By David Karas, Correspondent
There are times when living out one’s faith in service to others can lead to the most unexpected of places. For Kevin Clarke, pursuing his faith led him behind bars – ministering to inmates at multiple prisons around the Diocese of Trenton.
After several years of volunteering his time and sharing the Gospel with the incarcerated, the Monmouth County resident has been named the new coordinator of the diocesan Jail and Prison Ministry.
“You have no idea how much a person’s life can change when they are met with dignity and love,” Clarke said. “The work we do is not a short game, (and) change does not happen overnight. But through his presence and by his grace, the Holy Spirit is alive and well within the walls of the jails and prisons located within the Diocese.”
Clarke, who grew up in New Jersey, spent the early part of his career in hospitality. He worked for a national hotel chain for a decade before leaving his role in 2019 to take on project-based hospitality and travel consulting. It was in 2022 that he felt a calling to engage with his faith and to share it with others.
“I felt an internal desire to do more with my faith than just go to church, pray and try to be a good person,” said Clarke, a member of St. Denis Parish, Manasquan. A few weeks later, he was further motivated by a homily delivered by his pastor, Father William Lago, on the importance of living the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy – including visiting the imprisoned.
“I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” said Clarke.
Before long, he connected with the diocesan Jail and Prison Ministry to learn how he could volunteer to minister to those incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, as well as New Jersey State Prison, a maximum-security state facility in Trenton.
“Being on these two volunteer teams has absolutely changed my life,” said Clarke. “I have been going to these facilities between two and four times per month – visiting with the population in fellowship, sitting with them in prayer, celebrating Mass together when a priest is present, bringing in the Eucharist when one is not, talking through Scripture and Bible readings, and having some deep conversations and hearty laughs.”
As the new ministry coordinator, Clarke guides efforts that he knows have a true impact on the lives of those living behind bars in facilities located in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
In addition to bringing in more volunteers – including those who speak Spanish – he hopes to launch reentry programming to support those being released from prison, to include possible virtual Bible study classes and retreat-style workshops. He also hopes to find more priests to visit facilities and celebrate Mass.
Any new recruits would join a group Clarke puts at the heart of the endeavor. “We have a tremendous group of volunteers – priests, deacons, members of the laity – who volunteer their time, talents and treasures with the population we serve across nine facilities,” he said. “This ministry would be nonexistent without their selfless dedication, work and commitment.”