Alpha

‘Life is Worth Exploring’

‘What is the meaning of life?’; ‘Is there more to life than this?’ Amongst others, these were questions discussed and explored on previous Alpha Courses. The theme for 2011 was ‘Life is Worth Exploring’.

If you saw adverts, posters and banners promoting and publicising the Alpha course and have wondered what all the fuss was about, this was the course run by Pencaitland Parish Church and Ormiston Parish Church last autumn. Alpha is run nationally in churches across the country. It is intended to give ordinary people the chance to explore the sorts of questions they may have often wondered about but have rarely ever been able to discuss. The Guardian has commented, “What Alpha offers, and what is attracting thousands of people, is permission, rare in a secular culture, to discuss the big questions… and their meaning”.

The course started with an introductory dinner and presentation, to give a taste of what Alpha is about, so those who had come along could decide whether they would like to explore further.

The format of the Course was simple; each week there was a time to join with others in a delicious meal, a presentation on DVD of the theme for that week, and then a discussion in smaller groups about the issues raised during the talk.

If you are interested in exploring "Alpha" further, watch this space for details of future courses. 

More information is also available on the national website at www.alpha.org