Melanie Morrison papers, 1920-2023

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Summary

Creator:
Morrison, Melanie, 1949-
Morrison, Eleanor Shelton
Abstract:
Melanie Morrison is an author, speaker, pastor, social justice educator, and lesbian feminist anti-racist activist. The Melanie Morrison papers reflect her ministerial career as well as the life and works of her mother Eleanor Shelton Morrison and the non-profit they co-created, the Leaven Center, which offers social justice workshops and retreats. The collection contains correspondence, writings, research/reference materials, photographs, and other documents related to the careers of the two women and the activities and organization of the Leaven Center. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Extent:
16.0 linear feet Linear Feet (9 Paige boxes, 2 half document boxes, 2 whole document boxs, 1 flat box)
Language:
Materials in English.
Some materials in Dutch
Research Center:
Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
Collection ID:
RL.13175

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of author, speaker, pastor, social justice educator, and lesbian feminist anti-racist activist Melanie Morrison detail her professional ministerial career, her mother Eleanor's personal and professional career, and the records of Leaven Center, the organization they co-founded. The majority of the collection documents Melanie's writings, professional activities, and materials related to the workshop she co-created Doing Our Own Work.

Biographical / historical:

Melanie Morrison is an author, speaker, pastor, social justice educator, designer/facilitator of workshops, and lesbian feminist anti-racist activist Melanie was the co-founder of the Leaven Center and of Allies for Change.

Morrison (b. 1949) is the daughter of former pastors Truman A. Morrison and Eleanor Shelton Morrison; Eleanor taught one of the first human sexuality courses at Michigan State University, wrote several books on the topic, and was an advocate for LGBTQ rights and civil liberties.

Melanie graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1978 and was ordained with the United Church of Christ. From 1982-1987, she lived in she the Netherlands and served as a pastor with a Dutch congregation in Groningen where she wrote articles and essays based on her experiences in the Netherlands. In 1998, she received her Ph.D. in theology from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. After returning from the Netherlands in 1987, Melanie and Cyril Colonius co-founded Phoenix Community Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, purposefully creating a space that welcomed all LGBTQ identities. She was one of the founding members of CLOUT (Christian Lesbian Out Together) that celebrates the intersectional identities.

In 1987, Melanie and her mother Eleanor co-founded Leaven, a non-profit organization focused on providing training and resources on spirituality and social justice. They partnered with various organizations, universities, and churches to do presentations from the 1988 to 2012, including workshops entitled In Our Own Voice, Sister Colleagues, Doing Our Own Work, Sisters in a Strange Land, Turning Points, and Sabbath Time. Common topics included anti-racism, heterosexism, family and parenting, sexuality and spirituality. In 1993, Melanie and Eleanor wrote Created in God's Image, a guide on adult sexuality curriculum for the United Church of Christ. This resource was utilized by other local churches and congregations throughout the country.

The Leaven Center, a retreat space dedicated to facilitating discussions on social justice and spirituality was founded in 1988 in Lyons, Michigan. After 12 years as co-director, Melanie left Leaven to create Allies for Change, an organization dedicated to social justice education and community engagement. She continued to facilitate Doing Our Own Work, an intensive anti-racism program to support those committed to confronting racism and white supremacy.

Melanie is the author of six books: Verpleegkundigen en Ethiek (Nurses and Ethics) (1988), Created in God's Image (1993), The Grace of Coming Home (1995), Letters from Old Screamer Mountain (2021), Murder on Shades Mountain (2018) and Becoming Trustworthy White Allies (2025). She has written fifty-two essays and articles that have been featured in Dutch and American publications including Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Yale University Reflections, Sojourners, Journal of Current Social Issues, The Christian Century, Hervormd Nederland, Trouw, and The Witness.

Sources: LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/melanie-morrison) and Melanie Morrison's website (https://www.melaniemorrison.net/) accessed 2026 March 15.

Acquisition information:
The Melanie Morrison Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2024 and 2025.
Processing information:

Processed by Kemisa Kassa and Ren Bickel, March 2026

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2024-0170 and 2025-0031.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in four series: Melanie Morrison professional papers (1949-2023); Eleanor Shelton Morrison papers (1920-2014); Leaven Center records (1980-2012); and Audiovisual materials (1990-2009).

Files are arranged chronologically within each series except for audiovisual materials, which are grouped by material type. The majority of folder titles and titles for audiovisual materials originated with the creator.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Melanie Morrison Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1gr06