BALDWINSVILLE — After serving the congregation at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church for the past seven years, Pastor Hannah Benedict is moving to Virginia Beach with her family, “trading our river for the ocean, both holy waters in a sense,” said Jim Sollecito, chair of the Church on the Island Welcome Committee.

“Our community will certainly miss her, but we wish the best of everything going forward,” Sollecito added.

St. Mark’s has selected Pastor Chuck Copps to serve as interim pastor through the end of 2022. In the short term, Copps said, he intends to stay immersed in the community of St. Mark’s and Baldwinsville as a whole, and let the community know that he and St. Mark’s are there to offer help and support.

“My intention is to come alongside [St. Mark’s], to help maintain what they’re doing, and if possible to grow it,” said Copps, a resident of Fulton.

One of the church’s ministries, Loads & Loaves of Love, provides laundry vouchers at Colonial Laundromat in the village of Baldwinsville and meals at Subway next door. Copps estimated that the church is able to supply the money for 70 to 80 loads of laundry a month.

The congregation at St. Mark’s, Copps said, shows such real devotion and genuine care for others.

“It is very exciting and gratifying to watch people devote and give up their own time to come in and do this stuff,” he said.

The ministry did not call to Copps immediately. Previously, he worked at Le Moyne College as the facilities painter alongside the maintenance department. He left in 2016 in order to devote more time to his ministry. Copps had been an active member of his local ministries for years at that point, teaching bible study groups, prayer groups, and men and women’s groups alongside his wife Betsy.

After resigning from Le Moyne, Copps became pastor of his home-based church, Lakeside Christian Ministries. When COVID shut the ministry’s doors down, Chuck and Betsy became heavily involved in the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in their hometown of Fulton. It was there that Copps was pointed toward St. Mark’s.

“My whole attitude is that this is something that I get to do. I don’t have to punch in a time clock; this is something I get to serve other people with,” Copps said, remarking that serving as a pastor seems like an honor and a privilege. “It has its challenges, but the rewards far, far outweigh anything that might go in the challenge category.”

When Copps began taking steps to give pastoral care, a great sense of peace overcame him, confirming he had made the right decision for the direction of his life. He said says it is the people who sustain him, giving him the honor to be a part of their lives in whatever moment they decide to let him in.

In order to better serve his congregation, Copps became a certified grief counselor, finding it to be a natural extension of his pastoral work.

“Grief is just [something] that we all have or will experience, and it can be so overwhelming. Being a grief counselor helps me to help folks by hearing what they’re going through,” he said. “Another part of pastoral care is being someone who can be there for someone who is grieving in a way that they just need an ear or counsel, or whatever it is.”

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is located at 2840 Cold Springs Road in Baldwinsville. To learn more, visit stmarksbville.com or call 315-638-0406.

Editor’s note: Messenger Editor Ashley Casey is married to Chuck and Betsy Copps’ older child, Kenny Copps.