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Basics courses: my Alpha experience

by
09 February 2011

iStock

From Mr Dennis J. Sloan

Sir, — With regard to “Christian basics” (Comment, 28 January; Letters, 4 February) surely there is no better way of connecting with the faith than through a direct contact with the Holy Spirit.

After a lifetime of churchgoing, I had my first real encounter on the Holy Spirit day of my Alpha course last year. It was a fascin­ating and beautiful experience. I would not have missed it for the world.

After a fine lunch we all gathered for prayer. One church member sang an emotional gospel song in a low voice as he played his guitar while the vicar prayed in tongues and with his hands shaking rather like some one with Parkinson’s disease.

During this procedure, some members of the congregation who already had some experience of the Holy Spirit wandered around the room, offering to pray for those of us who did not. The whole idea seemed to be to invoke the Holy Spirit to turn up and change the lives of the unsaved.

The Holy Spirit very obligingly did turn up and made itself avail­able to at least four members of the congregation, one of whom said that she actually “felt it go in”.

I am not quite sure of the point of entry, but I believe it was the fore­head.

It was a deeply moving experi­ence, and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I recommend it.

DENNIS J. SLOAN
Popinjay, Balmoral Road
Kingsdown, Kent CT14 8DB

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