The Rev. Kenn Katona, Rector
Fr. Kenn says that, “The liturgy was familiar, so I was comfortable with that, but the church just had an excitement and this feeling of being alive that I had never experienced before.” Fr. Kenn decided to check things out further, eventually finding community and purpose within The Episcopal Church. A year later, he joined an ecumenical Christian missions organization which took him to Texas and Louisiana where he participated in short-term missions work in several towns and cities. Additionally, as a missionary, Fr. Kenn also spent two months in Mongolia volunteering in orphanages, working in soup kitchens, and working with music and drama teams at a local church. During his time in Mongolia, Fr. Kenn braved temperatures of negative 50 degrees and lived in a yurt which was a mile and a half up a snowy mountain where there was no running water. For this reason he is confident that he and his family will handle the winters in Delaware without a hitch.
Fr. Kenn is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), where he developed a love of church history, especially the history of the communities that produced the four gospels. He has been called a sparkplug for the church and hopes to energize, and communicate an exciting new perspective of what it means to build the kingdom of God in the 21st century.
Martha De Luna, Music Director and Parish Administrator
Our Music Director and Parish Administrator, international artist, Martha De Luna. Martha is a multifaceted musician and creative artist whose talent and virtuoso playing is incomparable. In her musical profession, she’s a composer, orchestral/choral conductor, pianist, harpist, organist, and singer; however, she also plays as an amateur on many other instruments. Martha began her musical studies in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and it was in her church where she developed a deep love for sacred music to praise God and share his message of love. For this reason, sacred music is the most important part of her musical career. She has won top prizes and awards for her piano performances in the Dominican Republic and the USA. Her compositions have been performed in The Vatican, the Dominican Republic, and the USA, and her improvisational skills are breath-taking. Martha is the only professional musician who has performed a harp concerto and a piano concerto in the same concert with the top symphony orchestra from the Dominican Republic, and she was chosen to play her piano composition “Celebration” at the Super Bowl Houston Live 2017. She did undergraduate studies in piano and harp in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and has three graduate degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University (a MM in piano, a MM in harp, and a MM in choral conducting.)
The Rev. Deacon Cecily Sawyer Harmon, LCSW, Associate Deacon
The Rev. Deacon Cecily was appointed Associate Deacon at St. Barnabas by Bishop Brown in February 2023. She is retired from the University of Delaware where she provided confidential counseling to the administrators, faculty, and staff. She also conducted diversity training to the entire staff and incoming students. She is a trained mediator and provided these services to the university community.
Committed and involved in and to our church since 1976 she has served our diocese as laity, and was a member of the first class of deacons in 2009. Deacon Cecily was appointed by Bishop Wayne Wright to serve as the chaplain of the Episcopal Campus Ministry. During her ten years as chaplain the number of students increased, one was ordained a priest, and a feeding program for students, Blue Hen Bounty, was established and served community residents during COVID. While laity, she was a member of the choir, alter guild, Christian Education, and vestry. In the diocese she served on Diocesan Council and the Disciplinary Board . She chaired a women’s spirituality group composed of several parishes in New Castle. She was a member of the committee for the Day of Repentance Service. Deacon Cecily also served on the steering committee for the newly renovated Camp Arrowhead. In addition, she has served as a board member of Episcopal Women’s History Project.
Deacon Cecily has been elected seven times by our diocese to be a deputy to General Convention, and now holds the distinction of senior deputy. She served as co-chair for two different commissions at two General Conventions.
She has also held executive positions as head of non-profit agencies. She was the assistant director of social Services for the country of Liberia. While assistant director of Eastside Medical center she over saw the building of the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center and hire its first physicians, dentists, office staff, and other staff members. While executive director of DAPI (Delaware Adolescent Program Inc), a state wide program for parenting and pregnant teens Deacon Cecily fought to keep state funding and enabled DAPI to become a United Way member. An advocate she was the only women and person of color to lobby in 1997 for the licensure of social Workers.
She has taught at Del tech, University of Delaware, and has been a field instructor for social work students at Temple University and Delaware State University Schools of Social Work.
Deacon Cecily has served on several boards: Big Brother, Big Sisters, Planned Parenthood, Open Door, and has been a Trustee of The Tatnall School. She has received several awards and was named as one of the People to Watch in the Delaware Magazine.
She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Wilmington Links where she can also live out her life’s calling of sharing the love of our Lord to our brothers and sisters.
Vestry
Vestry members are responsible for the temporal affairs of the church. St. Barnabas’ vestry members are:
Beth Engler, Vestry Clerk
Ann Lopez