Change is hard. We tend to be creatures of habit, and when we find something we love, we tend to hold onto it. Some of us return to the same television show or movie again and again because there is comfort in what is familiar. Some of us order the same meal at a favorite restaurant because we already know it is good. Many of us sit in the same pew every Sunday and feel just a little disoriented if someone else is sitting there first.
When we find something meaningful—whether small or significant—we hold onto it. Because familiarity brings comfort.
In the weeks ahead, St. Mark’s will enter a season of transition. On June 7th, we will celebrate Traci as she retires after many years of faithful service among us. We will rightly give thanks for her steadfast presence and for the many ways she has shaped the life of this congregation.
At the same time, transitions always bring uncertainty. Change can stir both grief and gratitude, anxiety and anticipation, heartache and hope all at once.
Scripture reminds us that while seasons change, God remains faithful. We take comfort in the promise that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The heart of God does not waver. As the hymn writer proclaims, God is “our help in ages past” and “our hope for years to come.”
And yet the Bible also reminds us that God continues to lead people into new seasons. “I am about to do a new thing,” the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah; “now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19).
The good news is not that change never comes. The good news is that God remains present within it.
The psalmist writes, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble… therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change” (Psalm 46:1-2). In every transition—of leadership, of routines, of relationships, of seasons—God continues to guide, sustain, and accompany God’s people.
I am deeply grateful for Traci, for her years of service, and for the ways her ministry has shaped St. Mark’s. And I am grateful for this congregation, which will continue to gather in worship, service, learning, and love as we move faithfully into the future together.
Change is never easy. But God is faithful. Together, we will seek the new thing God is doing among us.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Will Starkweather
Last modified: May 21, 2026