For several years my friends and I laughed and sometimes cried together as we considered the changes in our bodies and our culture’s demeaning attitude toward aging. Some of the most memorable statements:

“Sometimes I feel invisible. You know when I was younger I turned a few heads, now no one even notices when I pass by.”

“I’m a grandmother and I love my grandchildren, but do I have to say yes every time my kids need a babysitter? I feel taken advantage of.”

“I’m struggling to know what my purpose is now that my children are out of the house. The younger women at church are so full of energy and seem to be taking over and they should. It’s their turn. But how should I fill my days?”

“My body is doing funny stuff and I hate it! Hot flashes, night sweats, achy joints, lower energy………”

“Pick up any magazine, watch television, catch a billboard and what do you see – young, gorgeous, scantily clad women selling everything imaginable and what’s the message. Only physically beautiful, young bodies are worthy or valuable…..”

It was time to join forces and exclaim, “We’re not taking this junk any more! Let’s celebrate God’s view of older women - one of honor, strength, and wisdom.”

Seven women gathered in my husband’s office to strategize and determine how to connect women our age and help equip older women to view life through the grid of God’s Word. Half way through the meeting, Chuck poked his head in the doorway and exhorted, “You women are having too much fun, even the elders are laughing in the next room!”

That night we laid out our plan:
The Goal: To confront the cultural worldview of aging with God’s view.
The Target Audience: Women fifty years of age and older
The Means: Food and fun, fun, fun
The Program: The Christian View (a takeoff of the television program, The View.
The Promotion: Hats and Personal Phone Calls
Women on the committee began wearing beautiful hats to church to generate interest and questions. We sent out an invitation with the following poem and instructions to ask a woman wearing a hat for more information:

Different Hats
Different Roles
Different Seasons
One Goal

Everything in our printed invitation implied fun: The title of the event: Over Fifty and Fabulous! A light supper with Dessert First; the first appearance of Debby and the Fabudelles (a group of women who performed an original song, Over Fifty and Fabulous); and the premiere program of the Christian View. We called every woman over fifty in our church with a personal invitation to attend. We encouraged them to bring their friends. And they did! Over 140 women attended.

We filled the night with games, fun and prizes. We set up our stage to look like a living room seating area where our four panelists sat, mugs in hand. For the first ten minutes of The Christian View, the audience listened in as we chatted about life issues. Then we fielded questions (even one on sex after fifty….) from the audience for another ten minutes. Mostly the audience laughed along as we made fun of ourselves and the aging process. We interviewed two women in their seventies, one who is happily married to her childhood sweetheart and the other who had been widowed twice. Both women described the disciplines of grace that have kept them close to our God. Our two other guests answered questions about the hard places of divorce and the difficulty of caring for a dying spouse. Always throughout the conversation was woven God’s view of the older woman, the honor and wisdom of a long life journey made with Him.

A group of younger women in our church volunteered to serve the meal and clean up afterwards. After the program, one of these women exclaimed with tears, “I’m so proud to be a woman of this church, so unafraid of growing older because of what I heard tonight. These women are strong in their faith and filled with the joy of the Lord. They make me glad to be a growing, older woman of faith!”

The women completed a detailed survey that will help guide us with future events and opportunities for connecting.

Over Fifty and Fabulous! Yes, we are!

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