Associate Pastor Katherine Harrington
About Katie
Katie was born and raised in the small town of Wilmington, Ohio. Growing up in a nurturing environment surrounded by friends and family, including the extended family of the Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, Katie enjoyed being part of a wonderful church and a great community. During her senior year of high school, Katie chose to spend the year as a foreign exchange student in a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, where she learned to speak Swedish and enjoyed the multicultural environment. There, she attended a Pentecostal church with her host family, which opened her eyes to new ways of worshiping God and challenged her to think through her own theology.
Following a challenging year in Sweden, Katie entered The College of Wooster, a small liberal arts school near Cleveland, Ohio. While at Wooster, Katie was involved in many activities, including the Scot Marching Band and Symphonic Band; and the Wooster Christian Fellowship, of which she was president. Katie spent her college summers as a YMCA camp counselor. It was through these experiences that Katie began to feel God calling her to youth ministry, as a combination of her two loves—God and kids. In the meantime, she interned at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, and completed her degree, majoring in political science and minoring in English.
From the time Katie entered Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall of 2001, she thrived in the dual degree program, focusing in Christian Education and youth ministry in addition to coursework in theology, biblical studies, and church history. After working at Princeton’s Institute for Youth Ministry, Katie graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with an M.Div. and M.A. in youth ministry in May, 2005.
Katie is married to Todd Harrington, a native Charlottean. Todd works for Bank of America and together, Todd and Katie love walking and attempting to train their two dogs, Trina and Millie. Katie also loves all things mint and chocolate and particularly loves to spend time curled up in front of a fireplace with a good book. Canoeing and walking in the woods with her father from an early age, Katie loves to spend time enjoying God’s creation, whether hiking in the woods, or canoeing or kayaking on the water.
Invigorated and inspired by God’s actions in this world, and in her life, Katie was ordained on June 19, 2005 at the Presbyterian Church of Wilmington and began serving SMPC in July 2005. Regarding her call to ministry, Katie writes: “I am passionate about guiding people, especially youth in their faith journey, and seeing their faith blossom and grow. A strong faith in God and what God has done through Jesus Christ empowers my ministry and inspires me to communicate this to others. Serving God’s people through worship leadership and involvement in the community brings me joy. As I act on my calling to serve not only those within the church’s walls, but also in the community, I strive to see every person as one who is made in God’s image and is indeed a child of God.”
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