The Interim Search Committee and Board of Trustees are absolutely thrilled to announce that Rev. Denise Cawley will be joining JRUUC as our interim minister on August 3, 2026. (The first Sunday service with Rev. Denise is to be determined. Meet and greet opportunities to come!)
The Interim Search Committee—Heike Saynisch, Charlie McNulty, and Virginia Harrison—resonated immediately with Rev. Denise for her strong social justice background, warmth, creativity, and compassionate chaplaincy.
Rev. Denise says of her work with congregations, “I very much enjoy the brilliance I find in congregations. I love watching groups learn together, struggle, grow, love each other up, celebrate and create community together. I find the pace of that transformation might be slow for a year and suddenly the congregation might take a giant leap before my eyes. The work is magic. I am dedicated to bringing people into that magic.”
She created a video of introduction as a way to help us start to get to know her:
Below is Rev. Denise’s letter to the JRUUC community:
I am thrilled to be joining James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation as your Interim Minister! From the moment I learned of this community, I was moved—the name James Reeb carries such profound meaning in our tradition, and everything he stood for resonates deeply with my own calling. The leaders I have met have already impressed me with their passion and vision, and your reputation for justice work is inspiring. The congregation’s proximity to the Wisconsin state capital and the University of Wisconsin only adds to my excitement about the collaborative possibilities that lie ahead for us together.
I bring visual arts, interactive rituals, and dramatic storytelling into my ministry. Artmaking is a vivid part of my own spiritual practice and of the healing journeys I am honored to offer others. Those who know me have called me Artist, Respectful Collaborator, Inclusionary Leader, and Magical Spirit—words I hold with deep gratitude.
My Master of Divinity is from Meadville Lombard Theological School, and I have had the privilege of pastoring congregations in Oregon, Illinois, and Wisconsin. I serve as a chaplain at Advocate Aurora Healthcare and have appreciated my time as an administrator at the UU Ministers’ Association. Feel free to call me RevD or Rev. Denise! I hold four units of Clinical Pastoral Education certified by the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, with trauma expertise using Kintsugi Psychology tools, and am nearly finished with my Kintsugi Resilience Associate (KRA) Certification with Community Care Chaplains. For more than 25 years, justice work has been close to my heart and central to my calling.
I live in Milwaukee with my spouse, Rev. Matt Aspin who is minister at Hartland’s Lake Country Unitarian Universalist Church (you might know him from when he was minister at Prairie UU for two years in Madison). We live with our wonderfully fuzzy dogs and sometimes our busy teenage kids. My background in arts, fundraising, marketing, and communications was shaped by years of nonprofit work and educational foundations at Alverno College and Parsons School of Design.
I look forward to wonderful collaborations when we meet in August.