#190 – Senior Alpha

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My latest excursion into Alpha courses has taken me into the realm of running what Holy Trinity Brompton have called SENIOR ALPHA. It is an Alpha Course aimed at retired people and we are over half way through the course now at Trinity Methodist Church in Kirkby in Ashfield. We have a team of around half a dozen leaders, some of whom have led talks whilst others have coordinated food or led table discussions.

The course happened at the initiative of Trevor Lee, the Circuit Evangelism Enabler for the Ashfield Circuit who has been instrumental in organising the course and encouraging folks to attend. He has been ably assisted by his wife, Gillian. Rev Mick Dilley has also been heavily involved in leadership.

Trinity is an excellent venue for running Alpha as the church is situated on the high street and has a café as part of its frontage. It also has excellent audio / visuals and flexible seating in the church itself where we hold the Senior Alpha Course. We have run the course during 10 weeks over lunchtime with a schedule detailed below. The catering staff of the café have done an excellent job in accommodating around 20 Alpha people on top of their normal lunchtime trade and the quality of food has been excellent too.

So, what’s different about Senior Alpha? Firstly, we took the decision to run the course over lunchtime rather than in the evening. Some attendees would have come to the café anyway for lunch and so we were not asking them for an extra commitment. Secondly, we give talks (aided by visuals) instead of using the Alpha DVD. This enables us to keep the talk relatively short – no more than 30 minutes. Table discussions proceed as they would on any other Alpha Course. We decided not to hold an Awayday. Yesterday I led the talk on the Holy Spirit as a normal lunchtime session and offered people the opportunity to receive prayer as I would on an Awayday.

We had set up a circle of chairs in one corner of the church so that people could come for prayer at the end of the talk if they wished to. No sooner had I sat down at this circle than a flock of people joined me – much to my surprise and delight. What was particularly encouraging was the fact that one lady who came for prayer was a lapsed church-goer who only came on the course by chance but has been greatly inspired by the course overall and is now one of the most creative contributors to the discussions. We introduced worship in a low-key way on week six and have kept it as part of the session ever since.

One other factor relating to Senior Alpha is that fact that with an older group, more of them have previous experience of Church and some are de-churched which means they no longer come to traditional Church. I have seen Fresh Expressions of Church emerging which cater specifically for people who have turned away from traditional Church for various reasons but who find the relaxed, informal atmosphere of café-style faith exploration helpful. In terms of receptivity to the gospel, I find that people of all ages are very open, especially when they see Christianity in action through the personality and life-style of the leaders. Discussions around the tables have shown that people are not impressed by religiosity but want to see authentic life-styles which truly reflect the teachings of Jesus.

So, where do we go from here? Well, that’s yet to be decided but there’s a real possibility that these people will stay together in some form of group or faith community, growing deeper into the Christian Faith. Bearing in mind the age profile of many of the established churches in this country, Senior Alpha provides an excellent opportunity for engaging with people in a new way. As with all Alpha Courses I have been involved with, participants find the environment of Alpha far more conducive than traditional Church when it comes to exploring faith issues and asking questions about issues they struggle with. The quality of discussion leaders is an important part of any Alpha Course and we have been really blessed on this course by having some excellent people on board.

Although Holy Trinity Brompton have released material specifically designed for the Senior Alpha Course, it is possible to run it along traditional lines with the normal material as we have done.

Schedule for Senior Alpha
11:45 Leaders arrive to set up tables
12:00 Participants arrive - Lunch is served
12:40 Alpha Talk
13:10 Tea and Coffee served
13:15 Table discussions
13:45 Finish