Alpha course offers dinner, movie, answers
CLIFTON PARK — If you’ve driven by the intersection of Route 146 and Moe Road you’ve probably seen the sign “Alpha is here!” and wondered, “Just what is Alpha?”
“It’s a chance to ask those questions you have never felt comfortable asking,” said Pastor Jeff Silvernail, whose Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Clifton Park is offering the 10-week course for the first time starting Tuesday, Sept. 22.
“We call it Christianity 101,” said Father Chip Strickland of Grace Episcopal Church in Waterford, which is offering a youth Alpha course starting Friday, Oct. 2.
The course started in the late 1970s in London as a class for worshipers at a Church of England church in London. But in 1990, curate Nicky Gumbel, a lawyer by training, took over the course and turned it into a class aimed more at non-churchgoers. Since then it has become a worldwide success, as more than 13 million people in 163 countries have attended the course.
Pastor Jeff Silvernail has brought the Alpha course -- a 10-week exploration of Christianity -- to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Clifton Park.
“It’s like going to dinner and a movie,” he said. “After a free meal, there is a 45-minute film and then about 45 minutes to process it. It’s not teachy. We train our leaders to be very welcoming and to be non-judgmental. No one is expected to do anything, say anything or believe anything.”
“It’s given with no pressure in an environment that’s friendly,” Strickland said.
The course has been taught at churches of all Christian denominations — from Catholic to Mennonite, Salvation Army to Pentecostal.
“I was at a regional Alpha conference at a Catholic church on Long Island,” Silvernail said, “and I was talking to a priest from a Syrian Orthodox church about how the elders wanted services to remain in Syriac while the young members wanted to switch to English, and I thought to myself, ‘Where but an Alpha conference would I find myself having this conversation?’”
The Alpha courses often have similar diversity. People of all faiths are invited along with nonbelievers.
“Everyone is welcome,” Silvernail said. “You can come in and argue for 10 weeks if that’s what you want to do. But that normally doesn’t happen. We don’t often get hard-core nonbelievers but those who don’t know that to think. Some decide to explore more, and some remain nonbelievers.”
Silvernail encourages people from different denominations to attend to strengthen their faith.
“We don’t want to steal people. We wanted them to return to their churches and perhaps step up into leadership roles,” he said. “Other churches should know if their folks come, we’ll send them back when they’re done.”
Grace Church has already done one youth Alpha class, and it hopes to build on the success of its spring program. To promote the fall class, the church is having a youth rally at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 featuring the Christian youth group “Caught Up” from the Waterford Weslyan Church.
“Last time that generated a lot of excitement,” Strickland said. “We really enjoy putting it on and look for a good turnout.”
Silvernail, meanwhile, has no idea how many people will show up for Prince of Peace’s first Alpha class.
“We don’t ask people to sign up. It’s entirely a drop-in program,” he said. “If there are more people than we expected, we’ll make the portions smaller and the leaders won’t eat that night.”
For more information:
- Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 4 Northcrest Drive, Clifton Park, 371.2226
- Grace Episcopal Church, 34 Third Street, Waterford, 237.7370
- Alpha USA
