Just out., June 16, 2000, Page 61, Image 61

- *une 16 . 2000 -
CULTORE
T
Source of sisterhood
A ru ral lesbian writes about pride and Womansource,
an annual gathering of women in southern Oregon
by J ulie
W eber
Women head for the hills every September at Womansource
am proud of our community, even though it
isn’t perfect. There are problems and strug­
gles and divisions, but for the most part,
women in southern Oregon have learned to
work together to honor both our commonali­
ties and our differences.
I believe the deep magic of Womansource is
in the earth and in women’s connections to the
land. There is among us a reverence for the
earth and a honing back to the source, to our
bodies, our spirits and our roots.
Womansource began 27 years ago, at a time
when the women’s consciousness movements
were taking hold. Here in southern Oregon we
had a grass-roots anti-domestic-violence move­
ment in which women took other women into
their hearts and their homes; we had a
women’s health movement on the rise; we had
women speaking about and healing from sexual
abuse; we had local women producing women’s
music; and we had the constellation of these
lesbian land communities rise up: Woman-
share, Rootworks, O W L Farm, Cabbage Lane,
Fly Away Home, Rainbow’s End and Rainbow’s
Other End. Womansource was the cauldron in
which we gathered each year, face to face, and
stirred our stories and distilled our lives.
And so it was this voice and presence of
rural and small-town womyn loving womyn
that infused our gathering and our connections
with one another. These connections were
bom of the moonlight on our breasts and in
our hair at night, bom on back roads and
between blackberry brambles, bom into the
pages of WomanSpirit, bom of muscles and
tears, laughter and forgiveness.
And the connections have been passed on
to those of us who came later, and they have
rained down on us and soaked in like a bless­
ing. We, in turn, have opened with our own
revelations. These are the songs that bind us
together, that spin the web of sisterhood round
us like a spell. It’s a spell of loving and listen­
ing, a spell of honoring and struggling, and a
spell of holding our sacred space.
Now, in this time 27 years later, when
women’s groups are largely disbanding and
changing or breaking down, the heart of Wom­
ansource has held strong. And a part of that, I
believe, is our celebration of one another.
The tradition is that, once a year, for three
days and nights in September, we gather
together at a camp in the mountains. We don’t
bring in big-name performers or national acts.
It’s a calling of ourselves— rural lesbians, allies
and friends. And as we come together, we look
I
Celebrate Lesbian
& Gay Pride Month
Making magic in the woods
around and see who we are. We meet in the
fall to reaffirm our bonds as we head into the
dark of the year. The gathering is a time to
share our stories, our circles, our journeys, our
struggles, our celebrations and our songs.
And so, when you ask me what I am proud
of, I answer that I am proud of us. I am proud
of Womansource. I am proud of womyn s lands.
I am proud of the way we reclaim our bodies in
all their shapes and sizes. I am proud of our
gutsy determination and the artful expressions
of who we are. I am proud of the way we live
and love and yearn and listen. I am proud of
our compassion and the resilience of our hearts.
I am proud of the heart and soul of womyn
helping womyn. This is the web of sisterhood
in action. It’s the fabric of community. It’s the
warp and woof of who we are.
Rock • Intemational/World • Soul • Country
Jazz • New Age • Blues • Soundtracks • Folk
Rap • Techno • Women • Broadway Musicals
Men • Oldies • Local • Gospel and m ore...
■ The fall W omansource G athering takes
place September 8 through 10. The cost is $65-
$95 sliding scale; registration brochures will be
mailed in midsummer. To get cm the Womansource
mailing list, call Joan at (541) 482-2026.
JUUE WEBER is a longtime co<oordm ator o f
W omansource. She recendy completed both her
m aster’s degree m social work and her first novel.
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