Rev. Henry Nagorka and the Psychic Observer

The Washington Years

Henry Nagorka enhanced image Rev. Henry Nagorka completed his ministerial training under Rev. Alice Wellstood Tindall at the First Spiritual Science Church of Washington, DC, in 1967, graduating as a minister of Spiritual Science alongside his wife, Rev. Diane Nagorka.

In 1968, Rev. Tindall acquired the publication The Psychic Observer: Journal of Spiritual Science and began producing it from Washington DC. The publication appeared in booklet format and circulated nationally and internationally, carrying articles, teachings, research, and announcements connected to Spiritual Science and the broader metaphysical community. Each issue also included a Spiritual Science lesson, reflecting the publication’s role in supporting ongoing study and instruction in Spiritual Science.

By 1969, the masthead listed Rev. Alice W. Tindall as Publisher and Henry J. Nagorka as Managing Editor, reflecting his early role in the editorial work of the publication during its Washington years.

In the years that followed, Nagorka’s responsibilities within the publication expanded. By the early 1970s, masthead listings began identifying him as Editor and Publisher, while Rev. Alice W. Tindall appeared as Publisher Emeritus, indicating a transition in the operational leadership of the publication while she was still living.

Rev. Tindall passed away on July 10, 1974.

Following her passing, Rev. Nagorka continued publication of the Psychic Observer, maintaining its circulation and editorial production during the remainder of the decade.

The publishing work operated through ESPress, the printing operation associated with the Psychic Observer in the Washington DC area.

In 1977, advertisements appeared offering printing equipment associated with the operation for sale, indicating a period of reorganization within the publishing business.

During the 1970s, the publication expanded its range of contributors and became a broader forum for voices within the spiritual and metaphysical community.

The journal later merged with Chimes, becoming Psychic Observer & Chimes, and continued publication into the early 1980s.

Through these years Rev. Nagorka sustained a publication that printed articles, research, books, and announcements from authors and contributors across the spiritual and metaphysical fields. The Psychic Observer functioned as both a journal and a publishing operation, producing printed material for circulation beyond the Washington DC Spiritual Science community.

Today, surviving issues of the Psychic Observer remain an important historical source for understanding the development of Spiritual Science in Washington DC and the broader metaphysical communities.

Photography credits: Original photographers unknown; images digitally enhanced for clarity by Starlene Moon.