Over 60s Group
The Over 60s are thriving! Come join us!
Resilience is not just built in individuals. It is built among individuals!
–Sheryl Sandberg
Our Over 60s program began in late 2015 with the idea of exploring issues of interest and concern to our cohort facing challenges and reckonings of this time of life.
We started with a few small leader-led support groups and from this beginning, the Over 60s evolved rapidly into a myriad of activities and enthusiastic participation which addressed our mission to enhance interpersonal sharing, connection, learning and celebration within our cohort along with contributions to our FUUSN community as a whole.
In our developmental process from the initial small leader-led support groups in 2016, we then formed ongoing self-led groups for men and women to discuss issues of aging together. These continue to this day!
Our current 2023 active Steering Committee
- Connie Adkins (Co-chair)
- Wendy Haskell (Co-chair)
- Ruth Comstock
- Judy Friedman
- Emily Gelbert
- Sandy Horne
- Helen Jordan
- Connie Stubbs
- Claire Willis
- Nancy Stanton
Mailing List and Library
Central to our growth has been the creation of our own mailing list which currently boosts up to 180 over 60s FUUSNites. This mailing list allows us to communicate with each other about our programs and also to exchange ideas, resources and information among ourselves.
Over 60s Mailing List: fuusn-over-60@googlegroups.com
Contact Gregs@sulliwood.org to sign up for mailing list access.
Access the Over 60s Media Library (access is granted to members of fuusn-over-60@googlegroups.com).
A Current Initiative: An Over 60s Fest Series – Fall 2023 – 2014
The Over 60s have taken the initiative to showcase our many FUUSN artists. A different art form will be represented during Coffee Hour on one Sunday each month with artists displaying their general art medium together.
Over 60s Presentations
Topics past and present. See our full history below the Events calendar.
Medical Issues
- How to Advocate for Oneself in this Medical System
- Cognitive Issues
- Exercise as Medicine
- Medical Aid in Dying
- And more….
Well-being
- Spirituality and Aging
- Letting Go of Regrets
- Importance of Belonging as We Age
- Gerotranscendence
- Moth Hours
- Creative Salons
- Chair Yoga
- Writers Rising
- Grief
- And more…
Getting our Affairs in Order
- Wills
- Planned Giving
- Creating a Legacy
- Estate Planning
- Green Burial
- Housing Options, many presentations
Current Ongoing Groups
- Self-led, women’s and men’s, discussing issues typical of this stage of life
- Bereavement – open to all, – Claire Willis, LICSW, Leader clairebwillis@gmail.com
- Walking – open to all, – Ruth Comstock, Organizer ruthcomstock1@gmail.com
- Pickleball – open to all,- Bruce Kimball, Organizer kimball.45@osu.edu
Over 60s History
From its inception the Over 60s also has organized the following workshops and presentations for both the Over 60s cohort and the congregation as a whole.
By 2017, a robust steering committee had been established providing a variety of activities, workshops and presentations with professional speakers from both within and outside of FUUSN. In addition, the Over 60s presented a lively Sunday service related to our life cycle as well as involvement in summer service planning.
2023-2024
Over 60s Coffee Hour Artists Series:
- September 24th – Coffee Hour is planned to be our first coffee hour art day to celebrate our Fiber Arts congregants – their sewing projects, quilts, needle point, knitting work, decorated jeans, jackets, etc,. that our congregants have worked on, perhaps never finished or still in process but enjoyed, worn, felt excited in doing, would like to teach us about.
- October 22nd – Coffee Hour will be a Celebration of our FUUSN’s 175th Anniversary under the guidance of the Ops Council and Board planning
- November 19th – Poetry (original and recited).
- December 17th – Voice – singing, choir, barber shop quartets, madrigals. Anne Born Watson will help to facilitate.
- January 21st – Music, Instrumental, harmonica, violin, cello, original compositions.
- February 11th – Visual Arts (drawings, paintings, watercolors, collages, mosaics, stain glass work, pottery, etc.)
- March 17th – Authors and their books, experiences.
- April 28th – Photography.
- June 2nd – Gardening, flowers, landscape creations/planning, tips on invasive plants and enriching plants for insects, butterflies, healthy eco-systems.
Presentations
September 17th, 2023 – Palliative Care and Hospice: Valuable Resources
Presenter: Joanna Stull, LMHC
Joanna reminds us as we age, we will be faced with making critical health care choices. We are best served if we have an understanding of what Hospice and Palliative Care are before we find ourselves or our loved ones in crisis. This presentation will help clear up confusion as well as clarify some common myths surrounding these kinds of care.
Joanna, our own FUUSN member, is intimately acquainted both personally and professionally with these services. For over 20 years, she has ushered families and patients through end of life. As a retired L.M.H.C., she currently provides valuable grief support.
October 29, 2023 – Ruth Kandel, MD: The Dementias 2.0: Where are We Now
This presentation reviewed the latest info on the differing types of dementias with an understanding of therapeutic options, including the latest headlines about monoclonal antibodies for treatment of Alzheimer’s. Ruth Kandel MD, Geriatrician, is Director of Memory Disorders Clinic (Hebrew SeniorLife). She is an assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School. Ruth is currently enjoying her retirement, taking courses, and writing a medical murder mystery.
Winter 2019
February 3, 2019 – Panel Speakers: the directors of Newton Senior Center and Newton-at-Home organizations shared community information and resources. Refreshment and Q+A followed.
Fall 2018 Events
- September 16, 2018 – Film: “Living While Dying”
- September 30, 2018 – Panel re: “Life Long Learning Opportunities in Boston Area: An Overview”
- October 21, 2018 – Chair Yoga; Head Start Room; 12 noon..
- October 28, 2018 – Speaker: Phebe Sessions, Ph.D. “New Insights in Aging” – Presentation, Film and Discussion.
- November 11, 2018 –Speaker: Michelle Boiardi, CDP, CADDCT. Dementia Specialist. Cognitive Health and Brain Care. Q+A.
Winter/Spring 2018 Events
- January 28, 2018 – Workshop on “Trauma of War on Families and Children” presented by author and film maker, Susan Hackley with the younger congregation members in mind as a whole.
- February 18, 18, 2018 – Chair Yoga with Helaine Golann.
- March 4, 2018 – Presentation/Discussion with John Nichols on “Spirituality and Aging: Do we get Older and Wiser?”
- April 27-29, 2018 – Co-sponsor relationship with “Living Wisely, Dying Well“ project of a weekend of various workshops, presentations, performances in different venues in Newton including FUUSN re: issues of importance to our cohort. FUUSN hosted the True Story Theater performing “Talking About Death With Loved Ones.”
- June 2018 -Panel presentation on alternative living arrangements and comparative residential settings.
Fall 2017 Events:
- September 17, 2017 – Presentation of “ Fun Things To Do“ offered in the Boston area, provided by Barry Cotton who has an eye to the senior pocketbook.
- November 5, 2017 – Workshop on “Gratitude as Wisdom and Healing” by Karen Edwards, Ph.D.
Winter/Spring 2017 Events
- March 9, 2017 – a panel of elder specialists, – a lawyer, an attorney, an elder care specialist organized by Adam Shamus, Real Estate Elder Specialist in Newton.
- March 23, 2017 – The Conversation Project which focused on planning difficult but important conversations with families and friends regarding decisions around terminal illnesses and death.
- April 23, 2017 – A workshop called “Legacies of the Heart” with nationally known author and speaker Meg Newhouse.