Marilyn Sewell

The Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell, an accomplished Unitarian Universalist minister, is known for her dynamic speaking, writing, teaching, and her justice work. She is frequently sought out by the media for interviews on current issues of social or spiritual import.

After careers as an English teacher, a clinical social worker, and a TV on-the-air personality giving advice — not to mention “single mom” — she went to seminary and brought her work experience together as the Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Portland Oregon. There she served with distinction for 17 years, during which time the church grew to be one of the largest UU churches in the nation. Also during those years, she received numerous awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate for her justice work from Meadville Lombard Seminary in Chicago. Marilyn retired in 2009, was named Minister Emerita, and a social justice lecture was established in her honor. She serves on the Development Committee of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and is on the Workers’ Rights Board of Jobs with Justice.

Marilyn has published articles and books throughout her career. She is the editor of two celebrated collections of women’s poetry focusing on the spiritual: the award-winning Cries of the Spirit and a companion volume, Claiming the Spirit Within. Breaking Free: Women of Spirit at Midlife and Beyond. Marilyn’s has written two companion volumes, A Little Book on Forgiveness and A Little Book on Prayer and a book of quotations from her sermons, A Little Book of Reflections. Her book Raw Faith: Following the Thread, serves as the back story to the film Raw Faith, a documentary film based on her life and work. Marilyn is frequently quoted by other speakers and writers and in various publications over a broad spectrum of social and spiritual issues. She has contributed multiple articles to Huffington Post and she is one of the poetry editors for the Harvard Divinity Bulletin.

She holds master’s degrees in English literature, social work and divinity and a PhD in Theology and Literature from the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley.

Read more about Marilyn and her work at http://www.marilynsewell.com.