Membership with WMSC covers membership cost for programs from September 2023 to August 2024. There may be an additional cost for specific programs. Serving primarily the over-50 population, with Associate Membership available for anyone over 18. WMSC membership grants access to courses at any of Maine's 17 Senior Colleges; https://www.maineseniorcollege.org/

Some courses offered through WMSC do not require that you be a member. However, most courses do require that you become a member. 

We offer: 

-A wide variety of regular classes, some with directed readings and discussion, others more hands on.

-No testing: participation is for the sheer joy of learning.

-Enjoyable and engaging members-only activities. 

Our Mission: To support lifelong learners in their quest for new knowledge and experience by providing a variety of programs and activities. 

Copies of WMSC By-laws are available upon request. 

For questions and more information, please email; wmsc@sad44.org

Great Decisions is America's largest discussion program on world affairs. Join other WMSC members to discuss a new topic each week. Participants must be a member of WMSC or affiliated with another college in the Maine Senior College Network. 

When: April 1, 8, 15, 29 (no class April 22)

Time: 10:00-12:00 pm 

Where: Telstar Adult Education

Tuiton: $40 

• U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy: Daniel Drezner Under President Biden, the U.S. has advanced new ideas about trade, technology, industrial policy, competition with China, and the organization of the world economy. For most of the postwar era, the U.S. has tied its global leadership to cooperative agendas aimed at creating a more open-world trading system, but that has apparently come to an end. What are America’s options and opportunities as a leader of the world economy? How will America’s “foreign policy for the middle class” and strategic competition with China impact its leadership role? How can the postwar rules and institutions of the world economy be made safe for economic nationalism and great power competition? 
• U.S.-China RelationsAuthor: Thomas J. Christensen Washington’s relations with Beijing have reached an ominous low ebb. Both American political parties have identified China as the country’s preeminent geopolitical challenger and, in the eyes of many, a systemic threat. What is driving this deterioration of Sino-American relations, and what are America’s strategic options in the face of Chinese power and ambition?
• India: Between China, the West, and the Global South: Leslie Vinjamuri India is an emerging major power in world affairs, occupying a pivotal position between China, the United States, and the Global South. Its population size, economy, and geopolitical location ensure that it will be an influential voice in debates and political struggles over global order. What are India’s choices and opportunities for regional and global leadership? How will it maneuver between China and the United States, and what is its role as a voice of the Global South? What opportunities exist for Washington to work with India? 
• International Cooperation on Climate Change: Josh Busby The 2015 Paris Agreement established a UN-sponsored framework for negotiations on climate change and global warming. In subsequent COP meetings, experts and political leaders have come together seeking common cause for this growing global crisis. What is the future of these efforts, and what have they yielded? What is the U.S. role in fostering cooperation on climate change? In a divided country, what are the possible futures for American policy leadership?
• The Future of NATO and European Security: Kori Schake European security is more uncertain than it has been for decades. Putin’s Russia has launched a war with Ukraine on its doorstep, and America’s uncertain role as leader of NATO and security provider has been called into question with the failure of Congress to pass supplemental military support for Ukraine. What are Europe’s options, and how might developments on both sides of Western Europe – in Ukraine and across the Atlantic – impact its choices? What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas? 
• AI and American National Security: Julie George The AI revolution is the leading edge of a larger high-tech revolution which promises to transform the world. Experts argue that international cooperation is needed to expand the opportunities these new technologies hold while protecting societies from their dangers. What are the key policy debates in this area, and what are the opportunities and limits on global AI rules of the road? How will the AI revolution impact American national security? What are its policy options to secure the benefits of AI and guard against its dangers?
• American Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Taking Stock and Looking AheadAuthor: Daniel Kurtzer The war in Gaza has brought the region to a crossroads. What are the possible outcomes of the war, and how might the United States use its influence to shape a long-term settlement that leaves both Israel and the Palestinians in a better position? How might Arab states in the wider region be brought into a settlement? What are America’s interests in the Middle East and how can it advance them?

Experience the joy of movement and music for healthy aging with Lisa Davidson, yoga teacher, and Jim Gallant, guitarist/singer/songwriter, each of whom will present at the “To Your Health” spring program. This event is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome.

Yoga Demonstration and Participation -- Lisa Davidson will begin the program with “How Yoga Helps Us Age Well.” Davidson, who has been teaching and practicing yoga for over 40 years, will demonstrate and encourage audience participation in gentle yoga postures, from either a seated or standing position. The postures will focus on improving strength, mobility and balance in order to create a sense of positivity and peacefulness, all while having fun.

“Through practice, we learn how the three A’s – Awareness, Acceptance and Adjustment—which all help us move joyfully through life. We are told to keep on moving so we may age well. Through yoga, we will discover how to enjoy keeping yourself healthy, rather than making it a chore on the to-do list,” says Davidson.

Ms. Davidson trained at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Healing and has expanded her studies and certifications to teaching yoga to seniors. She offers weekly live stream Kripalu and gentle senior yoga sessions via Zoom. Lisa is also a Reiki Master and loves hiking and skiing. Participants are encouraged to please wear rubber-soled shoes.

Show and Singalong --The second half of the program brings guitarist and singer/songwriter Jim Gallant to the stage. Whether performing at a coffeehouse, college concert, or an outdoor festival, Gallant captures the hearts and feet of his audience. His up-tempo guitar style and mix of catchy originals and masterful interpretations leave the audience feeling fully satisfied. From Dylan and the Beatles to Bach and blues, his shows are fun-filled and exciting. Jim will perform some of his original songs, familiar old-time classics, and will lead some singalong selections for all to enjoy.

Jim performs throughout Maine and New England as a soloist or with his band. He has shared the stage with Doc Watson, New Grass Revival, Taj Mahal, Livingston Taylor, Jessie Colin Young, Dave Von Ronk and others. He has been a guitar instructor at the Fiddlehead Center for the Arts in Gray since its beginning.

Now in its 19 th year, To Your Health, in collaboration with Western Mountains Senior College, the Bethel Family Health Center, and MSAD#44 Continuing Education, has been providing free health education programs to the Bethel area communities. For more information, please contact MSAD#44 at 207-824-2136 X1340 or email WMSC@sad44.org. 

DATE: Thursday, April 3, 2025, snow date of April 10th. 

TIME: 4:30 PM TO 6 PM

LOCATION: West Parish Congregational Church, 32 Church St, Bethel

COST: FREE. Registration recommended.

Bill Andrews is back with another history course. This course topic is the American Civil War, specifically the America took to get there. 

This course is for WMSC members only or for those who are members of an affiliated Maine Senior College Network program. For more information on membership and to register as a member, please click this link: https://sad44.coursestorm.com/category/membership

In a time of intense political polarization when some Americans have suggested that the nation ight be heading to a new civil war, it may be useful to review how the American Civil War occurred. This course will explore how that happened, beginning with the establishment of the Constitution in 1787 and following through the political and social events that culminated in the seccession of Southern states and the commencement of war in 1861. This is NOT a course on the Civil War but instead a map of the road that took the country there. Such a review of that map will allow us to speculate on whether another civil war is likely or even possible. Documents from writers on all sides of the many issues (slavery, westward expansion, economic conflict, sectionalism, abolition, etc.) that led to the conflict will provide the basis for discussions. Participants will receie a copy of Causes of the Civil War, edited by Kenneth Stampp, which continas those documents. 

When: Mondays from April 21-May 19 (five sessions)

Time: 10:00-11:30 am

Where: Bethel Historical Society

NEW DATE: Thursday, May 1st  from 4:30-6:00 p.m. 

February is American Heart Month. To Your Health is pleased to host its popular annual heart-health educational program presented by Dr. Daniel van Buren, FACC, Director of Cardiovascular Medicine at the New England Heart Institute at Androscoggin Valley Hospital of Berlin, NH.

A resident of Bethel and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. van Buren will discuss recent advances in cardiovascular medicine.

Popular and well-respected on this subject, Dr. van Buren returns for the 11 th year, having presented a broad range of topics to the community over the past decade including Women and Heart Disease, Facts about Cholesterol, Atrial Fibrillation, Congestive Heart Failure, Valvular Heart Disease and more.

This year’s topic, entitled “Recent Advances in Cardiovascular Medicine,” will provide up-to-date information about new developments in the field. Following the program, Dr. van Buren will address questions from the audience and the program will conclude with an expression of gratitude and honorary recognition for Dr. van Buren’s decade of service to the community.

Dr. van Buren has been a member of the Androscoggin Valley Hospital Board of Directors since 2014, having joined the medical staff there in 2010. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Ross University School of Medicine, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology, Cardiovascular Medicine, and Adult Echocardiography.

Now in its 19 th year, To Your Health, in collaboration with Western Mountains Senior College, the Bethel Family Health Center, and MSAD#44 Continuing Education, has been providing free health education programs to the Bethel area communities.

For more information, please contact MSAD#44 at 207-824-2136 X1340 or email wmsc@sad44.org

When: Thursday, May 1st. 

Time: 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Where: West Parish Congregational Church, 32 Church St. Bethel, Maine