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The Women's Spirituality Movement was coming of age in 1982 when
Jade River moved to Madison, WI. Fortified with a suitcase full of
visions and a small inheritance she began to look for other women
who shared her interest in the Goddess. Coming from Kentucky, Jade
knew what it was to be isolated and feel like "the only one." Building
on a statement by Gandhi, "If you want to build a movement, you have to
have a press," Jade began to search for women who could help her create
a venue for women who wanted to celebrate and serve the Goddess.
Not long after coming to Madison, Jade met Lynnie Levy. Lynnie had the
skills needed to publish a newspaper and in 1983 Jade and Lynnie put out
the first issue of Of A Like Mind. At that time, it was the only publication
specifically dedicated to networking and honoring spiritual women. Publishing
Of A Like Mind connected Jade and Lynnie to thousands of women. It was a
wonderful vehicle for collecting and synthesizing women's thoughts. It
became clear many spiritual women believed that Goddess religion should
have the same recognition as any other religion in the United States, so
in 1983 Lynnie and Jade incorporated the Re-formed Congregation of the
Goddess - International in the state of Wisconsin. In that same year,
they applied for status as a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt religious organization
and in 1984 the Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess-International became
the first legally recognized religion serving the women's spiritual community.
From there the Congregation has grown and expanded. It now has local
Circles in many states and has trained and ordained numerous priestesses.
The Congregation currently offers training, conferences, goddess
merchandise and much more.
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