I first met Dave at St. Edward on our Catholic Heart Work Camp trip to Orlando in 1998. Walking away from our first meeting, I thought, “He’s either crazy, or has the Holy Spirit sitting on his right shoulder.”  It turns out there was truth in both thoughts. All I can figure is that God was getting impatient in heaven and needed someone to “shake it up” and put some spirit into the heavenly host. So He called on the best, our Dave Clark. There are a lot of people to whom I look forward to seeing in heaven, and I’ll know I’m in the right place when I hear a loud booming voice yelling out, “High 5 the Lord!!!”

Steve Szymczak

Remembering Dave Clark

Dave answered Jesus’ call to “Feed My Sheep” with a resounding “Yes Lord!” His unselfish dedication to the youth of Epiphany and commitment to helping them along their faith journey was truly a blessing to our church community. Dave touched countless lives with his zeal for life and unwavering love for his Catholic faith. He was as comfortable addressing a large group on a retreat or in The Great Room as he was ministering one-on-one to those seeking his support and guidence or just needing a kind word.   

Dave was at his best while out doing the Lord’s work on mission trips. For over 15 years he led the movement at Epiphany to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the needy in remote areas of the US and Mexico. We were fortunate to have joined him on those trips and have seen firsthand how much he loved interacting with the locals. His love for Jesus and his Catholic faith was contagious. Whether holding a small child or ministering to the elderly, he was at home just making them feel at ease. Regardless of where our mission brought us, his focus was on sharing our Catholic faith to young and old, but he had a special place in his heart for ministering to young people. Dave touched many people on those mission trips and changed many lives along the way. 

Epiphany will be forever grateful for the blessing of having Dave as a significant part of its ministry team. We are especially thankful that he played a major role in forming our three children’s love for Jesus Christ and his wonderful example for helping those in need instilled in them a giving heart. Dave will be missed. 

God speed Dave… and welcome home. 

Richard & Nancy White

When I first began working at Epiphany, I began visiting with each of the staff members for the various ministries. When meeting with Dave, I quickly learned that he had a candy machine in his office that dispensed jelly beans, peanuts, candy corn or whatever Dave decided to put in the large glass container. I loved visiting with Dave while sitting in his office and eating his candy and learning more about his Family Life ministry. One day I asked him if he ever put chocolate covered raisins in his candy machine. My plan was to purchase some of this candy for use in his candy machine. To my surprise, within a day or two, Dave had replaced the contents of his candy machine with chocolate covered raisins! This small gesture by Dave was so typical of him. He had such an unselfish, giving heart... and never expected anything in return. God bless you Dave Clark!

Lars Gustafson

I have been so fortunate to have known Dave for the past twenty years that the has served the Epiphany community and the Katy area. I have always admired  that Dave was a "big idea" guy. To me, his best  idea that came to fruition involved taking Epiphany teens on mission trips to faraway locations in Mexico - Sierra Mojada, Esmerelda, Hercules, Huachitil to name but a few of the small towns. I was blessed with to accompany Dave and the teens on these journeys a number of times. I always looked forward to the last day of these trips as the whole town would gather for a celebration. Dave would be in his favorite tye-died or mission t-shirt, DJing and playing music. The amusing thing was that the locals, especially the little ones, knew no English and Dave knew less Spanish; however, the locals flocked to be by Dave. As our dearly beloved host in Mexico, Padre Roberto, recently wrote, “Dave was a great man, a Christian and youth apostle". It was incredible how he could communicate with our (Mexican) kids not knowing any Spanish; it was his charisma”. I got to witness these events and I know the real reason Dave could relate to those who spoke a different language was him being touched by the Holy Spirit! 


Tommy Noto
Parishioner

After working with Dave Clark for three and a half years I got a pretty good sense of who he was as a person and as a staff member at Epiphany.  The first thing I remember was how quick and easy it was for him to laugh or smile.  He had a great sense of humor.  However, as a parent, I got to watch Dave work directly with teens in the faith formation program at Epiphany, including my own children.  This was where his true gift from God came to light.  For example, most people struggle to pray out loud in front of others.  However, this act came very naturally for Dave.  In fact, he could command a room when leading it in prayer.  He knew exactly what to say to our youth and he made them comfortable during public prayer and taught others to share their faith along the way.  I always admired that about him.  He will be missed by many.


Craig Shemon
Former Epiphany Business Administrator

I feel as though I had met Dave before actually meeting him. I served as an Echo Apprentice for a different parish in the Archdiocese before joining the Epiphany Community. Dave was actually a previous youth minister for this parish. Many of my catechists and volunteers told stories of this joyful, tie dye wearing, energetic minister who instilled in them a love for the Lord especially through camping/service trips. Dave was also a legend around the Archdiocese from volunteering his DJ time for the Summer Youth Conference or Jr. High Rally to the echoing deep singing voice parading down the hall with a large group of teens (many of whom are in ministry still today). Coming to Epiphany and partnering with Dave confirmed everything I had heard/seen. Dave is truly one of the most generous, creative, fun, and passionate servants of the Lord. His big ideas created new parish events/traditions, midnight karaoke sessions for Jr. high lock-ins were always a big hit, but most importantly everyone he encountered felt loved and left closer to our Lord. It is a blessing to be a part of the same formation department with him, and we look forward to keeping his spirit and legacy alive in all we do. 


Matt Kiernan