The Holy Spirit was obviously present and working during the recent Alpha Weekend Away. An amazing 165 guests from five parishes participated, including people from Saint Benedict, Christ the King
(Dartmouth), Holy Trinity (Sackville), Stella Maris (Spryfield), and Saint Ignatius (Bedford).

The most notable part of the weekend is the Holy Spirit talk, which is followed by an opportunity for guests to come forward and be prayed over by prayer team members. The time of prayer is private between guest and team, but the pouring out of the Holy Spirit is visible to everyone in the room.

During the final hours of the weekend, there is a time to share for anyone who wants to talk about their experiences of Alpha thus far. Here is some of what they said:

- One guest shared that they felt the Holy Spirit holding them during a time of Praise & Worship, and what a beautiful comfort that was.
- A guest shared that they felt Alpha allowed them to remove a metaphorical mask, and that it gave them immense relief.
- A family shared that Alpha was what connected them to Saint Benedict Parish. They even moved apartments to be closer to the church.
- One guest shared that they had lived in Debert, when it was a military barrack many years ago, and coming back made them realize that “the military did not build Debert; the Holy Spirit built Debert.”

The Weekend Away is the foundation of the Alpha program. Alpha sees lost and broken people, some who would not even walk into a church, come out of the weekend healed from years of damage. It sees lifelong Christians experience the Holy Spirit in a real, tangible way.

Do you know someone who went to the Weekend Away? Ask them about it. If you’ve not yet tried Alpha, this should give you the inspiration to sign up for a winter session that will include a Weekend Away, one where you can experience the Holy Spirit alive in Debert!

This article was originally published in the December 2019 issue of the Bene Dictus.