Dear Waterkin,
Welcome to the Church of All Worlds! By signing your membership pledge and application you have declared your support of a philosophy and way of life that is aimed at living in harmony with the life forces and rhythms of our Mother Planet, our Holy Mother Earth. The CAW is organized as a support network, a spiritual touchstone and a catalyst for the building of Pagan community. Our various branches and activities are intended to offer choices for participation by members in ways that are in harmony with their personal and philosophical being to foster growth, learning and action in the service of the Goddess Who is our Mother.
With this, the 3rd reincarnation of CAW, we have become a Phoenix of the Digital Age, and we are working diligently to make all of our membership materials and networking resources available electronically. Going digital has allowed us to lower our operational costs, and by extension to lower the cost of membership, but it also means that we no longer automatically send out print copies of most materials. So if you do not have Internet access and need print copies of anything, please contact CAW Central at CAW.org and we will happily make physical copies available to you on a “Print on Demand” basis for a moderate and reasonable cost.
As you begin your journey with us, we would like to give you a basic introduction to the Vision of the Church of All Worlds, and the many ways that are available for participation. We recommend that you explore our web site at CAW.org, where you will find a number of essays and articles that offer explanations of the basic concepts of Neo-Paganism and the position of CAW within the greater Neo-Pagan context. You will also find information which addresses the historical, organizational and liturgical aspects of CAW; our RINGS Cycle training program; our bibliography (which is constantly expanding) and many items meant to give you a sense of CAW ‘s identity. Please remember that the web site is always a project in process, and that we are continually reorganizing, so revisit it often.
We also recommend that you join our Facebook and Google Group discussion groups if you have not already done so. The forums are set up to allow our Waterkin easy web access to participate in as many aspects of our organization as possible, from social discussions to participation in CAW’s tribal government form, the Curia. Links to these groups and other CAW groups and social media can be found at https://caw.org/community/ .Use these resources to help you “get your bearings” about who to go to for more information and how to find the activity or involvement that is right for you, such as establishing a local Nest or Branch in your area. We also recommend that you consider reading books on the bibliography to expand your knowledge of CAW and Neo-Paganism.
The Church of All Worlds is an organization founded to promote—with proper respect for diversity—a particular world vision. From our new and radical tribal government structure, which we believe incorporates the best of Pagan decision-making processes – the wisdom of leadership by our most respected Elders, an open people’s forum inspired by the ancient Curia intended to provide open communication, and maximum participation from our membership at all levels,– to our newly-redesigned RINGs program, which has been both broadened to permit more diversity and to more effectively achieve its stated goals, everything has been re-thought and revised.
The Church of All Worlds is an integral organization within the Neo-Pagan movement, but it is by no means the only one. We consider ourselves unique in that we try to creatively understand and incorporate practices from many Pagan cultures that seem to fit our overall vision. We also strongly recommend that you consider completing at least the 2nd Circle of
our training program, as a way to begin working on your own personal growth and to begin to more fully understand our vision. Most specifically, we feel that it is important, if you have not already done so, to read the books required for this Circle, as these books will tell you much about us. In Stranger in a Strange Land you will find much of the philosophy which was seminal in our birth; the chapter on CAW in Drawing Down the Moon will give you a synopsis of our history; and Creating Circles & Ceremonies provides an extensive compilation of CAW ritual and liturgy, along with information on our sacraments, including our central sacrament, water sharing. These are not dogma but form the basis for creative ritual and magickal practice and a deeper understanding of who we are.
We hope these resources will help you get started and feel involved with the vision of the Church of All Worlds wherever you may live on our green and lovely planet. I hope it is the beginning of a lifelong adventure for you as the CAW has been for us. And we would like to personally welcome you onto this path of adventure, growth and reverence.
May you never thirst!
Oberon Zell, Primate