Denver Catholic

In partnership with Father Vaillant, Matthew and Shannon launched their parish 's participation in Alpha, an international program meant to provide a warm, supportive place for seekers to encounter Jesus and his Church. Having recently finished their sixth session, the program's impact can be clearly seen, with the parish welcoming 26 people into the Church this year, a five-fold increase over three years. "Alpha has transformed the spirit of the parish," Father Vaillant told the Denver Catholic. "The spirit of Alpha makes its way up into the church. It has changed the way parishioners interact with each other. There has been so much fruit!" "Now we have somewhere to invite people we meet that might be far away from the Church," he con- tinued. "We don't necessarily invite them right to Mass, but to Alpha, to a communit y where they can come as they are and feel loved." The communit y setting has been transformative for participants, who return session after session and even bring friends, family, neighbors and strangers along. Such was the case for Rich and his family. "I was going through a lot of darkness. I was going down into a pit," Rich shared. "Even though I had my family and knew what love was, I never understood what true love and acceptance were until I met God." Amid that darkness, Rich found himself pacing his living room one day, yelling at God, moments from telling his wife he no longer believed in God. "If you're real, show me!" he cried out. At that precise moment, his door- bell rang, and Rich opened the door to find Chuck on his front stoop. The St. Catherine's parishioner and his team- mate were out in the neighborhood 44 JUNE-JULY 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC Top: Chuck with Rich and his family at the final Alpha session of Winter/ Spring 2024. Left: Rich served as emcee of the latest Alpha session at St. Catherine of Siena.

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