What a gift!

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1.12

I am delighted to announce that Strath & Sleat is coming good on its promise to invite the community to a follow-on outreach Alpha Course. We ran the first between Easter and the summer holidays, as an in-house opportunity for believers in the church to refresh their awareness of the key tenets of Christian faith and to familiarise themselves with the Alpha Course itself, which is designed to be a tool for evangelism. So the idea always was that we would invite along a non/ not-yet believing friend/ neighbour/ work colleague/ relative the next time around.

We don't really need Alpha to share our faith but it helps because it offers a structured approach in a relevant and contemporary style, encouraging hosts and enquirers to meet in a hospitable setting where they become friends and fellow explorers. Because Alpha is all about the questions! It is not a means of indoctrination; rather it offers a safe space for people to investigate what Christianity is all about and what they in fact believe and how the two might dove-tail and influence the rest of their lives.

About a third of the church responded. God alone knows how many will make invitations and who will take up the offer from the community. After meeting Jesus, the apostle Andrew told his brother Peter "We have found the Messiah!" Not everybody in 1st century Palestine recognised Jesus, nor received him with such whole-hearted enthusiasm. But, as another original disciple, John, reflected at the end of his life "... to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Please pray that others, in 21st century Scotland, will be added to that number over the next few months...