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Scotland
Welcomes Business Alpha Initiative
OASIS
Edinburgh and members of the Edinburgh business community
have joined forces to launch the first Business Alpha Course
undertaken in Scotland. Business Alpha Edinburgh made its
debut on Thursday 28th February 2002 at 12.45 p.m. in the
Roxburghe Hotel, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.
It has been estimated that some 4 million people have attended
an Alpha Course worldwide. However, Business Alpha Edinburgh
breaks new ground as the Alpha course has not yet been directed
principally towards those employed in Scottish businesses,
and certainly not during their working day.
The first course was a great success, with as many as 61 people attending one or other lunchtime. Each Thursday saw about 25 people gather for soup and sandwiches in the elegant surroundings of the Consort Suite. They then heard a joke or two prior to a 15 minute talk. Then there was lively discussion at the tables.
Buzz from our times together reached as far afield as two cities in Australia where similar initiatives are now getting underway.
Business Alpha Edinburgh is sponsored by the leading non-profit organisation, OASIS, a service of Edinburgh's West End churches into the business community. Iain Archibald, Consultant to OASIS, expressed his delight at their association with this innovative project. "OASIS were approached by a business person several months and asked to run an Alpha course directed towards the 12,000 men and women working in Edinburgh's West End. We are thrilled to be involved in this bold new initiative." Archibald adds "OASIS exists to allow business men and women to explore the links between work and spirituality. This venture provides an ideal forum for people to do so in a relaxed and informal way."
The condensed lunchtime Alpha course runs for 12 weeks. It addresses themes such as "Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?"; "How does God guide us?" "How can I make the most of the rest of my life?" Research and feedback gathered by organisations such as OASIS has indicated that despite individual increased wealth and personal possessions, many of us are desperately seeking to find additional meaning to our lives. Business Alpha Edinburgh provides a unique forum for cash-rich but time-poor individuals in business to explore the meaning of life.
ENDS
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