Alpha
Our next Alpha Supper is on 3rd October.
Invented in the 1990s by Holy Trinity Brompton, a large London
church, over a million people have been on an alpha course, and it has been
featured on Channel Four with David Frost.
It's an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in
a relaxed, non-threatening manner in a series of weekly sessions.
So what's it all about?
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It's a eight week series: one evening per week comprising a meal, a talk about an
aspect of Christianity and a chat where you can ask any question you like
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It's organised by a huge variety of local churches for their own communities.
Often groups of churches work together
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Subjects covered include "Why did Jesus die?", "How can I be sure of my
faith?", "How does God guide us?" and "Does God heal today?"
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The first evening is simply a meal followed by a short interesting talk
entitled "Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?"
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Many people come to the alpha course on their own, but quickly make friends;
others come with a friend
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The course is suitable for people who want to investigate Christianity, new
Christians and people who want to brush up on the basics.
Here's the view of one person who attended an Alpha Course in
Uckfield recently:
"Having seen Alpha advertised in my local paper several times, I
finally decided to go and see what all the fuss was about.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find a room full of
extremely nice and 'up to date' people. Having preconceived ideas about
religion and all those involved it was like a breath of fresh air to find
people who were as curious as myself.
Alpha gives you the chance to raise questions about all those
aspects that bother you, without being made to feel different. It's almost like
'speaking to the man himself' through those who are close to him, so you know
their answers to be unbiased and well intentioned.
I've thoroughly enjoyed coming, it's been a learning experience
like no other, and I whole heartedly recommend it to anyone with questions that
they just can't seem to find the answers to.
At worst you'll leave the same way you came, at best you'll see
life from a different perspective, and where's the harm in that?"
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