ON GTW GLOBAL MATRIX: REGIONAL COORDINATORS
"Gather the women" is a phrase I first heard on Whidbey Island, Washington, at a PeerSpirit Circle Training retreat in August 2004. Two women, one from Boston and one from Vancouver, BC, mentioned that they were going to a Gather the Women conference. My ears perked up and I asked what it was about. They said, "It's not something you'd be interested in," or words to that effect. After a week with me, I believe they felt I was at a different place - spiritually and philosophically - than the women of Gather the Women.
The phrase "gather the women" stayed with me and I looked it up on the Internet and found the GTW website. GTW had partner organizations and I am one of the founding mother of the Alaska Women's Network. I inquired if AWN could be a partner with GTW, and the answer from Kathe Schaaf was a "yes". I would later learn that Kathe has a wonderful expression, "Follow the yes."
Since 2004, I have been to several gatherings with the women of Gather the Women and feel that I have grown as a woman and human being because of it. As with all women's organizations, each woman brings new wisdom to the group. New laughter. New insights.
While we know each other mainly by telephone, there have been several occasions when we have been together in person and the energy lifts me up every time.
It has been an honor to meet Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of "Gather the Women, Save the World", and to recommend her book to every woman who wants to see peace and justice for women and recognizes the power of women to change the world.
As a Regional Coordinator in Juneau, Alaska, I have circle gatherings with women around various topics. I share information about Gather the Women events through the Alaska Women's Network (www.alaskaawomensnetwork.org).
Gather the Women Global Matrix is to me like a fishing net. Where each knot joins, there is a woman and all those women are connected together around the world. There is great strength in a net made up of women-connections. Each new member expands the net and brings us closer to global peace and a world changed for the better.
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