Tue 20 Mar 2012 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Reverend David Clark was 65 Gay Presbyterian minister Reverend David Clark is being remembered as a true friend and supporter, as well as a progressive thinker, ahead of his funeral in Auckland tomorrow. Reverend Clark died in his home in the Auckland suburb of Remuera last Tuesday, aged 65. He had been unwell, however his passing was unexpected. He was minister of St Lukes in Remuera and he is being remembered by peers as a progressive thinker, who made a ‘unique and costly’ contribution to the church when he came out at the General Assembly in 1991. Michael Bancroft became friends with Reverend Clark shortly after he was ordained a priest in 1987. He describes his friend’s death as an untimely loss. “We worked together on the Interfaith AIDs Ministry Network in the late 80s and early 90s when the response of the Churches (and other faiths) in general was far from helpful. He supported many a person living with HIV and AIDs and conducted numerous funerals in those years,” Bancroft recalls. “I was one of the team David invited to plan the first ever Gay Christian Conference held at St Lukes in June 1991. He then went on to be one of the key organisers of the first National Gay and Lesbian Christian Conference in Wellington in 1992. Without David's inspiration and hard work this might never have happened. Bancroft says Reverend Clark was a true friend and supporter, especially in 1999 when he made the decision to step aside from the Catholic priesthood over gay issues. “I did not have the courage or ability to stand and be counted in my own church in the way he did and continued to do. His friendship and hospitality to myself and so many others has never wavered.” Massey University religious historian Peter Lineham says Reverend Clark had been married in earlier life before he was in Auckland, but the marriage broke up. “When he came to Auckland he knew he was gay but he was quite cautious about speaking about it because of the debate in the Presbyterian denomination. However he was involved in Auckland Commuity Church. When it was decided to hold a Gay Christian Conference the venue for most if the meetings was at his church, St Lukes. He was not a main speaker but he did lead a seminar for ministers,” he says. Lineham says this was on Queen’s Birthday Weekend in 1991, and later that year things heated up in the Presbyterian church and Reverend Clark came out to the denomination at the General Assembly. “David had quite a lot to do with Auckland Community Church but he was annoyed by the ways in which the church tried to keep everyone happy in the congregation,” he says. “At St Lukes with a very supportive and liberal congregation there he was able to be very liturgical for he loved dressing up and lighting candles as well as provocative sermons.” Lineham says Reverend Clark also developed close ties with Laos and Cambodia and sponsored several young men, not necessarily gay, who wanted to come to NZ and was always incredibly kind to people who were refugees. A vigil is being held at St Lukes for Reverend David Clark ahead of his funeral at 2PM tomorrow.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 20th March 2012 - 10:35am