44 years ago this week, a lecture on the newly established Wiccan religion was held at UNCW. The speakers, Gavin and Yvonne Frost, were invited by psychology faculty member Antonio Puente in support of a class on the psychology of consciousness, which studied the concepts of self-awareness and the conscious mind. The Frosts’ talk was entitled “Witchcraft: The Way to Serenity.” It was extremely popular – over 175 people packed into King Hall auditorium to hear the Frosts speak. They demonstrated some traditional Wiccan healing practices and explained the basic tenets of their church, afterwards passing out newsletters to the attendees.

The Frosts were the archbishop and archbishopess of the Church and School of Wicca, which they had founded in 1968. It was the first federally recognized Wiccan church in the United States. In the early days of the church, the Frosts developed a correspondence course to teach interested followers about the Wiccan religion.  

The Frosts moved their church to New Bern, North Carolina, in 1974, where the church’s headquarters remained until they relocated to West Virginia in 1996. During that time, the Church and School of Wicca attracted quite a following, and a large population of Wiccan/Pagan-identifying folks still reside in or near New Bern to this day.