Blog archive
June 2023
Bridget Brewster Discovers Village Benefits
06/04/2023
Rumor of Humor #16
06/04/2023
Communications Project with Cal State LA
06/02/2023
Creative Aging
06/01/2023
May 2023
One Villager's Story
05/31/2023
Pasadena Area Liberal Arts Center
05/31/2023
Pasadena Village Responds to Rainbow Flag Burning at Pasadena Buddhist Temple
05/31/2023
Plan Ahead - And Be Prepared
05/31/2023
Tuesday, May 23 Pasadena Celebrated Older Americans
05/31/2023
Reparations, Social Justice Activity
05/24/2023
Rumor of Humor #14
05/19/2023
Rumor of Humor #13
05/12/2023
Issue #12
05/09/2023
Science Monday - Review of Meeting on April 10, 2023
05/09/2023
Conversations Re African American Artists Before 1920
05/08/2023
Beyond the Village – Suzi and Phil Hoge
05/01/2023
Congratulations Wayne April! Honored at UNH
05/01/2023
Table Topics
05/01/2023
Volunteer Appreciation at the Village
05/01/2023
“ACCIDENTAL HOST—The Story of Rat Lungworm Disease”
05/01/2023
April 2023
Jumbo Joy
04/24/2023
Pasadenans Recent Experience With Racism
04/23/2023
Recent Events Reflecting Racism
04/23/2023
Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
04/18/2023
Photography for Social Justice
04/11/2023
Issue #8
04/07/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Catherine Deely
04/06/2023
Creative Writing in Older Adults
04/06/2023
Gifts of Love
04/06/2023
March 2023
Issue #7
03/31/2023
Issue #6
03/26/2023
Great Decisions update
03/14/2023
Dominion Lawsuit, South Africa and 710 Stub
03/08/2023
February 2023
2023 DEI Progress
02/27/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Doug Colliflower
02/26/2023
CONVERSATIONS WITH ART
02/26/2023
GREAT DECISIONS
02/26/2023
OLDER ADULTS RESOURCE FAIR
02/26/2023
The Important, Influential Books in our Lives - Revisited
02/26/2023
History, Resolution of the 710 Freeway
02/19/2023
Eminent Domain, 710 Highway
02/13/2023
Bernard Garrett, 710 Freeway
02/06/2023
Men's Times Gatherings
02/03/2023
January 2023
Pasadena's Senior Commission
01/30/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - JIM HENDRICK
01/27/2023
GRATITUDE - IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!
01/27/2023
JEFF GUTSTADT - FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
01/27/2023
Bernard Garrett, Incredible Black Entrepreneur
01/17/2023
What is the "Spirit Talk" Group About?
01/16/2023
Same Ol’ New Year, Brand New Me
01/12/2023
Review of 2022, Consideration of 2023
01/06/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - PATTI LA MARR
01/03/2023
FROM THE CHAIR
01/03/2023
WALK WITH EASE
01/03/2023
Bruce Christensen - BEYOND THE VILLAGE
By Blog MasterPosted: 04/23/2022
BEYOND THE VILLAGE with Bruce Christensen
It was Bruce Christensen’s volunteer work that introduced him to the Pasadena Village. Bruce is a volunteer at the San Gabriel Valley LGBT Center. He is in charge of organizing the weekly gatherings for seniors at Pasadena’s Michillinda Park where they enjoy coffee & donuts or sack lunch and each other’s company. As Bruce explains, “Our issues are very different than younger people who identify as LGBTQ. The younger people are more concerned with social justice. We are too, but we’re also dealing with aging issues and just having community!”
Kären Bagnard reached out to the San Gabriel Valley LGBT Center on behalf of the Village. It was at one of the Michillinda Park gatherings that Bruce met Pasadena Village members Wayne April and Jeff Gutstadt. Wayne and Jeff regularly joined in with the group, and eventually invited Village member Karen to go with them. Bruce found they all had a lot in common, enjoyed each other’s company, and soon he had become a member of Pasadena Village.
Bruce grew up in Yucaipa, CA, the son of a Mormon Bishop. “I was in the closet, convinced I was broken.” He attended Brigham Young University, graduating with a degree in Marketing. He was also a Mormon Missionary for 2 years in Santiago Chile. During his college years he took advantage of study abroad programs to go to Paris France, Guadalajara Mexico, and Hawaii. Seeing more of the world broadened his view of human nature and helped him understand himself better. But it was not until he was an adult, in therapy, that he “came out of the closet.”
Even though his family more or less eventually accepted him as a gay man, he has always been trying to build his “family of choice.” Bruce is drawn to a quote from the gay writer Armistead Maupin who wrote in his memoir “Sooner or later, no matter where in the world we live, we must join the diaspora, venturing beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us.” This makes Bruce a natural connector. And once Bruce makes you part of his family – you are in for life!
As an example, Bruce has been coordinating a games group that has been meeting for over 30 years. The group of people worked together at a large insurance company. Bruce got involved 10 years ago and organizes weekly dinners for the group of former employees, including his supervisors. The members of the group are now in their 60’s and 70’s, and, with Bruce’s leadership, they support each other – even through disease and death.
During the pandemic Bruce learned of a librarian in Utah who was organizing “The Good Book Club” which was directed to appeal to former members of the Mormon religion. She arranged for some of authors to appear on Zoom to discuss recent books. Bruce helps coordinate that group by hosting the Zoom portion of the meetings. “We have a Facebook group of about 90, and 20-25 regularly show up for our book discussions.”
He also organizes a twice yearly beach party for people who have been members of high demand religions. It’s the Inter-faithless Family Beach Day picnic and around 100 people gather at Bolsa Chica State Beach for a barbeque featuring racks of spare ribs and a potluck. All of the people there have lived in a community that places enormous pressure on you to believe and conform. “It is cathartic to be here”, says Bruce, “we all have a similar story of having been cut off from family and friends.”
Perhaps it’s not surprising that when Bruce joined Pasadena Village he quickly signed up to be a volunteer driver, one of our most needed services. Bruce is a willing driver who does much more than take a Village member from Point A to Point B. He recently made a trial run to LAX in order to ensure that he would be able to park and escort our member into the terminal. He helps members who need rides to coordinate their appointments so that they can better manage their days. And he is, of course, already welcoming the members into his “logical family.”
Bruce Christensen is an example of someone who understands the strength that comes from “inter-dependence”, and his life experience has prepared him to create his circle of support, sometimes from family, but also from the myriad of people we meet in our lives who all have something to give – and something they need.