Nicole Bitelli (second from right) leads a Discovery faith study at Christ the Redeemer Parish on Wednesdays with Maureen Giefing (left), Maria Law, Gail O’Mahony, and Denise Lawlor. (Photo submitted)
“We have, for a long time, made the Alpha course a very important priority at our parish and we’ve had a number of successful Alphas every year: some bigger, some smaller,” Msgr. Smith told The B.C. Catholic.
“This year, we decided to go big or go home.” The parish sent invitations to every family in the parish boundaries, Catholic or not, to Mass on Christmas Day. At that Mass, and on several following occasions, the pastor talked about Alpha during his homily.
“As a result, we had the largest Alpha we ever had.” An estimated 160 people joined Alpha at the start, and after the first few weeks, three-quarters of them were coming back regularly.
“We’ve never had such a response,” said Msgr. Smith.
He decided to harness that energy. Once the weekly Alpha program had run its course, the parish offered Discovery, a six-week faith formation program by Catholic Christian Outreach. About 75 Alpha alumni signed up.
We’ve had a number of successful Alphas every year: some bigger, some smaller. This year, we decided to go big or go home.
“We hit a sweet spot with the combination of Alpha and Discovery being very flexible and meeting a number of needs,” he said.
Has one comment to “West Vancouver parish see fruits of evangelization efforts”
Robert Troy - November 21, 2023
Hello. My name is Robert Troy. Previously Robert Trojan. I happened across your webpage and notice a close friend of my family when i was a child. I just wanted to say hello to Mrs Denise Lawlor. I have very fond memories of her and the Lawlor family growing up. She was very kind, generous, with a wonderful sense of humour and a strong faith in Our lord Jesus Christ. I just wanted to thank her for all her kindness she showed us so many years ago. My mother Claire is alive and well with the rest of us in Calgary. Sadly my dad Nicholas and brother Nick jr passed away recently. I’m very sorry to hear about Declan Sr. He was a wonderful, caring, charismatic good man who i will always remember fondly. I hope Declan and Tanya are both well. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you wish to catch up. I can also put you in contact with my mom if you care to reunite. My number is403-478-5957Love Robert