At Durham Friends Meeting on October 19, 2025, three women from the Meeting shared reflections on their experiences at the 4th Annual Global Matriarchs Gathering sponsored by the Land Peace Foundation.

from Linda Muller:

This August women gathered at the Land Peace Foundation in Monroe.  This was the fourth Global Matriarchs Gathering and my second. 

The spiritual influences on me are an amalgam of many interactions with indigenous women over the years, including the series of Healing Turtle Island gatherings some of you are familiar with and the recent Walk for Peace and Friendship. 

Much of this activity is now being framed as, “let’s create the world we wish to inhabit and pass down to our grandchildren”. And” let’s show our deep gratitude to our earth, for generously sustaining us from our very origins”.

At the Matriarchs Gathering-we first acknowledged that we humans are all one family and that women have a unique spiritual role across cultures.  We bring forth the next generation of children and we have a special responsibility to attend to that which sustains all aspects of life.

We acknowledged that we are confronted, now, with men needing our attention, in a manner that conveys self and mutual respect.  We noted that some tender hearted men we know are suffering under cultural influences to restrict emotional display to anger and violence, only. We see that their impulse to nurture, provide and protect is often thwarted by our economic system.

We acknowledged the concept of ‘rugged individualism’, which may lead us to to believe we’re to solve our own problems individually. This concept also specifies that if we do not succeed in tending to our own needs (with the limited resources of our nuclear families) the problem is due to our lack of initiative.

Special challenges for those of European ancestry were noted; that centuries of violence, feudalism (with its repression of workers on the land),  conquest and the forming of kingdoms left a trail of forgotten land grabs and trauma many generations deep. Periodic changes in attitude about religion and the role of women and earth based spirituality; the emergence of the institution of Christianity with its Inquisition, more conquest and displacement, witch burnings and torture generated fear and rejection of diversity. 

When our relatives immigrated to Turtle Island (North America) many ties to our ancestry were severed, no cell phones then. Many of us have lost the knowledge of our ancient ancestors, their community based celebrations, ceremonies and earth based spiritual practices. This can leave us feeling like we’re standing in a  open field with no protection but the naked knowledge of science. Balancing this with our spiritual, emotional and physical well-being requires community, ceremony, celebration, belonging, sharing  and caring for each other.

As we move forward now, rigid gender roles and rugged individualism (medicated by the temporary satisfactions of consumerism) are not supporting the mutuality and love we need to create the world we want to inhabit. 

I came away from the Matriarchs gathering with renewed hope that: 

• We can learn how to appreciate and benefit from all manner of human diversity. 
• We can reject dog-eat-dog type competition, cruelty and condemnation. 
• We can develop our emotional maturity and healing from historic trauma.
• We can cultivate patience, listen to each other and learn better cooperation.  We can recognize science AND the need for balance with sound values and communal spiritual practices.

Acting on the world we want to inhabit is our responsibility and we each bring valuable, unique gifts and talents to this.

Thank you.