AROUND 120 priests from Visayas and Mindanao will converge Friday for a two-day Alpha Course for the Clergy seminar at Pearlmont Hotel, this city.
The Alpha for the Clergy is designed for parish priests, heads of ministry and apostolate, and lay parish leaders.
The two-day seminar will introduce Alpha Course through the Catholic Context as a re-evangelization tool that will be used as basic seminar to form and strengthen the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC).
Alpha Course is a course on the basic of Christian faith. It is commonly known through its slogan “An Opportunity to Explore the Meaning of Life.”
The course is also designed to settle questions whether Christianity is boring, untrue or irrelevant.
“Alpha emphasizes the basic of Christian faith. It lets you answer the never-ending question in our lives such as ‘Is there more to life than this?’” said Dr. Bennie Sy, PhD, regional director of Alpha Course for Visayas and Mindanao.
Dr. Sy said they are introducing to the church another tool to proclaim the Gospel in a simpler, practical and non-threatening manner.
“We hope that this will help win back parishioners who are no longer active or involve in the life of the church," he said.
Alpha had already been piloted in some of the parishes in the Visayas and mostly in Mindanao. To name a few, it had already initially give seminars and retreats to the parishes of Santa Antonio de Padua Parish in Barangay Nazareth, San Isidro Labrador in Barangay Gusa, Virgen dela Candelaria Parish in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, the Miraculous Medal Parish in Barangay Lumbia, Immacualte Concepcion Parish in Barangay Bulua, Jesus Nazareno Parish in Barangay 26, San Rita Parish in Gingoog City and San Vicente Ferrer in Urgello, Cebu City.
“We evangelize church leaders and train them so as they could stand alone evangelizing others within their respective parishes,” Sy added.
Rev. Antonio J. Ledesma, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, will deliver the welcome message during the opening of the seminar.
The Alpha Course for the Clergy is sponsored by the Commission on Faith and Evangelization (Ad Intra Ministries) of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, Alpha Course Philippine Foundation Inc., Alpha Malaysia and Ang Kahayag sa Diyos Community.