There's a gloom in the air this week. Yesterday's stock market decline is the latest in a long string of sobering events: war continues in Iraq and Afghanistan, without an end in sight; a tense presidential campaign with ideologically different candidates wrestling to define our nation's problems and propose solutions; an economy crumbling under debts that can't be repaid. Add this onto our daily stresses: the cost of housing in New York, a tough job market, how hard it is to get a decent date.

What can we say about any of this?

For me, it's a reminder about just where, at the end of the day, I put my trust and confidence... more specifically, in whom.

To live a life in Jesus—in the Way of Christ—is to put our life in the hands of God and one another. It's to say that we belong to God. God gives us life and breath, our bodies and our minds, our hearts and our hands. God counts our days and commissions our work in the world. God loves us and welcomes us into the Realm.

This Sunday is Volunteer Sunday at Marble and I want you to be a part of it.

After worship, Bay Hall will be full with opportunities—over 40 different ministries that are there for YOU, to invite you to join them with your time and talents.

Jesus was a servant. To follow Jesus is to become a servant of others. Marble Church is a community of servants. Our service can be great or small, include thousands or just one other person.

This week, one of our own, Brian Murphy, is leading a significant project that I want you to know about so that you can show your support. The project is called "Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights" and it's being put on by Soulforce NYC, a faith-based organization that is working to create equality and justice and to end discrimination against gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

One of the things that many of you say that you like most about Marble is that we're a "welcoming" community. When we say that, many of us mean that we welcome people of any sexual identity to join our church as full, unapologetic members. We don't think it's a sin to be gay. 

It's nice to be part of a church like this (especially since many of us grew up in churches that were... um... different!). It makes us feel good. We believe that we're on the right side of justice and that we're doing what Jesus would do.

But it's not enough to come to church. In our society, homophobia and discrimination against gay and lesbian people is still legal. In many states in our country, gay and lesbian people are actively discriminated against. In many parts of this country, you are not physically safe if you are honest and "out."

Have you noticed a rise in cynicism around you of late? I've been hearing cynical comments about each of the candidates for president and vice president (and I've made a few myself). I've heard people make cynical comments about Marble's long and difficult process of finding a new senior minister. It's easy to feel cynical about politics and religion.

A cynical person doubts the sincerity of another. If I'm feeling cynical about a politician or about a church or my religion, it means that I doubt that the leaders in those areas are expressing their true motives--I suspect they're acting in their own self-interest or for personal gain while they claim to be acting from high-minded motives.

For the most part, we tend to think that cynicism is a bad thing.

But I don't necessarily think so. In fact, it may be closer to the heart of Christianity than we think.

At the root of the conversation about the legalization of gay marriage in California is the question "what is the definition of 'marriage'?"

Some say that marriage is a religious institution, ordained by the Bible as the joining of one man and one woman. Others say that marriage is a civil institution—a voluntary joining of lives by which people assume shared responsibility for their lives and property. Which is correct?

It's time.

You've thought about it over the years. You've found lots of reason NOT to join the church (believe me... I've heard them!):

1. It's inconvenient (couldn't make the membership classes...)
2. Not sure about doctrinal issues (the "Jesus is Lord" thing, the strangeness of the Bible)
3. Don't want to give the church my money ('nuff said)
4. It's just personal (not really a "church person")

But it's time to join. Now. Let me tell you why.

Today, April 4th, is an important day to stop and remember.

Today, 40 years ago, in Memphis, TN, a 39 year-old pastor was killed as he stood on the balcony of a motel. His own church was in Atlanta. He was in Memphis because he believed that to serve God meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with sisters and brothers in their pursuit of justice for themselves and their families, wherever they were. The men who picked up Memphis' trash were striking for better wages and benefits and the young pastor was there to encourage and support them and draw attention to the holiness in their struggle.

I don't know what Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been talking about today, at age 79. I can only take cues for my life from what he said and did. I look at what this servant of God said and did, and pray for the clarity and strength to serve God with the same faith and courage.

I'm consistently befuddled by the problem of homelessness in New York. It's a life-threatening problem for 35,000 New Yorkers every single night. 35,000 people without the essential safe haven of a home is too many...

Homelessness is a problem that shouldn't be a problem. There are the means in this city to provide every person who needs shelter with shelter. If it's not the resources... then what causes 35,000 people to go without?

The issues are as different as the people who face them: