Rev. Mike Clark was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1948, to Paul C. Clark and Kathryn E. Clark. He graduated from Albright College in 1970 with a B.A. and from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1975 with an M.Div.
Ordained in 1975, he spent the first 24 years of his ministry working in church-related social justice assignments, including the United Church Board for World Ministries, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the Riverside Church Disarmament Program (while William Sloane Coffin was serving as Senior Pastor, and Witness for Peace in Nicaragua). He also worked as a community organizer in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
In 1999 he began working in United Methodist settings in New England, first as an intentional interim and later as pastor. From 2002 to 2019 it was his pastorate at St. John’s UMC in Watertown MA (which became the Belmont-Watertown UMC in 2012) which led to significant involvement with individuals battling addiction and seeking a transformed life in recovery. It was his ministry and love for those struggling to stay clean and sober, one day at a time, that led him to write the book “Loitering with Intent: Reflections on Recovery and the Church.
Over the course of his 44 years of active ministry, he traveled widely, spoke and led retreats in many different venues and sought to connect the Gospel with hurting lives and a hurting world.
Mike will be remembered as a lifelong follower of Jesus, a wise counselor, a loving and trustworthy friend, an inspiring retreat leader and a gifted preacher. He was dedicated to peace and justice from an early age and participated in nonviolent direct action against the war in Vietnam, the nuclear arms race and the U.S.-funded violence in Central America. He was a dedicated researcher and lecturer on the political assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. In 1999 he served as the spokesman for the King family in their wrongful death lawsuit against Lloyd Jowers — a suit they won and for which they received their requested damages of $100. After one hour of deliberation the jury returned with a unanimous verdict that Jowers was responsible, along with unnamed co-conspirators, for the assassination of Dr. King. Lacking media coverage, many Americans never knew that the trial of King vs. Jowers even occurred.
Mike was married to Christine Elliott for 40 years and proudly shared that fact with everyone he met during his recent hospitalization. He was predeceased by his brother and best friend Paul E. Clark, his beloved sister Carol Ashworth and his young niece Cheryl Kistler. He leaves behind Paul’s wife Susan Sek of Wernersville PA, his brother-in-law Robert Ashworth, his nephew Jeff Kistler and wife Beth Kistler, niece Robin Kistler, great nephew Jeffrey Kistler, and great nieces Megan and Lindsey Kistler — all of whom reside in Reading PA.
Visitation will be held on Thursday December 5, 2024, at the MacDonald Rockwell & MacDonald Funeral Home, 270 Main Street, Watertown, from 4-7 PM. A Memorial Service will be held at the Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church, 421 Common St. Belmont at 2 PM on Friday December 6th. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to: The Wilson House (birthplace of Bill Wilson), 378 Village Street, E. Dorset VT 05253; or the World Food Programme of the United Nations, headquartered in Rome. www.wfp.org