: Raw Faith

<h2>About Marilyn</h2> 03.11.11 During Marilyn Sewell’s tenure as senior minister of the First Unitarian Church of Portland, the church grew from 625 members to 1,600, becoming one of the largest and most esteemed UU churches in the nation. Marilyn is one of only a handful of women to lead a large church of any faith. A powerful speaker, she is widely sought out for lectures and speeches. Marilyn’s ministry was characterized by a strong emphasis on social justice, for which she received an honorary doctorate from Meadville Lombard Seminary. A justice lecture series at First Unitarian has been established in her honor. Marilyn is on the Executive Committee of the Board of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and also continues to serve on the Workers’ Rights Board of Jobs with Justice.      Starting her career as a high school English teacher, Marilyn became a wife and mother of two sons, a psychotherapist, a TV personality giving advice, a writer and editor. She has an undergraduate degree in education and advanced degrees in English literature, social work and ministry. She also has a Ph.D. in Theology and Literature from the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley.   Marilyn has edited two celebrated books of women’s poetry, the award-winning Cries of the Spirit, followed by the companion volume Claiming the Spirit Within. She also edited two books of women’s essays, which include moving essays of her own: “Resurrecting Grace: Remembering Catholic Childhoods” and  “Breaking Free: Women of Spirit at Midlife and Beyond.” She has collected her own best wisdom on two important subjects in her most recent publications: A Little Book on Forgiveness and A Little Book on Prayer. Marilyn lives near the Willamette River, in Portland, Oregon. She is working on a new book and continues to blog weekly with her “Reflections,” giving a spiritual perspective on issues of the day.

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