	      The Church of All Worlds, a Brief History       
	      
  It all began on April 7, 1962, when, after reading Stranger in a Strange 
Land, Tim Zell and Lance Christie shared water and formed a water-brotherhood 
called "Atl" at Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri. During the mid-1960s 
the group was centered on the University of Oklahoma campus at Norman under 
the name Atlan Foundation. A periodical, The Atlan Torch (later The Atlan 
Annals), was published from 1962-1968. Following a move to St. Louis, 
Missouri, in 1968 the Church of All Worlds was legally incorporated. In 
March of that year, the first issue of Green Egg appeared and over the years 
made Tim Zell, its editor, a major force in Neo-Paganism, a term which Zell 
coined.      

  CAW was the first Neo-Pagan/Earth Religion to obtain full federal 
recognition, although it was initially refused recognition by the Missouri 
Department of Revenue on the basis of its lack of primary concern about the 
hereafter, God, the destiny of souls, heaven, hell, sin and its punishment, 
and other supernatural matters. The ruling was overturned as unconstitutional 
in 1971.     

  The Church of All Worlds took much inspiration from the science fiction 
classic, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. In the novel, 
Valentine Michael Smith was a human being born on Mars and raised by 
Martians. Upon being brought to Earth, he established the Church of All 
Worlds, built around "nests", a combination of a congregations and an 
intentional communities. A basic concept was "grokking", i.e., the ability 
to be fully empathic. Heinlein's CAW emphasized non-possessive love and 
joyous expression of sexuality as divine union. Their greeting was "Thou 
art God" or "Thou art Goddess", a recognition of immanent divinity in each 
person.        

  The basic theology of the CAW is a pantheism focused on immanent rather 
than transcendent divinity, which is worshiped in female as well as a male 
form. The most important thealogical statement came in revelatory writings 
by Zell in 1970-73, on a theory which later came to be known as the Gaia 
Thesis, a biological validation of the ancient intuition that the planet is 
a single living organism, Mother Earth.      

  Pantheists hold as divine the living spirit of Nature. Thus the CAW 
recognizes Mother Earth, the Horned God, the Green Man and other spirits of 
animistic totemism as the Divine Pantheon. Church of All Worlds was an early 
forerunner of the Deep Ecology movement. Through its focus on Mother Nature 
as Goddess and its recognition and ordination of women as Priestesses, CAW 
can also rightly be held to be the first Eco-Feminist Church. Its only creed 
states: "The Church of All Worlds is dedicated to the celebration of life, 
the maximal actualization of human potential and the realization of ultimate 
individual freedom and personal responsibility in harmonious eco-psychic 
relationship with the total Biosphere of Holy Mother Earth."  

  In 1974, CAW reported nests in Missouri, California, Illinois, Kansas, 
Wisconsin, Iowa, Wyoming, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New Jersey, 
New York, and Ohio. It was then publishing two periodicals, Green Egg and 
The Pagan. Two years later Zell moved to Oregon with his new wife, Morning 
Glory, an ordained Priestess, for a rural life of writing, research and the 
practice of the religion he had developed. They left the administration of 
the CAW and the publication of the Green Egg in the hands of other Church 
leaders. After only a few more issues, the magazine ceased publication. 
Subsequently many Church Nests dissolved due to internal conflicts.       

  By the mid-1980s CAW survived only in California, focused around the 
sanctuary land bequeathed to the Church by its Bard, Gwydion Pendderwen. On 
and around this rural retreat, a Pagan homesteading community grew which 
included the Zells (Tim Zell had changed his first name to Otter in 1979 
following a vision quest) and other long-time Church members who had moved 
to California, as well as many new people. Two new clergy were ordained 
during that time, Orion Stormcrow (a Church member since 1969) and Anodea 
Judith. (In 1991, Deborah Hamouris was ordained, bringing the present number 
of active clergy to six.)  In the late 1980s, following Otter and Morning 
Glory's emergence from eight years of living in the wilderness, the Church 
of All Worlds began reorganizing under the leadership of Anodea Judith. The 
membership program was radically upgraded to include a Progressive 
Involvement Program (PIP), intensive training courses and a new members 
newsletter, The Scarlet Flame. Activities and membership increased 
dramatically during this period as CAW emerged from its slumber.    

  The first issue of Green Egg (The Next Generation!) appeared in May, 
1988, the 20th anniversary of its original publication. It has risen to a 
position of prominence among Pagan periodicals. Diane Darling, who joined 
the Church in the mid-'80s, is its editrix, Otter its publisher and designer. 
In 1991, with 52 pages and a four-color glossy cover, Green Egg won the 
Silver Award from the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance (WPPA) for "Most 
Professionally Formatted Pagan Publication". In 1992 Green Egg won the 
WPPA Gold Award for "Readers' Choice" as well as the Dragonfest Awards for 
"Most Attractive Format" and "Best Graphics". Diane won the Pentacle Award 
for "Favorite Pagan Editrix", and Otter for "Favorite Pagan Writer".     

  The non-fictional Church of All Worlds has grown far beyond Heinlein's 
dream. There are nine concentric circles of member involvement, named after 
the planets and grouped into three rings. Each circle's activity includes 
study, writings, magical training, sensitivity and encounter-group 
experience, as well as active participation in the life of the Church. The 
First Ring, Circles 1, 2, and 3, is for Seekers, those who are only 
participants. Second Ring, Circles 4 through 6, is made up of Scions, 
members who help run the church.  The clergy, Council of the Third Ring, 
consists of legally ordained priests and priestesses; longtime members who 
have worked through the other circles, undergone personal and leadership 
development, religious training, and completed the Church's ordination 
requirements.  There are two governing bodies in addition to the Clergy: 
the Board of Directors, which determines policy and business matters, and 
the Fun Committee, which implements the activities and functions of the 
Church. The Fun Committee is made up of a Board member, a clergy member, 
and one representative from each of the church functions, such as Rites 
and Festivals, Publications, Membership, Communications and each subsidiary. 
There is an annual General Meeting to elect officers and make changes in 
the Church's ever-evolving Bylaws.   Worship involves attending weekly or 
monthly Nest meetings usually held in the homes of Nest members. Autonomous 
nests are composed of at least three members of 2nd Circle meeting monthly 
or more often. The basic liturgical form is based on a circle where a 
chalice of water is shared around as part of the ritual part of the Nest 
meeting.     

   Longer events are celebrated at the Church sanctuary, Annwfn, a 55-acres 
of land in northern California. Annwfn has a two-story temple, cabins, 
garden, orchard and a small pond. It is maintained by a small community of 
resident caretakers.  In addition to the eight Celtic seasonal festivals, 
the Church holds handfastings (marriages), vision quests, initiations, 
workshops, retreats, work parties and meetings on the land. As of 1993, the 
Church has ten chartered nests in California, with others in Florida, 
Illinois, Arizona, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Australia (where CAW 
has become the first legally-incorporated Pagan church in that country). A 
number of proto-Nests are in the process of forming.  Current President is 
priest Tom Williams (a member since 1968).  Otter is presently engaged in 
the formation of the Universal Federation of Pagans (UFP), a worldwide 
association with which he hopes to unify the global Pagan community.  

   1992 was the 30th anniversary of the Church. A Grand Convocation was held 
in August, with an attendance of nearly 300. Membership at the end of 1993 
was around 600.      

   The Mission Statement of the Church of All Worlds is as follows: The 
mission of the Church of All Worlds is to evolve a network of information, 
mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for 
reawakening Gaea, and reuniting Her children through tribal community 
dedicated to responsible stewardship and the general evolution of 
consciousness.        

   Over the years, the Church of All Worlds has chartered a number of 
subsidiary branches through which it practices and teaches its religion:*    

   Forever Forests : Box 212, Redwood Valley, CA 95470.  Founded in 1977 
	   by  Gwydion Pendderwen; the ecology branch.  Sponsors 
	   tree-planting events and rituals. *         
	   
   Lifeways : 2140 Shattuck #2093, Berkeley, CA 94704.  Founded in 1983 by 
	   Anodea Judith; the teaching branch.  Offers workshops, classes, 
	   healing rituals, recovery programs, wilderness excursions, and 
	   training for the priesthood. Handles the Progressive Involvement 
	   Program.*       
	   
   Nemeton : Box 610, Laytonville, CA 95454.  Founded in 1972 by Gwydion 
	   Pennderwen and Alison Harlow; the marketing branch.  Tapes and 
	   CDs, songbooks, T-shirts, philosophical tracts and books.  
	   Catalog available.*     
	   
   Ecosophical Research Assn. (ERA) : Box 982, Ukiah, CA 95482.  Founded 
	   in 1977 by Morning Glory Zell; devoted to research and 
	   exploration in the fields of history, mythology and natural 
	   sciences. Produced the Living Unicorn, the New Guinea Mermaid 
	   expedition and a Peruvian Pilgrimage.*   
	   
    Holy Order of Mother Earth (HOME) : Box 212, Redwood Valley, CA 95470  
	   Founded in 1977 by the Zells and Alison Harlow; magical and 
	   shamanic branch open only to trained initiates. Creates and 
	   conducts the Church's rituals and ceremonies.*   
	   
    Peaceful Order of the Earth Mother (POEM) : Box 5227, Clearlake, CA 
	   95422.  Founded in 1988 by Willowoak Istarwood; dedicated to 
	   children and child nurturing.  Provides enriching activities 
	   for children at gatherings, summer camps and a quarterly 
	   magazine for Pagan youth, How About Magic? (HAM) :$7 per year.*  
	   
     Green Egg : Box 1542, Ukiah, CA 95482.  Award-winning quarterly journal 
	   of the New Paganism and the Gaian Renaissance, founded in 1968 
	   by Otter Zell.  Sample $6; subscription $15/yr US bulk mail; 
	   $21/yr US/Canada 1st class/envelope; $27/yr trans-Atlantic; 
	   $30/yr trans-Pacific.*  
	   
     Annwfn : Box 48, Calpella, CA 95418.  CAW's 55-acre land sanctuary and 
	   retreat in the Misty Mountains of Mendonesia.  Write for 
	   Visitor's Policy.

*       CAW Membership and General Correspondence : (Australian Headquaters) 
	PO Box 408, Woden, ACT 2606. 
	
 References:  Further information on the Church of All Worlds may be found 
in the following books:

   Adler, Margot, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess- 
	  Worshipers and other Pagans in America Today, Beacon Press, 1979; 
	  revised and updated 1987. (essential!)
   
   Ellwood, Robert, Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America, 1973.
   Gottleib, Annie, Do You Believe in Magic? The Second Coming of the Sixties 
	  Generation, Times Books, 1987
   Guiley, Rosemary, Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, Facts on File, 
	  1989; (extensive!)   
	  The Perennial Encyclopedia of Mystical and Psychic Experience, 
	  1990. Jade, To Know, Delphi Press, 1991.
   Martello, Leo Louis, Witchcraft, the Old Religion, University Books, 1973.
   Melton, J. Gordon, The Encyclopedia of American Religions, from the 
	  Institute for the Study of American Religions, POB 90709, Santa 
	  Barbara, CA 93190 1979 ( 3rd edition, 1988);   
	  The Essential New Age, 1990.
   Wilson, Robert Anton, Coincidance, Falcon Press, 1988
