I'm sure we've all asked ourselves the same questions, whether we'd admit it or not, "Am I making the right choice becoming a Pagan? Is this what I really want? Should I stay a devoted believer in Christ as my Lord and Savior?" For some of us, like myself, these questions are easily answered, so long ago; I almost forget I ever asked them. For some it's a little harder. For example a couple friends of mine dance along the borders of both religions, toying with each, indecisive of which they really prefer. For the most part, they commit to one or the other, but still enjoy their counterpart. Some pick one, devote their entire lives to it, commit to a partner of the same or similar faith, even raise their children in that faith. But out of the blue, they change religions so drastically, it leaves heads spinning. This is true, in the story of Reverend Doctor Kendra Vaughan Hovey.

Kendra Vaughan Hovey started practicing Wicca as a Solitary at age 11. After high school, she obtained her Bachelor's at Johnson and Wales University. After spending some time in different covens, she eventually started her own. For a while, she chose her career over her craft, and went back to practicing as a solitary. She eventually obtained her Doctorate in Ministry, at the University of Sedona, and a PHD in Holistic Ministry from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. Currently, she is an ordained Minister at the International Metaphysical Ministry, as well as an ordained Elder High Priestess with the Church she founded, First Church of Wicca in Duxbury Massachusetts, as well as a member of the American Metaphysical Doctor's Association.
Aside from those achievements, she has also authored a book, "Hand fasting, a Pagan Guide to Commitment Rituals," and stared in a reality TV show, "My Unique Family" (episode "The Witches Next Door".) Her book focused on Pagan wedding rituals and weddings that incorporated two sets of religious beliefs in a fashion that left no one out, or insulted anyone. In her book, she also promotes inter-religious tolerance, and tools to make a marriage work. The T.V. show depicted what life was like in the Hovey family.

It looked like life was going great. But looking at her old website, for The First Church of Wicca, and doing more in depth research, I learned some interesting things. For example, in the “About Us” section is the following statement: “We practice the Science of Mind over Matter by incorporating negative release statements, positive affirmations, prayer, visualizations, meditation, and the teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ into our daily lives.” It continues with (and please, try to keep your anger in check here) “Because Metaphysics is not religion specific and most of us did not start out Pagan, we often teach Metaphysics by incorporating the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to provide a spiritual and moral foundation which is most often lost by practicing Wicca alone” Their beliefs include “We believe in the teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ, and consistently live by His teachings for our spiritual and moral foundation”, “Some of us believe in reincarnation and all the levels of existence”, “Some of us believe in resurrection and salvation through Jesus Christ”, “We believe in meditating, praying, and reading the Bible on a daily basis to establish and maintain a direct relationship with the God and Goddess within.” (Don’t believe me, feel free to check out the link here: [link]) On the other end of the spectrum, under “Do not believe” you will learn that they do (did) not practice ritual or magick in church.

You think that’s bad? This is the intended focus of her new church, Living Waters Community of Hope: “…[we] will focus on helping people heal from their experiences of inequity from past religions and religious institutions, using Jesus Christ and his teachings in the Bible as the foundation of how to have a meaningful relationship with God…” She continues with: “….I have come to see the serious failings of the Wiccan faith. A major problem with the faith is that there is no unity among the followers of the faith which makes it very challenging to define exactly what Wiccans do and do not believe in. Wiccans have a very open "do what you will" or "live and let live" perspective in life which very easily can cause harm to oneself and others without one actually knowing it until it is much too late. Additionally, there is no unified moral code of ethics. This puts up huge red flags for society-at-large because no one can really be quite sure of what any group's intentions are. Society would have no way of knowing, for example, if you are a Wiccan that practices the Great Rite or polyamory, to name only two examples. Also, they would have no way of knowing just what "Do what ye will and harm none" means, and quite frankly, neither does each individual Wiccan. We are left to make moral and ethical decisions for ourselves rather than realizing that by human nature we are going to do anything that feels good to us, not what is best for us, and also not necessarily what is best for society as a whole.” ([link])

Apparently, somewhere, she missed the part where most of us are pagans because of the lack of definition, the freedom and ability to make our own choices, and live outside the restrictive Christian society. I understand her point, I really do. But I wish I had a chance to explain to her mine: In every religion you are going to find selfish people, who put their needs before others’ or before God. In every religion, you are going to have sinners. You’re going to have people who do not spiritually advance. In every religion, you are going to find inconsistencies, and shortcomings. To completely shun a religion due to these faults is pure foolishness in my opinion. As is going from a religion that encourages and embraces freedom of personal choice to a restrictive, cookie cutter everyday religion, and to me, it’s incomprehensible.

But reading and learning to understand the life of Dr. Rev. Kendra Vaughan Hovey, I realize that she had started down the Christian path a long time ago. This will not likely be a huge change for her. But it also leaves room for a wide variety of speculations, but this is not an article on conspiracy theories, so I will just leave them up to you and your imagination. Let’s just hope she doesn’t turn into one of those Bible-thumper maniacs. And let us just hope this doesn’t traumatize her kids to much.