Living Enrichment Center

Living Enrichment Center was a New Thought church and retreat center in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded in the Scholls farmhouse of senior minister Mary Manin Morrissey in the mid-1970s; the church moved to a 94,500 square foot building on a forested area of 95 acres in Wilsonville in 1992. Over the course of its existence, LEC grew from less than a dozen members to an estimated 4,000, making it the biggest New Thought church in the state. LEC maintained an in-house bookstore, retreat center, café, kindergarten and elementary school, and an outreach television ministry.

LEC closed and dissolved in 2004 as a result of a $10.7 million financial scandal. Morrissey's husband, Edward Morrissey, pleaded guilty to money laundering and using church money for the personal expenses of himself and his wife. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison, and was released in early 2007. Several New Thought ministries emerged from the collapse of LEC, including New Thought Center for Spiritual Living, Celebration Church, and Whole Life Center in Lake Oswego.

More information

Comments Statistics

| | Public