Category:Living Enrichment Center

Living Enrichment Center [1], often referred to as LEC, was a New Thought church and retreat center in Oregon. Originally founded in the Scholls, Oregon farm house of senior minister Mary Manin Morrissey in the mid-1970s, by 1992 the church had moved to a 94,500 square foot (8,800 m²) building on a forested area of 95 acres (384,000 m²) in Wilsonville, Oregon. Over the course of its existence, the congregation grew from less than a dozen to an estimated 5000, making it the biggest New Thought church in the state, as well as one of the biggest New Thought churches in the world. A multifaceted institution, Living Enrichment Center also maintained an in-house bookstore, retreat center, cafe, kindergarten and elementary school, and an outreach television ministry. The Portland, Oregon media often referred to Living Enrichment Center as a "megachurch".

LEC closed in the summer of 2004 as the result of a $10 million financial scandal. Several members of the congregation filed lawsuits against Mary Manin Morrissey, her husband Edward Morrissey, and the church itself, for unpaid loans that the Morrisseys had solicited. In response to the lawsuits, in June of 2004 Mary Manin Morrissey resigned as senior minister of the church. That same month, the church moved to Beaverton, Oregon, closing a few weeks later. Edward Morrissey eventually pled guilty to money laundering and served two years in the federal penitentiary. Mary Manin Morrissey struck a plea bargain with the state of Oregon that stipulates she may not head a non-profit organization and that she must repay loans from members of the congregation. As of the summer of 2006, the Wilsonville Spokesman reported Mary Manin Morrissey has repaid $24,000 of debt to her former congregation.