Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess-International

The Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess-International is one expression of feminist Wicca that has emerged in stages through the 1980s and 1990s. Wicca emerged as a religion built around the worship of the Goddess. It elevated the role of the priestess as a means of balancing the more traditional all-male leadership role in Western religion. Many women found Wicca and magic to be a means of empowerment. In the early 1970s Dianic Wicca took the notion of the feminine role in the religion one step further and began to speak of Wicca as "wimmen's" religion. Feminist leaders began to organize all-female covens with a range of opinion from all-lesbian separatist groups to those groups that merely supplied women with a place for religious self-expression without male interference.

Feminist consciousness emerged within the strongest of the Wisconsin-based Wiccan groups, Circle, but generally manifested as all-female events during gatherings in which males otherwise participated. A more separatist format of feminist Wicca emerged in 1983 with the first issue of Of a Like Mind, a periodical that became the focus of a network of goddess-worshipping women. Of a Like Mind covered such areas as women's spirituality, Goddess religions around the world, nature-centered spirituality, and feminism. Each issue centered upon a particular Goddess and a singular theme, the subjects of feature articles, and included a number of columns that facilitated networking.

Over the years the Re-formed Congregation emerged as a network of groups (called circles ) and then in the 1990s as a formal corporate structure that chartered member organizations and trained and ordained leaders. The congregation organized its own publishing house, Triple Crescent Press, and a school, the Women's Theological Institute. The Grove is a retreat center near Madison, Wisconsin. It sponsors a number of celebrative and training events through the year.

The Re-formed Congregation is headquartered at Box 6677, Madison, WI 53726. Of a Like Mind is issued quarterly. It has an Internet presence at http://www.cae.wisc.edu:80/cashd/pathways/rcg.html.

Sources:

Of a Like Mind. Madison, Wisconsin, n.d. Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess-International.http://www.cae.wisc.edu:80/cashd/pathways/rcg.html. January 12, 2000.