Alpha for Catholics starts on Jan 18 2011 for ten weeks, 7:30pm-9:30pm.

Course Information:

Alpha is a practical introduction to Christianity covering core Gospel truths and is wholly compatible with Catholic teaching. It is presented with a light touch and humour and is for anyone looking to explore their faith, including non-church goers, the lapsed and practising Catholics seeking a refresher course. The evening starts with a simple meal followed by a DVD talk and then some time to discuss the week’s topic in small groups.

Topics include:

• Who is Jesus?
• Why did Jesus die?
• Why and how should I pray?
• Why and how should I read the Bible?
• How does God guide us?

At the heart of Alpha is developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Just as in families we learn to listen and to speak in love, so this course helps us to listen and speak with our Lord. This can lead to a greater confidence in passing on the Faith, for parents to your children; to relatives and friends, and also builds a sense of community and involvement in the life of the parish.

The course is over a period of ten weeks on Tuesday evenings between 7:30 and 9:30 with an away day (a Saturday) devoted to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The course starts on the 18th January and we hope to run it in the new Parish Centre.

The course was originally developed in the Anglican Church. It has spread through 155 countries with some 32,000 courses having been run. It is increasingly used in Catholic parishes with the encouragement of the Bishops and it was also invited to take part in the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005. Pope Paul VI said that the church exists to evangelise and "the person who has been evangelised goes on to evangelise others". We invite you in the words of Jesus to Andrew and John when they asked him where he lived: "Come and see".