Senior Alpha
Alpha for an older generation
Senior Alpha has been structured to minister to older people aged 75 and over and is ideal for running in churches, retirement homes, sheltered accommodation and care homes. It follows the same basic format as classic Alpha but with a slightly different approach. For guest-facing information please visit the Senior Alpha website.
Our Vision
The vision for Senior Alpha is to give every 'older generation' person in the UK an opportunity to attend an Alpha course and to play our part in reaching the older generation with the good news about Jesus.
Elizabeth, a 76 year old great-grandma says "I was married for 20 years, had three daughters, but sadly divorced when the girls were teenagers." She became depressed, suffering from stress and panic attacks.
When she retired from nursing, she moved down to Bath and by chance she saw an advertisement for an Alpha course and went along. "This turned my life around. I changed and yet I was still 'me' and I came to truly believe in God....Alpha is friendly and you can take part at your own pace. In the beginning I didn't say anything in the discussions and it didn't matter at all!"
Start a Course
Courses are run in churches, people's homes, in sheltered accommodation and residential homes. Take a look at How to run a course. We can give helpful advice on setting up Senior Alpha courses and link you with other contacts in your area. We have 'Getting started' documents written by experienced Senior Alpha Administrators for setting up the course in a residential home, sheltered accommodation or a church lunch club setting.
Here's a story of Senior Alpha being run in Germany
Resources
Order the Introductory Guide in addition to the Senior Alpha Guest and Leaders' Manuals.
We have large print Guest manuals with all the Bible verses printed out and in ring bound design. Large print 'Why Jesus?' booklets are also available.
We have found by experience that the older generation does not necessarily find it easy to sit through 25 minutes (e.g. the length of the Alpha Express DVDs). What we suggest is using a live speaker and interspersing the talk with group discussion so that no part of the talk is longer than 8 to 12 minutes maximum. Alternative using the Express DVDs but pausing for discussion at similar intervals. One strong point in favour of live speakers is that this age group generally already spend a large amount of time in front of the TV - what they don't necessarily get is a large amount of human interaction.
Small Group Follow Up Suggestions
Peter Diack, a Senior Alpha Advisor in West Sussex has suggestions on small group follow up which you can read here.
Another suggestion is the use of "50 Services of Christian Worship for Care Homes" which is written as a resource for those leading short times of worship in Care Homes and Retirement Accommodation. The services cover all the major events in the Christian calendar plus a variety of other biblical and topical themes. Each service should be stimulating, inter-active and is intended to encourage and strengthen faith in Jesus Christ.
The book costs £5 plus £1 p&p.
Please send cheque to:
PARCHE Office, St. Elisabeth's Church Centre, 268 Victoria Drive, Eastbourne, BN20 8LJ or alternatively email parcheenquiries@hotmail.co.uk .
Contact Us
As well as giving you more information about Senior Alpha we can help you get started and would love to hear from you.
Telephone: 0845 644 7544
Email: senior@alpha.org
Senior Alpha
Alpha International
Holy Trinity Brompton
Brompton Road
London
SW7 1JA
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Senior Alpha Article.pdf | 19.4 KB |
| Senior Alpha.JPG | 26.47 KB |
| Peter Diack notes.doc | 29 KB |
| Rosemary Evans.doc | 38 KB |
| Setting up Senior Alpha in your Church - Carol Gillard.doc | 35 KB |
| FOLLOW UP TO SENIOR ALPHA.doc | 30.5 KB |
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