Alpha - anyone starting the course this Autumn?

[newbeliever]

Hi everyone, I mentioned on another thread about starting a thread for Alpha newbies.

I have signed up to do the course this Autumn, starts Tuesday, 28th September. Was quite surprised when I rang the parish office, there are about 40 people on the course - and it's for 3 hours each week - I was thinking 2 hours max! They start the evening off with dinner and drinks before moving onto the topic for the week. How do your churches run the course?

Thought it would be nice to share our thoughts each week in a safe place - I'm worried about not knowing what to say or just not understanding the topic so would be good to have some fellow MNr's on the journey too.

Anyone else want to join me?

Lots to catch up on here!

Thank you for all being so open and honest, I am sure it really helps everyone.

Oxo - Please be very careful not to overcommit! Your first priority after your Christian commitment to God is to your family. you will not be a good witness to your DH and your family if you are always "doing" stuff for others at the church. Sorry, I dont mean to sound harsh, but that is how I see it! It is really easy for people to ask the newly committed, enthusiastic church member to do all sorts of things and it is good to be involved, but you are not the only one in the church, so others can do things, too. You are the only mum for your DCs and wife for DH.

Willow, when I was having my quiet time this morning I read something and immediately thought of you and feel I should share it with you. (ignore if you don't feel it is right for you, I wont be offended). This is from "My Beloved, by Colin Urquart" It is writted as daily letters from God to His child and I find them absolutely wonderful!

"I don't wait until your understanding is perfect before I walk with you or allow you to walk with me. No, as we walk together much revelation takes place, so that your understanding is increased and your faith enlarged"

PA you are so right. That's why I said no to the language course as helping at Alpha is a big committment. My Beta course is one evening every fortnight so shouldn't be too much but I certainly don't want to take on anything else at the moment

What a beautiful quotation

I know one thing that REALLY bothered my DH when I became more active in going to church was where it left him. He was worried that if it came to a choice between God and him, he'd lose out. I said that I didn't believe that I would be asked to make that choice, and gradually he became more comfortable with that. And then back in September, he was confirmed himself :)

Wow, positiveattitude. Talk about a blast from the past!!!

My parents used to know Colin Urquhart and for years in the 1980s we went to the Kingdom Faith Camps every summer :D

That is a lovely quote and thank you for thinking of me. I have to say that the support on this thread has been amazing.

Thanks everyone for your support and advice.

TotallyUnheardOf + Oxo - you're right, it does sound as if I've already made my mind up doesn't it! I hadn't realised at the time of typing and I've just read it back myself - why didn't it seem clear to me at the time .

TotallyUO - I did post a separate thread on the topic, however, I was so desperate for advice/information I 'googled' church secretary and my thread popped up straight away - I was a bit concerned, so asked for the thread to be deleted.

Oxo - The job is PA to the vicar, 12 hrs a week, it's a reasonable sized team, there are two part-time administrators and ops manager too. It's a long time since I last did a PA role, have been a SAHM for the last 7 years and worked in corporate comms before that.

Like you Oxo, I am a bit of an enthusistic new Christian at the moment, and I'm very conscious of not scaring my DH! I'm worried that it will all be a bit too much for him - he's reassured me tonight that it wouldn't, but I think he is just considering the extra money it will bring in .

I seriously can't believe how much my life has changed in a relatively short space of time.

I've got my Alpha social tomorrow evening as well as meeting with the vicar again to discuss what I have decided to do . . .
will keep you updated Wednesday.

MaryBS, thanks as well for your comments. It's interesting when you say that your DH was concerned that if you had to make a choice he would lose out - I think my DH feels that too, although has never voiced those concerns. He was definitely intimating that Sunday evening, saying what was more important - I hope I made the right choice, I thought I did at the time, I felt the need to go to church so strongly.

Without sounding too clinical, if I do take the job, what would be a reasonable commitment per week without putting pressure on DH, one worship + one home group per week, with the odd extra special event? I had been going to a women's ministry group too, altho my DH wasn't aware as it is whilst he is at work

Lovely to hear that your DH has since been confirmed - will have to keep praying for my DH.

Hey NB, that's the job that I do!! Any questions, ask away. Just one bit of advice, though. Do make sure that on a Sunday morning you are at church for God and don't get side-tracked by everyone wanting to ask you questions and wanting you to do things. "just a little thing" for one person is just that, but multiply that by 20 people and it is a lot. You need "feeding" on a Sunday morning, not to be doing extra work! I have a standard answer when I am approached on a Sunday morning: "Please either email me, or write it down and leave a note on my desk and I will sort it out during the week." Then I smile sweetly and turn away.

As for the commitment, before DH was a Christian I did Sunday Worship (Non negotiable), One evening home group when I could and yes, special events. Although, I did go to a group during the day when he was at work instead of the homegroup for some time. I think it worked well and DH was happy with it. (Anything while he was at work was not really counted IYSWIM.

Yes, don't underestimate the needs of a male ego :o. I think it may be something you need to tackle with your DH. In many ways, its a bit like the concern you might feel when you are going to have a second child. Will you still love the first child? Or could you possibly love a second child as much as you do the first? Well, of course you (hopefully) love both of them! Perhaps he needs to hear that your love for God doesn't stop you loving him, in fact, if it makes you happy, it will actually HELP how you love him!

As for how much is too much... with each new thing I wanted to take on, I discussed it with DH first (with the end intention of getting my own way of course ). My house group (which I run) is in the day time, doesn't actually affect him, and DOES mean our living room gets very tidy once a week, and so he can see the benefit :o. But it may be some compromise needs to be made, soften him up (I always found that an offer to make him a rice pudding, which he loved, in exchange for being 'allowed out' worked). Then he feels he still has some control over what is happening, and it will make things easier in the long run.

This was VERY important when I started training for ministry, and was out a lot more, and needing quiet time for study :o

Just a mega-quick post, as I'm off for my Alpha get-together in a mo . . . but I met with the vicar this afternoon, and I accepted the job He has also had time to think and he is happy for me to remain at my church if that's what I want to do for now. So the plan is to remain at my church for now and take things slowly. I will continue to attend the 'moving on' course at the church I'm working at and will also attend a service approx once a month.

Feel relieved about that as it takes the pressure off a bit and I can do what is right for the whole family in that regard.

V excited about the job - PA do you mind if I pick your brains for time-to-time? Great to know there is a fellow PA to a vicar on Mumsnet!

CONGRATULATIONS :o :o :o

NB that's wonderful! It sounds like a good compromise - you won't get pounced on too much on a Sunday morning :)

I've been lurking and reading everyone's posts (busy week or two here - haven't really had time to contribute) but it's good to hear how you are all getting on. I'd love to keep hearing about your progress in the new year - it's always good to be challenged to think things through anew :)

What happened yesterday :)

I followed my usual ritual for the holidays which is to go and see a film at the cinema on a Tuesday afternoon (cheap day). DH didn't want to go and see Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so I decided to go and see it. It is a really good film but the effect it had on me was amazing. I basically couldn't stop crying at the end. There is an amazing bit where Eustace is talking about what it was like when Aslan changed him (from a dragon back into a boy). But he changed as a person as well and stopped being the annoying spoilt brat that he was. Obviously the Christian allegories in the Narnia books are very obvious and this was really stuck out (although looking at online discussions this evening, others don't seem to have picked up on it). And then, at the end when the children found out that they were too old to go back to Narnia again, Aslan told them that they were to look for him in their world, he just had a different name. Again: obvious.

Anyway, I like I said I just couldn't stop crying, at the ending, and all through the credits. I said that they prayed for me at Alpha about wanting to get into the car on the foggy bridge, but I still hadn't gone further and prayed THE prayer. So, yesterday, sitting in the darkened cinema as the credits rolled, I did. It wasn't eloquent or anything and seemed really odd to be doing that in the cinema but I kind of figured that God wouldn't mind! So, I guess I've taken that final step.

Congratulations NB ! I'm sorry I missed this discussion for a few days, not been too well so head a bit muzzed up. Great news though. I do church admin too and do enjoy it.

Willow !! Your post has given me the shivers. Wow. It really sounds like the film was the vehicle in which God made himself real to you in that way that you needed. That's so incredible and so lovely (actually in tears here ) Amazing how God does it - in the timing that is right for you...so pleased. I'm taking the dc to see that next week and it will be all the more special thinking of you Just read on your last post you used to go to Faith camp in the 80's - so did my family! Did you go to Ishmael and Heartbeat? I have very fond memories of it all, we go to New Wine now as I want my dc to experience similar. Would be good to reminisce. Wow - bowled over by your experience. How are you feeling this morning? Have you told anyone? Sometimes it's good to to concrete it a bit. [fmile]

Good discussion re churches. Not much to add, except to say I'm of low church persuasion but over the years I have learned to find God in all sorts of places, it's sometimes harder in some than others but great to think that people can worship in ways that are right for them. To appreciate that is not necessarily to find that you can easily worship in another format yourself, but it's always good to see that it can happen in different ways for different people.

(still smiling willow )

Oh Willow - that's wonderful!!!

Thanks :D It's been a bit of an odd day today. Everyone carrying on as normal but it felt different to me. There is something extra there now.

I told DH last night and that was hard. He doesn't like religion and I wasn't sure how he would take it. I'm not sure how he'll be when the reality of me wanting to go to church every week kicks in (DD has been happy to come with me for the last couple of weeks, but DS has refused and he is hard going at the moment so I don't think DH is too happy about me going off and leaving him with him).

I also emailed my Alpha leaders last night. I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell them about it properly without getting all emotional and crying so I wanted to do it in email. They were, of course, delighted (understatement). I have my last session tomorrow night and I'm really going to miss it.

The ones that I haven't told are my parents and I'm not looking forward to that! Not that they will have a problem with it: in fact the complete opposite. I just know though that my mum will get all emotional and start crying and I don't want a big fuss made. I'll see them on Sunday as they are coming to the Carol Service at church so I'll maybe say something then

madangelhair I was always too old for Ishmael but my younger siblings went. Hence I got to know the songs VERY well. 'G L O R I E, you are one to I see' I was very much of the Heartbeat age group. I remember being there the year they announced that they were going to release a single and we all voted on the three options they had and chose 'Tears from Heaven' which is the one they released. Ah, good times!

And yes, when you go to see VOTDT next week, just picture me sitting there bawling my eyes out and being grateful that it was midweek in the afternoon and the cinema was rather empty!

So pleased to read your post Willow.
I hope it goes well with telling your parents.
Must dash as doing the snadwiches.

Wow Willow, that's great news Know how you are feeling as I have been through a similar journey over the last couple of months.

My DH goes from one extreme to the next, last Sunday he was moaning because I wanted to go to church in the evening and this week he is joining the carol singing tomorrow night, coming to church Sunday morning and has even said he will come with me to the carol service at my new 'work' church that evening Maybe he realised lastSunday how important it is to me.

Had a lovely evening with my Alpha group on Tuesday, we met round the leader's house, was a very relaxed evening, we all took a dish. After we'd all eaten (and had a few glasses of wine!) we had a fantastic discussion around the table about what difference Alpha had made to our lives so far and where we thought we were on our journeys. Everyone was very open and honest and it was so refreshing. They were also v chuffed for me with my new job

We're all going to the carol service Sunday evening and we've all signed up for 'moving on' so the journey with my Alpha group hasn't ended yet.

I was there too that year Willow, remember being so excited about it (and had a crush on Clive Urquhart ) Good times indeed. Wasn't that 'the age of the drain' year?! Oh yes that Ishmael song, I still have lots of his tapes and cds and my dcs love them now

nb, Glad your dh is showing some support this week, hope that he does see how good it is for you and perhaps start to wonder about it all. Will pray. Glad your Alpha evening went well.

All such exciting stuff.

I think 'going down the drain' was before that. I seem to remember that being the first year that Heartbeat were there. They did a song to the Eastenders theme 'If you're going down the drain' - or something like that.

Ah yes and they did a competition for who could do the best theme song to the Eastenders tune - me and my friends went up on stage and did this truly terrible song. Ah the memories.

How is this for some memories

www.higherpraise.com/lyrics/love/love852977.htm

Written by Trish.

Even better -

Okay, now I feel old. I just found Trish on MySpace and her twins are 22 years old - I remember when they were babies!!!!!

Oooh how about !! Check out those lovely 80s hairdos.

Sorry, we're hijacking this thread with Heartbeat memories...just loved it all. Come on and celebrate was one of my favourite songs, still have that old tape somewhere, bless.

That first link just links to a generic page willow.

Yes I remember when those twins were babies too. I remember Malc bringing them to introduce to all us scary teenagers

sorry, amybe we should start our own thread!!

Congratulations WF - wonderful news!