Meet Martie Wyckoff

Though a native of Colorado, I lived and worked in Northern Virginia for nearly twenty years as a Sr. Project Engineer. I returned to Colorado in 2015, continuing to work and to help care for my mom who was battling dementia. After she passed away in 2019, God began to shift my life in radically new directions. The timing was no accident. I was reminded by a friend that it is our mothers who help us grow by listening to the whispers of God.

While attending a Christian concert at Red Rocks, not long after my mom’s death, I felt God whisper a new message to me. “Martie, I want you to be a pediatric hospice chaplain. This will be your new retirement gig, not sitting on the beach.” Seriously? Me – a new career, at my age? God must have a real sense of humor! Regardless, I knew I should listen and take action.

I attended Denver Seminary’s Fall 2019 “Preview Day” to learn more about the school and the Certificate in Chaplaincy program. During that day on campus, crazy words flew out of my mouth. “I do not want to be in the certificate program, I want to pursue a Master of Divinity degree with concentration in chaplaincy!" What? Have I lost my mind? I retire in a few years, and now I am saying I want to enroll in seminary? At this point, I realized I needed to stop questioning God’s will and accept how he was growing, shaping, and preparing me for a new adventure.

The first highlight of my seminary journey was at New Student Orientation in the Spring of 2020. I was struck by the presence of God and the abundance of love for one another demonstrated by the people in the room. The entire orientation team made me feel genuinely welcome and valued. That single day was an amazing, life-changing event for me.

During my first semester, I was concerned that I would be overwhelmed with working full-time and attending Seminary. To move forward I was able to put all faith and trust in God. After all, I believe He put me here! I claimed the promise in Philippians 4:19 that God would supply all my needs through Christ Jesus. He has certainly done so. Any worries I had quickly evaporated. I am now in my second year and feel incredibly blessed. Most days it feels like a dream to be here and privileged to be trained as a chaplain and reshaped into a humble servant of God.