Got Questions About Life?

Alpha is coming to Peapack-Gladstone. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Gladstone along with Peapack Reformed Church will be offering Alpha to the general public on Sunday Evenings at 6:30PM at St. Luke’s starting on January 10th. Dinner and discussion are included as they are an essential part of the Alpha Experience. There is no charge for persons who wish to attend and all are welcome. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is located at 182 Main Street, Gladstone, NJ.

Alpha is a program that explores the meaning of life from the perspective of the Christian faith (Is There More to Life than This? How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life?). Over 27 million people throughout the world have participated in an Alpha Course. It was developed at Holy Trinity Church, an Anglican Church in Brompton, United Kingdom, specifically to help those who have drifted away from church or who have never gone to church. The goal is to provide a safe place that welcomes questions for those desiring a deeper spirituality and a place to listen, to discuss and to explore faith and meaning. This program has been sponsored by churches in well over 100 different denominations.

Alpha features video presentations by Nicky Gumbel, formerly an atheist with a very poor view of church who is now an Anglican vicar at Holy Trinity, presenting humorous but thoughtful talks that tell the Christian story through logic, evidence and experience.

“Those from our community who participated in our pilot run of Alpha found Nicky Gumbel to be quite compelling,” says the Reverend Dr. Kent Walley, rector of St. Luke’s Gladstone. “Alpha is a program that is great for people who have become leery about institutional religion. It takes a fresh look at faith and offers funny and yet intellectually intriguing presentations on Christian belief from a broad perspective that has been welcomed by people from many different denominational backgrounds. It can also be very refreshing for regular church goers to participate and help them better understand their faith.”

Reverend Kathy Henry, pastor at the Peapack Reformed Church says, “Alpha is a really wonderful program. Our two churches are glad to offer to the community the opportunity to explore faith in these difficult times when people are concerned about conflict regarding matters of religion and faith. People have to know what their own faith is to be able to join in conversation meaningfully about other faiths and religious viewpoints. My hope is that Alpha will help us learn to better talk to each other about peace.”

For more information, visit www.stlukesgladstone.org/alpha.