Mike Quinnell, our CPA (North East) Regional Coordinator and Paul Wright, a retired officer and Minister have concluded the first online Alpha course directly for police officers and staff.
The advantage of being online for the 13 week programme was that, even where work commitments prevented a member of the group from attending every week, the video and study notes relating to each week were sent out in advance. This allowed all participants to study the notes and to watch the video every week. Questions and discussion could take place during Zoom meetings or in a WhatsApp group.
The general feeling from those on this first police themed online Alpha course, was that it has been a great encouragement to all who took part. All participants were either serving or retired officers and staff. This ensured that everyone who took part had real experience of the difficult and demanding nature of the modern day police service. The subjects within the course were then discussed in the light of that experience.
There was a healthy mixture of participants. Some were searching and wanting to know more about the Christian faith and others were already walking with Lord and were searching for a deeper understanding of the Scriptures.
It is hoped that CPA will be able to coordinate another Police themed online Alpha Course in late September. If you are interested please contact the CPA Head Office at [email protected] for more information.
“The course has really strengthened my faith and given me the opportunity to think, discuss and be critical of every aspect of it. As we all mentioned several times [during the programme], the ability to share that with police colleagues who have seen similar things and also sometimes struggle with their faith in the face of such evil, just added a new dimension into the mix. The entirety of our time spent together, albeit miles apart, was a beautiful moment of sharing in God’s love for one another.”
