Outreach
Alpha News 2008.
Alpha is an Event!
It is an event that can change your life!
It is an event that can put you in a new relationship with Jesus Christ.
Friendships made on Alpha are long lasting – ask anyone.
Alpha looks at the basics of the Christian faith.
Alpha is about having fun together, sharing a meal.
Alpha is the opportunity to ask the questions you never felt able to.
At Alpha find out what it is to worship a God who is involved.
The next Alpha begins on Wednesday 1st October and will run for ten weeks and this includes a weekend away.
This is our fourteenth Alpha so if you are unsure, ask someone who has been before.
This is the only Alpha planned for this year. So don’t miss out on the opportunity.
WHO IS IT FOR ?
Alpha is for anyone! People of all ages from teenagers upwards have attended the course. It particularly caters for:
· Regular church goers
· People exploring Christianity
· New Christians
· Newcomers to the Church
· Those who feel they have never really got going as a Christian
What is involved
We meet at 7-00pm for supper, after which we have about a quarter of an hour of music and song. We then listen to a talk on DVD about one of the topics and this is then discussed in groups over coffee. Each person is free to participate at whatever level they wish, there is no pressure to join in. We aim to finish at 9-30pm. You will get more out of Alpha if you can commit yourself to the whole course. This includes the weekend away.
THE WEEKEND AWAY
During the course we offer people the chance to go away for the weekend outside Gloucester. This has been a great success and lots of fun in getting to know each other better. We explore how we can experience God for ourselves and learn more about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Besides the teaching and group times, there is also time for quiet reflection and fun. Again you can join in as much or as little as you wish. There is a charge for the weekend away to cover cost of accommodation and food.
CELEBRATION PARTY
At the end of the course there is a party. This is also a chance to invite friends along to see what Alpha is about.
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT ALPHA
"I enjoyed the course... I believe more strongly, feel more committed".
"I enjoyed attending Alpha .... and made lots of friends".
"I gained more understanding .....I pray and read my Bible more.... good teaching".
"ALPHA helped me in forming closer relationships with others".
"It was brilliant fun, it makes being a Christian a real thing".
"A place where I was able to wake up to the truth about God".
"Really good teaching directed at issues I wanted to hear and learn about".
"Reassured me that God did love me, not just everyone else but me".
"A wonderful way to learn about Jesus".
Vision4Life – dressing up to go out…
Have you heard of "Vision4Life" ?
Did you read the article by Lawrence Moore in our last edition?
‘Vision4Life’ is going to be the next phase of the United Reformed Church’s ‘Catch the Vision’ Process.
A group of us wanted to do something to enable the faithful people in our United Reformed Churches (people like you) to find fresh excitement and encouragement in the basic things of our faith – the things that make us who we are. We know that every church is different, with its own pressures and its own delights, but we rather suspect that the very things that should be God’s particular and special gift to us have, for many of us, become a little flat or even a little scary. Can we, church by church, recover some ‘oomph’, risk some excitement, get excited again about dressing up to go out… ?
How would that be, then?
Well, we say that the Bible is important to us, but our historic Reformed emphasis on the central importance of the Bible and an educated ministry means many of us are a bit wary of the Bible, unsure of our own ability to read it aright, happy to leave the study bit to the minister. Can we do anything to enable more of us to ENJOY engaging with the Bible? Can we help people recover their confidence in the Bible and confidence that they have something important to bring to the shared task of making the Bible speak excitingly to us all today?
We mainly have a deep sense that prayer is important, but how much of a help is it with the frustrations, sadnesses, pains and pressures of life? Couldn’t we do better at finding God’s support in the midst of our lives and the lives of the communities around us? Are we sometimes a little confused or afraid of prayer? Couldn’t we change that for the better?
We know that we want to see more people sharing our faith, but many of us are not very good at doing the sharing, even when others seem interested enough to listen. For many of us faith is not something we talk about very often. So, if we got more comfortable talking about our faith with one another, might we be better able to talk about our faith with others in our community – and do it in a way that was true to who we are, not forced or out of character?
That’s what Vision4Life is about. It’s three years where each church is invited to tailor its own programmes from the selection of colourful materials we’ll be putting on offer. We’ll try to give you a great selection of ideas for a Bible year, a Prayer year and an Evangelism year and you and your church get to cut them up to fit who you are. And if we all share in the process, all contribute our own flair and skill and courage, we can all get dressed up, we can all get excited again and we’ll all get to go out….
The whole programme will get started in the Spring and Summer of 2008 with some special church discussions (tailored to fit your church, obviously) and if you decide to go ahead your church can then join in the Bible Year from Advent 2008 and the Prayer year from Advent 2009 and the Evangelism year from Advent 2010 – and remember, your church gets to choose what you’ll wear.
John Campbell -- URC Vision4Life Steering Group
Alpha 2006
Our Alpha weekend was on 13th to 15th October 2006 at the House of theOpen Door, Childswickham, set between Evesham and Broadway. On Saturday afternoon we spent our free time visiting Broadway.
We had the retreat house to ourselves and we were able to meet in the very comfortable Lounge.
Relaxed in the Court Yard.
The Group Photograph before we left on Friday.
Alpha Course.
The Alpha course in autumn 2005 was the first jointly planned course between St Lawrence, Barnwood and Christchurch Abbeydale. This followed the successful joint Mission and Outreach Jesus Video Project where firm relationships had been formed while working together on raising the profile of our churches in the parishes. As a result the team for running the Alpha course was already established.
This Alpha course was facilitated by Frank Heggs of Christchurch, but unfortunately, due to an operation and sick leave, Bob Coates, Vicar of St Lawrence Barnwood, was unable to be involved as joint leader of the group.
The group began in September with an introductory supper evening to inform those interested about the course. People from the Jesus video project had also been invited. A group of eleven was formed and started to meet weekly at St Lawrence Church Centre commencing with a meal. This encouraged relaxation and time to develop relationships with new friends. A short video and group discussions over coffee followed which helped develop the group’s knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith. Music and singing became a routine and enjoyable part of the meetings.
The memorable event of the course was the Alpha weekend, the venue for which was the ancient Tudor buildings of Holland House Retreat in the idyllic village of Cropthorne. The purpose of the weekend was to study the Holy Spirit. The whole ambience of the house, the countryside and the ability to leave busy lives behind enabled the group to relax and be filled with peace and understanding.
The group has grown and strengthened in its Christian faith and although the Alpha meetings ended in December, a house group with the same 11 people began in January to continue to support this growth of faith.
WHAT IS ALPHA?
Alpha is a 10 week course looking at the basics of the Christian faith. Over that time we will be looking at the following topics but you can ask anything, say anything that you choose to:
Who is Jesus?
Why did Jesus die?
How can I be sure?
Why read the Bible?
Why and how should we pray?
How does God guide us?
Is the Holy Spirit active today?
How can I resist evil?
Why and how should we tell others?
Does God heal today?
What about the Church?
WHO IS IT FOR?
Alpha is for anyone! People of all ages from teenagers upwards have attended the course. It particularly caters for:
· Regular church goers
· People exploring Christianity
· New Christians
· Newcomers to the Church
· Those who feel they have never really got going as a Christian
WHAT IS INVOLVED?
We meet at 7-00pm for supper, after which we have about a quarter of an hour of music and song. We then listen to a talk on VIDEO about one of the topics and this is then discussed in groups over coffee. Each person is free to participate at whatever level they wish, there is no pressure to join in. We aim to finish at 9-30pm. You will get more out of Alpha if you can commit yourself to the whole course. This includes the weekend away.
THE WEEKEND AWAY.
During the course we offer people the chance to go away for the weekend outside Gloucester. This has been a great success and lots of fun in getting to know each other better. We explore how we can experience God for ourselves and learn more about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Besides the teaching and group times, there is also time for quiet reflection and fun. Again you can join in as much or as little as you wish. There is a charge for the weekend away to cover cost of accommodation and food.
CELEBRATION PARTY.
At the end of the course there is a party. This is also a chance to invite friends along to see what Alpha is about.
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT ALPHA
"I enjoyed the course... I believe more strongly, feel more committed".
"I enjoyed attending Alpha .... and made lots of friends".
"I gained more understanding ..... I pray and read my Bible more.... good teaching".
"ALPHA helped me in forming closer relationships with others".
"It was brilliant fun, it makes being a Christian a real thing".
"A place where I was able to wake up to the truth about God".
"Really good teaching directed at issues I wanted to hear and learn about".
"Reassured me that God did love me, not just everyone else but me".
"A wonderful way to learn about Jesus".
WHERE AND WHEN IS IT?
We try to provide regular Alpha Courses. You will get the most out of Alpha if you can commit yourself to the whole course.
This years course is being held at Barnwood Church Centre. There is ample parking at the Church.
For details of future courses please don't hesitate to contact: Ernie Hall 500569, Frank Heggs 530353.
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