We’re thrilled to welcome Rev. Dr. Cathy Harrington as our new minister, with her first formal day on Friday, August 3, 2025, and her inaugural Sunday in the pulpit on Sunday, August 17, 2025. Cathy arrives with over two decades of rich, varied experience—both in professional life and in ministry—that uniquely equips her to nurture our congregation through transition and growth. With her warmth, creativity, and deep commitment to justice, we know she’ll help UUNWI flourish in this next chapter.
Cathy’s path to ministry began in the most unexpected of places. For 25 years she was a celebrated, award-winning hairdresser, and later the owner of Miller’s Daughter Bakery & Café in Seward, Alaska—where kneading dough and rising early taught her that “feeding people” could also be feeding the spirit. That revelation propelled her to drive the Al-Can Highway to California, where she spent five years at Starr King School for the Ministry (including a year’s internship in Austin, Texas), earning her M.Div. and, later, a D.Min.
Since ordination, Cathy has been called back again and again as an Accredited Interim Minister, guiding nine congregations through pivotal seasons in Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina. She also served for nine years as minister in Ludington, Michigan—learning firsthand the joys and challenges of building lasting community ties. Across every call, she’s become known for blending thoughtful discernment with moments of genuine play, helping congregations discover fresh energy and vision .
Cathy’s theology and worship style are equally distinctive. A pan-theist at heart, she draws on the miraculous story of leaven in Matthew 13:33 to remind us that even small acts—like sharing bread—can transform an entire community. Her poetic creed, “I believe in bread alone… primordial metabolic miracle… earth, wind, fire and rain,” invites us into worship that’s sensory, imaginative, and deeply rooted in everyday life . You’ll find her services rich with metaphor, storytelling, and opportunities to taste both the sacred and the ordinary.
A pivotal influence in Cathy’s formation has been the Faithful Fools Street Ministry in San Francisco. Beginning in 1999, she joined week-long street retreats in the Tenderloin district, then traveled four times to live in Managua’s barrios—experiences that peeled away her assumptions and ignited her lifelong passion for social justice, intercultural solidarity, and radical hospitality . She’s invited the Fools to share their original play The Witness in multiple contexts, always seeking to bridge our sanctuary walls with the wider world’s realities.
On the personal side, Cathy is based in Ludington, Michigan, where her husband Jim—and their six-year-old dog, Zoey—hold down the home front while she travels. She loves sourdough baking (naturally), midsummer sunsets on Lake Michigan, and curling up with a good mystery novel. Cathy can’t wait to learn our stories—our traditions, our hopes, even our quirks—and to co-create worship and service opportunities that reflect who we are and who we aspire to become.
Please join us in giving Cathy the warmest UUNWI welcome! We invite you to greet her on Friday, August 3, for her first formal day, then to join us in the sanctuary on Sunday, August 17, as she leads her first service in the pulpit. We look forward to beginning this journey of faith, curiosity, and joyful exploration together.
