St Thomas Church

The following courses are offered at St Thomas's at intervals to address the needs of a wide variety of people.  They are designed to assist in finding answers to questions, to deepen faith and to draw people closer to God.

THE ALPHA COURSE:  Alpha is for those who want questions about Christianity answered or who want to strengthen and deepen their faith.  It is a wonderful entry point into the church.  It addresses many of the basic Christian issues such as: Who is Jesus?, How can I be sure of my faith? Who is the Holy Spirit? What about the church?  The course consists of eleven Wednesday evenings from 6.45 pm to 9.15 pm.

THE MARRIAGE COURSE:  Rediscover the wonders of your partner whilst having a lot of fun - you are never too old!  This course is all about enriching your relationship.  The format of the evening is an intimate dining and private catch-up time, short video, PRIVATE discussion time. (NO SHARING/DISCUSSION WITH OTHER COUPLES!)  The course consists of an introductory dinner and 7 subsequent evenings over a 3 month period.

THE BAPTISM COURSE:  Find out exactly what it is that you are promising in the vows you make when you bring your child for baptism.  The course outlines ways in which parents can faithfully fulfil these promises.  It consists of between 1 and 3 evening sessions in the home of a mentor couple.

THE CONFIRMATION COURSE:  This course thoroughly prepares candidates for their public response of faith in which they will commit their lives to Christ and renew the promises made on their behalf when they were baptised as infants.  The 4 components of the course are Sunday Worship, the Teaching Programme, meetings with a Sponsor and Personal Spiritual Discipline.  The group will meet weekly - excluding school holidays - for a 5-6 month period and will attend a weekend retreat during that period.

THE LENT COURSE:  Every year for the six weeks of Lent a course is organised giving people the opportunity to explore, at depth, a theme appropriate to the season.  The Sunday sermons are directed by that theme and special Lent groups are established.  These meet on different days of the week and at a variety of differnt times so that people have the maximum possible choice.  These groups discuss the material provided in the sermon and explore the issues raised.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT:  People who have suffered a recent bereavement are offered the solace and support of a small group of people who are undergoing the same anguish.  The meetings are facilitated by one of our clergy.  They are held fortnightly over a period decided on by the group members.