Patti Anderson / Father Victor
For those of you who have been hearing about Alpha for the last year and a half, perhaps now is the time to think about joining us for our next Alpha course. The next Alpha Celebration Dinner is on Jan. 7. Come see for yourself what Alpha is all about.
A Different Aspect of Alpha
Usually what you read in the newsletter about Alpha is the fellowship in creates amongst the attendees, how it has brought many people in the parish closer together. Father Victor writes about the most important aspect of Alpha:
Perhaps now that the program "Alpha" has been here at Resurrection for a year and a half, it is a good time for us to refresh our understanding of what "Alpha" is about. I have written ... that we do well to remember what the word "Alpha" means: it means "beginning." Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and in the book of Revelation the Lord Jesus says I am the Alpha and the Omega, which means the beginning and the end. Jesus is at the start of all things, as John writes in the opening of his gospel: Through him all things came to be, and without him was not anything made that was made. Jesus is also at the end of all things, the one who will return, as the creed says, to judge the living and the dead.
The course that's called "Alpha" is an introduction to the Christian faith designed particularly for seekers and inquirers, people who may feel good and kindly towards Christianity but who nonetheless have questions about Jesus, or salvation, the Bible, or maybe about healing or about death, or maybe they've been hurt by the Church sometime in their past and that's getting in the way of their coming to Jesus. Alpha, the course, has been refined over several years and has proven effective in many parishes, all over the world, bringing countless people to a conscious relationship with Jesus, and helping many others to understand their faith better. Its aim is to put human beings in touch with their "Alpha," the Christ who loves each of us into existence.
Alpha is the main thing Resurrection does for the people who aren't here that has the name "Jesus" on it. We do a lot of mission work.... We give away 10% of our budget ..... AND, just by being here as a striking architectural presence on a beautiful piece of land, we speak, but without words, of the transcendent element in human existence. But in Alpha a name is put to that: and more than a name, a person, and with the person an invitation to enter a relationship of love, adventure, discovery, and self-commitment: a relationship with our Alpha, our dear Jesus.
Aren't we all seekers and inquirers? Do you want a conscious relationship with Jesus? If any of this touches you in any way, consider trying the next Alpha course.
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