Margaret Clark

By MIKE KONZ
Hub Managing Editor

KEARNEY - The daughter of an Episcopal priest, Margaret Clark said that even as a child she was expected to lend a hand.

"I learned early to volunteer at church," she said about growing up in North Dakota.

Today, Clark, 61, still is volunteering. At St. Luke's Episcopal Church in downtown Kearney, she's a lector, lay reader and choir member, and she produces the church newsletter and other St. Luke's publications.

"I'm so-so as a singer," Clark said. "I'm a choir member, not a soloist."

In recent years, Clark also was the church's warden, which put her in charge of the building and grounds at St. Luke's.

"I know where all the nooks and crannies are," she said.

For her volunteer work at St. Luke's, Clark is the recipient of the 2004 Freedom Award in the Religion Category, but her voluntarism goes beyond the walls of her church.

Clark also volunteers for Kearney Community Theatre, the Museum of Nebraska Art, the Buffalo County Historical Society's Trails and Rails Museum and southwest Kearney's Centennial Neighborhood Association.

"Margaret is fully aware that no church runs on the work of the pastor alone," said Nancy McCammon-Hansen, who nominated Clark for the award. McCammon-Hansen is the wife of St. Luke's Rector Thomas Hansen.

"It takes many volunteers many hours to have an active and viable program of activities and worship," McCammon-Hansen said. "Not only has she been a part of the governing body of the congregation, she has also been responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of what is Kearney's oldest and most beautiful church building."

Built in 1908, St. Luke's is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and features antique stained glass windows, a sweeping wood-paneled ceiling, hardwood floor and massive organ with 3,470 pipes.

"This historic structure is in great shape in no small part thanks to her," McCammon-Hansen said. She said many Kearney residents regard Clark as a "professional volunteer."

Clark said it feels wrong if she knows something needs to be done and she's not helping. "I should be able to say that I get satisfaction, but it's just automatic. You help people. If I don't do it, I feel very uncomfortable."

McCammon-Hansen said other people sometimes misunderstand Clark's drive and determination.

"That's because she sets pretty high standards for herself and others and for the organizations for which she tirelessly volunteers," McCammon-Hansen said. "She also knows that someone in any group has to be the person who's willing to speak up, give voice to the doubts and the negatives and get the conversation rolling in a way that examines all sides of an issue or problem."

Clark said she knows that sometimes she rubs people the wrong way, but she respects what others bring to volunteer projects. She says it's healthy to step down after doing something for a while.

"You could call me obsessive-compulsive. I want things to turn out well," she said. "Being in charge means you put your own stamp on things, but other people have perfectly good stamps they'd like to put on it."

When Clark isn't helping around St. Luke's, she's staffing the box office at KCT, selling items at the gift shop at MONA or publishing brochures for the historical society. She also has maintained the database for the UNK Faculty Wives Club and published newsletters for her neighborhood association.

Clark has a degree as a biology teacher, but she has never spent a day in the classroom.

She is married to UNK chemistry professor R. David Clark. Their son, Shaun Clark, is studying to become a high school social studies instructor. Shaun and his wife, Libby, have an 8-month-old son.

Clark said she divides her time between family and volunteer work, but hopes the scale someday will tilt more toward family. "Sometime in the future it would be nice to spend time again with my husband when we're not working, but I'm sure there are more volunteer jobs down the road."

She said that during a visit almost 35 years ago to her father's old church in North Dakota, she learned that even a child can make a difference.

After the service, a man approached her to share his story. He said that years ago he had visited the church several times and considered joining, but didn't feel involved until one day Clark - who at that time was the rector's 6-year-old daughter - sat beside him and made him feel a part of things.

He became a lifelong member, Clark said. "What a lot of people don't realize is that a small gesture can make such a difference."

e-mail to:
mike.konz@kearneyhub.com