autumn e-news

A new edition of the youthalpha e-news goes out today. If you haven't got it in your inbox, you can check it out on the web here. If you're here because of the mention in the e-news, welcome!
If you'd like to be on or off the mailing list, just let me know and i'll sort it for you. The easiest way is by emailing me: richard (at) alpha dot org.

We've just made the transition from downloadable pdf newsletter to a true e-news - let me know what you think, and i'll let our comms guy in on the feedback.

Hope Friday is going well for you, and all the best for Anzac weekend. I think it is the strongest expression of 'remembrance' in NZ culture - so enjoy those conversations around remembering and sacrifice, and what it means to those around us.

Training Day Season

It’s that time of year, the time when youthalpha training comes to a city near you. Of course, ‘near’ is a relative term, but we all know a bit of travel is good for team bonding! I reckon it's worth the effort and I'd love to have you being a part of the day. It's those unique contributions that make it really worthwhile so the more the merrier!

You need to know it's not just a 'talking heads' lecture, in fact, some of the best stuff is when we give you the chance to discuss things with each other (a typical alpha move) and especially when we unleash your creative potential and let you do some of the presenting yourself! (We've seen a myriad of skits, table soccer, bins for hats, all kinds of things fly through the air, etc...)

We had a great time in Christchurch and Auckland, and the good news is there are still more bananas and cotton wool balls for the rest of the country to experience training the youthalpha way.

Come and get involved in these locations:

Lower Hutt
Saturday 21st March - Knox Presbyterian Church

Balclutha
Saturday 28th March - St Marks Anglican Church

Hamilton
Saturday 9th May - Hamilton Central Baptist

training days '09

Just in case you haven’t seen them, the dates of the first 5 training days have been set. Do let me know if you are considering coming along – and how many from your team you want to bring.

Christchurch
28th February - South City Christian Centre

Auckland
7th March - Greenlane Christian Centre

Lower Hutt
21st March - Knox Presbyterian Church

Balclutha
28th March - St Marks Anglican Church

Hamilton
9th May - Hamilton Central Baptist

away next week

Next week I may be harder to reach as I will be out of the office, putting on my studentalpha hat (of course that's a metaphor but if anyone out there is good at hat-making I am interested in exploring the possibilities). I am very grateful to the good people at T.S.C.F. Who are letting me attend some of their student leaders conference. It will be great to enter into discussion about running alpha in a tertiary student context and all that is involved. As you can imagine, there is a different set of needs and styles involved - but the purpose is the same: reach out and assist people in exploring the big questions of life and introduce them to Christianity in a well considered, pressure-free way. Your prayers are appreciated in this, and if you have a heartbeat for tertiary students or know someone who does then do get in touch.

I'll check my emails as often as I am able to next week, but may not be able to get back to you quickly. Feel free to get in touch with the national office though, details on our website.