By Pastor Rachel WhitePastor of Alpha and Lifegroups Has it ever struck you how long the Christmas story took? I’m not even talking about how long before Christ was born that prophecies were given about his coming. I’m talking about how long Zechariah had to wait to get his voice back after he was struck […]
Growth Takes Time
By Pastor Rachel WhitePastor of LifeGroups & Alpha One of the many lessons I’ve learned from spending time growing a flower garden this year has been that growth takes time. As the cut flower season ends, I’m already planting seeds for next year, seeds that won’t look like flowers until maybe May! That’s a long […]
Always and Forever Love
My household in my teen years was predominantly female. You’d frequently find me and my sister hanging out with mutual girlfriends, wearing one other’s clothes, doing each other’s hair, and watching chick flicks with our mom (always with the all-important Galaxy chocolate bar!). My poor little brother had to put up with a lot! Now […]
Who Will You Invite to Alpha?
Sometimes the “yes” takes you by surprise. I’ve been praying for my little brother for years and we’ve had countless spiritual conversations over those years. But as you know if you have a family member or a friend like that, you grow used to their rejection and even if you continue to share, you don’t […]
Celebrating Alpha
I often get asked how many people attended Alpha and to share the stories of those who came to faith. These are definitely things worth celebrating, but one question I rarely get asked is how many people invited to Alpha or to share a story of someone who invited to Alpha. Those stories demonstrate the […]
New beginnings at Alpha
Every person’s journey in faith started when another person was bold enough to share theirs. Who was it that helped YOU to discover faith? The Alpha team are such an encouragement to me because every individual is aware of their testimony…being invited to explore faith, invited to participate in Alpha, and invited into becoming a […]
Emotionally healthy
How did your family of origin handle conflict, emotions, and stress? British culture is true to its stereotype – the “stiff upper lip” and “keep calm and carry on” sayings you’ve heard ring true in my personal experience. Handling life and its challenges with poise and perseverance, grace and grit, are the values I inherited. […]
Gather here.
Do you remember the first time you felt able to truly be yourself in church: questions, pain and rough edges included? For me that place was my first experience of Alpha 20 years ago. It’s the first place it felt okay to share my spiritual doubts, my theological questions and my real-life, real-time hurt. In […]
How to pursue a healthier version of you
First thing in the morning and every day after work, my dogs go wild when they see me. They wiggle their tails, bounce with excitement, and push their way into a hug. Every inch of their little bodies is filled with the kind of joy I can only describe it as pure delight. It’s an […]
A prayer for this Mother’s Day
I’m grateful for the tradition I grew up with in the UK of honoring all women on Mother’s Day. Old, young, kids at home, kids grown, never had kids at all. Every year as little kids we would run round the church giving daffodils to every woman in the pews. God’s family comes in all […]