COUNCIL RECOGNITION

FAMILIES OF THE MONTH

January 2026

The Family of Ms. Karen Barrington

Karen Barrington, joined the family at S.t Joseph's Largo in 1985. She was born and raised Catholic in the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Karen feels at home at St. Joseph. She notes that the atmosphere and spirituality was similar to her home Parish of LaDivina Pasrora. Karen raised her two boys in St Joseph's parish ensuring they were grounded in the faith. She was extremely proud when her youngest thanked her for the foundation, stating that if he wasn’t grounded in the church he would not have been able to survive college. Motivated by Father Moore’s urging of almsgiving, Karen joined the Good Samaritans, the Sodality and coordinates the Women’s ministry. She works with the St. Vincent De Paul ministry doing food distribution. Through these ministries she performs acts of kindness, makes sacrifices to help others and volunteers time for those in need. Karen believes in working in the Lord’s vineyard giving back whatever she received. She enjoys quietly working in the background giving of her time and talents. "'Humility is her key…..’Jesus meek and humble of heart make my heart like your heart. Without you Lord I can do nothing". Outside of St. Joseph’s, Karen volunteers with Elizabeth House in Laurel, MD feeding the less fortunate; raises funds for scholarships for the nonprofit Trinidad and Tobago Working Women’s Committee, and evangelizes with the Caribbean Catholics of North America. Karen acknowledges that the St. Joseph Parish Community molded her into who she is today. She has increased her spiritual discipline through daily mass, rosary prayer and scripture reading. Join the James C. Fletcher Jr Council #11422 Knights of Columbus to recognize and applaud the Karen Barrington family as the January 2026 Family of the Month.

December 2025

The Family of Dr. Michael A. Clarke

This month we recognize an exceptional Parishioner, one whose impact is felt at every liturgical celebration in our Parish. Welcome Dr. Clarke and Family as our December 2025 family of the month. The Clarke household comprises of wife- Dr. Gail-Selena Hewitt-Clarke, Twins: Michael and Michaela Hewitt-Clarke, and Mother-in-law Ilene Hewitt. Dr Clarke has been worshiping here since 2011, but became a Parishioner member around 2022. He is a 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus and currently serves as the Outside Guide in our Council.. Here at St Joseph, Dr Clarke started as the musician for the 5:00 PM Vigil Mass, after which the 12:00 PM Sunday Mass was added to his portfolio. Following the passing of Mrs. Leeke, he came on full-time and became the Director of Music for the Parish. In that role, he serves as the accompanist to the Youth Choir and the SJCAF African Choir. He is the director and accompanist of the Gospel Choir, and one of the directors of the Children's Choir. He also supervises the Grow Our Own Musicians program, the Cantors, and other musicians, and provides music for additional services as needed. These roles keeps him very busy attending to the Music program at St. Joseph's. His passions include study of piano, organ, vocal pedagogy, and conducting. He has held a variety of positions in the music world, including serving as a director of Choirs at the University of the West Indies and as Dean of Operations at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. In his spare time, Dr Clarke teaches math at Bishop McNamara High School and Chemistry at Anne Arundel Community College, and also volunteers as a Math Tutor at the International High School @ Langley Park. He says his goal at St. Joseph is to continue what Mrs. Leeke had started: to build the parish music program into the best church music program possible. He also hopes to be able to add traditional organ music to some of our masses to offer the broadest possible range of multi-cultural Catholic worship experiences. Join the James C. Fletcher, Jr. Council #11422 of the Knights of Columbus to recognize and applaud Dr Michael Clark Family as the December, 2025 Family of the month.