About

Dr. Sewell has studied broadly and has master's degrees in English literature, social work, and divinity, plus a Ph.D. in Theology and Literature from the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley, California. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate from Meadville Lombard Seminary.

The Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell is an accomplished Unitarian minister, writer, activist, and spiritual leader. Raised Catholic and Southern Baptist, Marilyn was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist Minister in 1986 and has since become a noted figure in the Unitarian movement, known for her dynamic speaking, her writing, and her teaching. She is frequently sought out by the media for interviews on various justice issues, including economic inequity, race and class, and women's issues.

Dr. Sewell received her Ph.D. in Theology and the Arts (specializing in the spirituality expressed in women's literature) from the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. Dr. Sewell has a Masters of Divinity, an M.A. in English Literature, a master's degree in social work, and a B.A. in English Education. She is the editor of two celebrated books of women's poetry: the award-winning Cries of the Spirit, 1991 (one of Library Journal's "best books of the year") and a companion volume Claiming the Spirit Within, a Sourcebook of Women's Poetry, 1996.

In June of 1998, a collection of her sermons, entitled Wanting Wholeness, Being Broken was published. The summer of 2001 saw the release of Resurrecting Grace: Remembering Catholic Childhoods, her edited collection of memoirs by people who grew up Catholic, including a moving essay of her own. Breaking Free: Women of Spirit at Midlife and Beyond, her most recent publication is a collection of powerful, often daring essays by women reflecting on the spiritual growth in the second half of their lives. Again, Dr. Sewell has contributed a piece, both personally revealing and emotionally moving.