Meet Parishioners Christina Saveth And Nick Clark: Fostering a “Christ-Centered Relationship”

Christina Saveth remembers growing up Catholic and worrying if the person she married would also be Catholic. Then, she met Nick Clark.

“We never thought about not having a Catholic marriage,” Christina says. “We were both raised Catholic, and from the beginning, we talked and shared about our faith, going to Mass together, and praying together. We wanted a strong successful Catholic marriage.”

Christina and Nick met through the Tulsa Catholic Beer Club, which Christina started after hearing about Catholic Beer Club.

“Catholic adults come together once a month at a brewery and meet new friends while enjoying a drink after a long week,” Christina says. “I knew they had them in different cities all over the United States, but there wasn’t one in Tulsa.”

Their first gathering was in December 2017 at Roosevelt’s downtown, and the second one was in January at the Prairie. There was a huge turnout, and that was the day Nick decided to check out Catholic Beer Club.

Christina Saveth and Nick Clark — an engagement photo taken at the Gathering Place

“I found out about it on Facebook, and I had just moved to Tulsa that January after graduating from Oklahoma State,” Nick says. “I was looking for a way to get involved in the Catholic young adult community. I knew it would be a great way to meet new people.”

Nick walked into the brewery, and when a person approached him, Nick told her that he was there to meet a group. It was Christina who answered, “Catholic Beer Club?”

From the start of their relationship, Christina and Nick prayed together. These moments of shared prayer don’t need to take much time. Christina remembers her parents saying a little 30-second prayer together before they started their day.

“Praying as a couple is so important,” Nick says. “If we’re striving to keep Christ at the center of our relationship and our marriage, praying together and for each other is just essential.”

After moving to Tulsa in 2018, Nick hadn’t registered at a parish and found himself going to different parishes but never really having roots. During the pandemic, a friend encouraged them to check out Holy Family. Nick and Christina started attending the parish in 2020.

“We were so drawn to it,” Christina says. “There’s something about the traditional aspects of the Mass at Holy Family. It draws you to the focal point of the Mass, and it’s where we could see ourselves setting roots down and having a family.”

In the future, they’re hoping to become more involved in parish life, whether that means simply going to Coffee and Donuts or considering a liturgical ministry.

“I would like to be an usher or a lector one day,” Nick says. “We were also talking about being sponsors for Becoming Catholic, mainly because it would be awesome to witness someone being received in the Catholic Church, but it would also be an opportunity for us to grow in our own faith lives.”

Christina and Nick continue to grow in their faith lives together. Right now, they’re listening to the podcast The Bible in a Year. They’re hoping to set a foundation for their lives by coming together in a Catholic marriage.

“One thing I have always thought was beautiful about Christ-centered relationships was that the couple ultimately has one goal,” Christina says. “We want to get to heaven. You can’t do that without having Christ in the center of your relationship.”

As Christina and Nick prepare for their marriage on July 31 at Holy Family, let’s remember to hold them in our prayers.

“If it weren’t for the faith community, we wouldn’t be sitting where we are right now,” Christina says. “I am so thankful for opportunities offered through the parish and the diocese. They have formed my faith life and formed Nick’s faith life. I would encourage people to get involved and witness your faith grow.”

Christina Saveth and Nick Clark after the 10 a.m. Easter Mass, 2021