our financial lives.

John is a doctor in Brattleboro VT. When he first came to Harvest Time, he was not able to make financial gifts due to a traumatic incident in his childhood. After several years of journeying with others in a Harvest Time circle, he was able to heal that block and now gives joyfully and generously as an expression of the "Christ within."

Nancy is a lay minister and author based in Portland, OR. She came to Harvest Time with a desire to find ways to respond with hope to overwhelming social injustice. She recognized that in order to live into the kinds of diverse partnerships she desired she first had to come to terms with being a white, wealthy, Christian woman from Texas. Nancy recently wrote about her journey in Big Topics at Midnight: A Texas Girl Wakes up to Race, Gender, Power and Herself and actively supports and partners with three organizations working to create a new paradigm where people of all backgrounds work together for healing and social justice.

In addition to our programs, Harvest Time also is very intentional about building organizational systems that embody our mission and values so that we can be the change we wish to see in the world. For instance, we operate inside of the gift economy; offering everything we do as gift and inviting gifts that flow as sacraments of God's love. We have also created an HR system that takes seriously the real needs of our employees. That is, the organization itself joins our network in being inside of the transformative journey with money!