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?

Oh poor you Oxo, hope you are feeling better. I have had a scratchy throat for a couple of days too and the nose has started running today - don't feel too bad in myself yet, but just a pain. Look after yourself. Does your church do a pod-cast on their website of all the Alpha sessions? My church pops on all the discussions + sermons from Sunday etc so that you catch up if you are unable to attend or if you want to re-listen to the session again.

I enjoyed my second session - important things first: we had a choice of fish pie or chicken pie with lots of different veg, followed by coffee and cake - went for the bread + butter pudding this week! All v yummy . I made an effort to chat to different people in my group this week, it was weird because I thought I would have remembered everyone from the week before, but I didn't . Learnt a bit more about peoples reasons for attending, there were a couple of catholics who were considering moving to CofE, one chap who obviously had a lot of issues - especially as we were talking about sin - he then felt the need to get off his chest all the major sins he had committed in his life - like you Oxo it felt the session was turning into a bit of a therapy/counselling sess. We had the whole story of how he had had numerous affairs, his divorce etc was a bit too much info for me and I just wanted to get back to the main discussion.

The 'formal' bit in church was interesting - I found I needed to concentrate more this week, I was finding it hard to take in all the information. Each week at the beginning they invite someone who has been throu the Alpha process before to talk about their journey. We had a really inspiring guy this week - he was an ex convict, had been to prison 3 times, the last time for 8 years (he didn't let on what for!), he did the Alpha course on leaving prison two years ago and explained how his life has turned around since then.

Have you got the course book Oxo? - I wasn't going to bother but think I will buy it (looks like you can buy it cheaply on Amazon) so that I can re-read the chapter for that week.

Also, have you got your away day/weekend date set yet - ours is on 6th November. Not aware of what the agenda is for the day yet - will let you know when I have more info.

Better go, only 1h till I pick my son up and have done no housework yet

Hi newbeliever, sounds like an "interesting" group.
I think it is really a good idea to have the personal stories each night too. I am sure they are very powerful, too.
I hope you leader starts to perhaps allow everyone to join in the discussion, rather than allow it to be taken over.

I would suggest the book would be a good idea, not only for if you cant get along one evening like oxo, but also just to have a look back over anything that may not have registered the first time through. there is so much to take in sometimes, that you go away with your brain whirring!!

The away days are lovely times!

Food sounds good, again.

I bought the book last week as they were available on the course. I love the idea of having people coming to share their personal stories: it makes everything more meaningful somehow. Last week in church, the sermon was about the conversion of Saul and how through God, any change is possible. The pastor talked briefly about his own conversion after several years doing little else other taking drugs and playing hip-hop music!

Our weekend away is at the end of October. I hope I can make the whole weekend but its difficult with three kids who need their mum! Not to mention the dog! Don't have a definite agenda yet but a friend who did Alpha 6 months ago said they were given lots of time for reflection and prayer.

I bought the C.S.Lewis book, Mere Christianity, which is very interesting. It was written during the war years of the forties so he makes many references to society then, although much is still applicable today.

Dinner sounds good

Hi Oxo - hope you are feeling better. Ordered the book off Amazon, came today, but i ordered the wrong one got the book which is recommended to read at the end of the course. So, have gone back and ordered the correct book today!

It is tricky organising cover for the weekend isn't it - luckily my mum lives close by (DH due to work that weekend), I don't want to miss it as a number of people who were on the course last year have said that they found the weekend the highlight of the course. Hopefully, you will be able to sort something out.

Your pastor sounds interesting - I do find it inspiring to hear how others converted/found faith. I have found myself thinking about the chap from my course last week quite a bit, his story was truly amazing.

Will report back soon.

Hi NB . Am still struggling with sinus and chest infection but am definitely going to Alpha tomorrow. Went to church on Sunday and was awe-struck! I don't know if it was the combination of the songs we sang or the sermon or my mood but the whole church was alive for Jesus! It was wonderful. I feel completely energised in my Faith and can't wait to go tomorrow!

There are lots of interesting people at my church - have the feeling the pastor is just the tip of the ice-berg. I was so happy that my daughter came with her friend whose family are all confirmed Christians. Dd has been several times before but recently always had an excuse not to come (including the important fact that she is not sure whether she believes in God anyway!) But she did come last week and went to the youth group for the first time (12-18 yr olds) and came out saying it was brilliant and she is definitely going next week. At dinner a few nights ago, she told her brother that he should "open his mind to the possibility that God might exist". He certainly works in mysterious ways! Her big brother, my eldest at 15, has also started reading lots of the Alpha literature I have around the house and asking lots of questions about religion, and said he would come to church with me next week, even though he still professes aetheism. I think all my kids see a change in me and are curious as to why

Anyway, will report back late tomorrow or on Thursday re Alpha. Especially about the food, of course

Hi Oxo, it's great your children are showing an interest - they are a bit older than mine, 4 and 7 - it has certainly encouraged me to go by virtue of the fact they love going and really enjoy the sunday club. Does your DH go to? Mine wouldn't to start off with but started to get curious when he noticed a change in me - he has since been accompanying me every Sunday, which is lovely. Not sure he is as far along the journey as me - he was a bit when I said i wanted to do the Alpha course - although he now wants a blow by blow account when I get back . He did say last Sunday though that he had missed church that day (unfortunately he had to go to work)so feel that God has definitely been answering some of my prayers!

I am fancying a chicken casserole tonite - I'll just have to wait and see what food is in store for me!

My husband is what I guess you would call an aggressive aetheist so unless God feels like performing a miracle, he won't be coming with me. He is, however, much more respectful to me about my Faith and church in general as he can see that I have become a 'better' person for want of another word. He does like his little joke though whenever I cook for Alpha, saying that I should just turn up with loaves and fishes and let the Lord do the rest

Anyway, the church I go to is a Pentacostal church with much hand-waving and "Praise Jesus!" which would be mortifying to my conservative, very English husnand

Its my son ( a non-believer although he says he wishes he could as it would be 'cool') who is surprising me the most. He is already a great kid - hard working, gentle, non-judgemental, caring and if he never becomes a Christian, that won't change, but I love the fact that he asks intelligent 'Alpha type' questions which challenge my thinking. He was asking recently how I could love a God who has condemned millions of people to eternal damnation, if the Book of Revelation is to be believed, because they had the 'misfortune' to be born into another faith or illiterate with little access to the Bible.

Have just made my apple and pear crumble and some coconut brownies for Alpha on Wed as I am working tomorrow and won't have time to bake before I have to leave. Hope you hit lucky with the chicken casserole

that would be atheist obviously . Trying to multi-task !!

I've just started an Alpha course - been to two sessions - but they sound quite different to those here. There are only 3 of us on the course so obviously no need to split into groups! No meal either - just coffee and biscuits. We watch the DVDs and then have a discussion. I kind of wish there were more people there though. It tends to get dominated by someone who is a recent convert.

The big problem I had with the first talk was that I didn't feel that it gave me the proof that it claimed it would. The number of ancient copies of the NT and the time between the events and writing doesn't prove to me that the it all happened as recorded. But the DVD just gave that evidence and sort of said, 'so that's that then' and moved on. I am currently reading 'A Case for Christ' which investigates how historically accurate the gospels are, but even that is very biased and the author only interviewed Christian academics.

I know that this all comes down to faith but it just kind of jumped over it and assumed that you took it as read.

Hi WillowFae and welcome to the Alpha thread! I do know exactly what you mean: lots of people on my course (there are 10) said regarding the first video clip "well, there you are then, that proves its all true" which I think is pretty naive, even as a believer. Like you say, Faith is a huge part of it.

I also discussed with my group leader the fact that "exploring questions about life" jumps pretty darned quickly into full-on Christianity. There are a couple of people on my course who are very much on the fence in terms of their beliefs and I would imagine that they are finding the course hard going. One woman said "I so much want to believe, I want this peace and sense of trust in God that you all seem to have ....... but its just not happening"

That's Alpha I guess! What night is your course? I would find only 3 people pretty intense!

Welcome WillowFae - i thought there must be more than two mumsnetters doing Alpha this autumn

I do know what you mean about the first evening, it did feel a bit "here's the evidence and now let's move on" i did find myself thinking 'i wonder how many copies it requires to be statistically valid' especially as my faith is all fairly new.

I found the evening last night (week 3) was the first time that the total non-believers felt a bit out of it. Last night was amazing - I found my faith deepening and felt quite moved (yes, more tears!)- we had the usual testimonial at the beginning. This time is was a woman who I very much identified with (similar age, similar age children etc) her journey to faith was much like mine in that she had been brought up in a Christian household, done the whole sunday school thing and never questionned her faith until going to uni. She joined the christian union and suddenly found herself surrounded by fellow christians who seemed to be on another level to her. She was shocked at how she felt and really thought she was missing something + so didn't really have faith like the people around her. She described it as two-tiers - these people were on the top tier, true faith and she was on the bottom tier, those that go to church every week, do all the right things but have never experienced that 'thunder bolt' moment. She then 'parked' her christianity for 10 years until returning to church last year and going on the Alpha course.

The vicar then went on to talk about faith and I identfied with so much that he was saying that it felt like he was directing it at me. By the end I was feeling quite emotional and we finished by saying a prayer together (the one on page 18 of the Why Jesus? book). I really felt like I had moved on and taken another step across the 'bridge'. I think the majority of us felt like that, so when we returned to our discussions we were in another place compared to the people who are 'sitting on the fence'- it was the first time ever that I felt I was a true Christian .

Really nice bunch of people, we all swapped details last night and are already arranging a night out.

Ooh almost forgot - beef or veggie lasagne with salad and french bread - not quite chicken casserole but still yummy.

Oxo - have a good time tonight - your puds sound delicious!

Willowfae - 3 people does sounds a bit intense, I suppose it depends on the other people taking part - I do like to sit back and listen to everyone else sometimes, although I do force myself to join in too.

At the risk of blowing my mumsnet 'cover' my church has podcasts for all the Alpha sessions if you are interested just google 'St Marys Reigate' it is on the 'resources' section. I'd be interested to listen to your church's podcasts too, it sounds like they all take a different approach to Alpha.

Oh crumbs, that will teach me to post before reading it through . . . apols for the grammar .. . not the most articulate of posts but I did bash it out in 5mins.

ooh will look at your podcast, thanks. Can't offer mine I'm afraid as they don't do them for Alpha, only for the Sunday church services. Interesting that you've clicked with a few people NB. TBH, I don't think there's anyone I would really like to get to know really well on my course, although there are several very nice people .

I did feel very uncharitable last week as one of my group added me as a facebook friend and then posted several times on her wall about how lonely she was and how she wanted to go out for a few drinks but everyone was busy . But really, apart from doing Alpha, we have nothing in common, I am 20 years older with my job and kids to juggle. No excuse though - I still felt rotten!

newbeliever Thank you for sharing that, you have made one stressed out person here, very happy!!! So lovely to read.

Will look forward to reading your update tomorrow oxo.

Welcome to WF.

Oxo - don't feel bad, we all have really busy lives, I struggle to keep up with the friends I already have - perhaps I should spend less time on Mumnset

It's also early days Oxo, last night was the first time that I felt the group clicked, we had a lovely meal and we all seemed to be on a similar journey. I'm keen to meet up as the discussions at Alpha just aren't long enough and I feel quite a bond with this group already. Also, I don't know about you, but I just want to chat constantly about this at the moment and a lot of my friends aren't Christians so I don't want to risk boring them

PA - glad you liked my post - I thought I was rambling a bit when I read it back. Hope you are a bit less stressed now - is everything ok?

Also meant to say (am I rambling again!) that I find my faith grows by spending time with these people.

Have a good time tonight.

Hmmm, strange Alpha last Wednesday. The subject was prayer - how/why/what should we pray? The DVD clip made me feel a little uncomfortable. It talked about Nicky's meeting with a tv actor at the time (he named him and his wife) who were going through struggles in their marriage which resulted in the wife filing for divorce. The end story was that they both - first the husband and then his almost ex-wife - became Christians and that prayer saved their marriage. Not sure how I feel about that one

Two people have dropped out of our course. One because her contract as an au pair was terminated and another for reasons unknown to me. She is very young and has spent her life growing up with a strong church influence. Maybe she needs a different, younger group or maybe this isn't for her.

The course leaders are so firm in their Faith that I find it difficult to raise questions because they immediately give me an answer. If I question an idea or a belief, then they will always have a scripture to show me what I am thinking is either right or wrong. I'm not sure this is what I need.

NB, I empathise so much with you about wanting to spend time with people who share your beliefs. I spend hours with the friend who introduced me to my church, talking about what we have learned, come to believe etc.

Ps food was bobootie (sp?) and rice and scrummy Indonsian noodles and chicken, apple and pear crumble with ice-cream and choc coconut brownies

Thanks for the welcome everyone. I had my third session last night. It was the one on faith and probably the session I've enjoyed most. It wasn't dominated by the recent convert which was good.

Still not sure about the small size of the group though.

Hi everyone - hope you all had good weekends - we camped Friday night and it was freezing!

Oxo - sounds like you had a difficult session last week - it will be interesting to see how it is presented on my course this week - perhaps have a listen to this week's podcast (will prob be available Wed afternoon) it may help you. I find it does throw me a bit if I don't agree with everything that is being said - what did everyone else make of the DVD? Haven't had anyone drop out of my immediate group, although I'm sure there must be a few in the group as a whole.

Willowfae - I'm glad you enjoyed the last session - the 'faith' week was the one I've enjoyed the most so far too.

ps Oxo, I haven't got a clue what bobootie is - please explain

Hi all,

I am going away with work this week, and we are having a "no internet" week, so I am not ignoring you, but will catch up with this weeks episodes at the weekend.

Hope it all goes well.

Still following this thread - interesting to hear how everyone is getting on :)

Nothing must to add except information on bobotie

It's a South African dish - my MIL makes a cracking one!

Thanks Mrs C and sorry for the mis-spelling!!

I guess what I am having trouble with is the way NG 'trivialises' God, for want of a better word. Some stories just seem too banal - like 'I was late and prayed for a taxi and wow, one appeared round the corner'. Or the story I detailed above where a couple's marriage sadly broke down but they got back together again. I find it hard to understand why the small stuff is being sorted out by God when there is so much pain and need and desperation in the world.

Having said that, the relationship I have found with God is a very personal one so maybe I'm wrong and God is concerned with the minutae of our lives. I honestly believe He is currently opening many doors in my life because of my renewed Faith in Him and because I have opened up this two-way line of communication.

On my course, the leaders and other participants are quite into 'signs'. Is this the same on your Alpha courses NB and Willow? One guy asked God to prove he existed by giving him a sign. Not sure if I think that is right TBH . Its so interesting hearing how everyone is getting on!!

One funny thing one of my leaders said when I said that I found it difficult to ask for things for myself during prayer because I didn't always feel I deserved them was "well, you do have to ask God, you know. After all, he's not a mind reader!"
Well .... omnipresent, omniscient ... I guess He is. Kind of

oxocube, don't discount your discomfort over such things, because we need to question and find a place where we feel comfortable. I am an oldie in faith yet remain unconvinced over the whole parking space (ie 'God got me a parking space' but then doesn't heal a sick baby? hmmmm.) Then again, I fervently believe God is concerned about the small things....just wonder how much God intervenes or doesn't. I think you are right to question.

Also, re your leaders always having answers, I guess each course is run differently. My seekers course I am running at the moment (not alpha) is perhaps more relaxed, we make a point to listen to all views and not always or even often comment with 'right answers'. I think it's vitally important to validate peoples ideas and questions, not just jump in with what we perceive to be the answer. Not sure we always have the answer anyway!

Not trying to do down your course leaders in any way. It may be their way of doing it is right for some. Just wanted to show you there are other ways and different views on such things.

So glad you're finding your relationship with God deepening. :) That's the great thing - hold on to that, and keep questioning, keep exploring - never stop.

No, there hasn't been much discussion in my course about 'signs'.