Alpha evangelization course brings Chinese inquirers to the faith in Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Nov 10, 2024 / 06:00 am

Catechism and good food were combined on election night 2024 in Michigan as an Alpha evangelization course introduced the Catholic faith to Chinese inquirers in an atmosphere of love and understanding, according to its organizers.

Enthusiasm and apparent joy bubbles up from Caroline Gambale-Dirkes, director of evangelization at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as she described the Alpha course for Chinese-speakers and its results.

“There were a few miracles along the way,” Gambale-Dirkes told CNA. “There are a lot of amazing stories.”

Alpha began as a course of evangelization within the Anglican Church in England in 1977 and has since expanded to include various Christian traditions, including hundreds of Catholic parishes. It is an 11-week course, online or in person, where committed Christians share their faith in conversation with inquirers. According to AlphaUSA, in 2023 more than 74,000 people participated in parish programs for adults.

Gambale-Dirkes and facilitators joined some dozen Alpha participants at a local restaurant in Ann Arbor on Nov. 5. Each table had at least one Mandarin-speaker trained to facilitate discussion and ensure a friendly atmosphere where talking about faith and the heart can take place. Every Alpha meeting begins with dinner and fellowship, followed by a video presentation about questions of faith and ending with a small-group discussion. 

Gambale-Dirkes said the parish had given Alpha courses for young adults, especially students at the nearby University of Michigan, since 2022. That year, she attended an Alpha national conference with Catholic bishops, priests, and religious. She later asked her pastor, Father Bill Ashbaugh: “What’s your dream, what’s your hope for evangelization in the parish?” 

She was not ready for his answer: “It’s to have a Chinese Alpha.” Once she saw videos of the new Alpha course in Mandarin, she recalled, “I started crying and was so moved by it. I felt like God was telling me, ‘I’m calling you to do this. This is what I want you to do.’”

The first Chinese Alpha course in Ann Arbor started in the fall of 2023. Participants have come from China, Singapore, Taiwan, and the U.S. 

CNA spoke with Elena Feng, an expectant mother who took the Alpha course last year and is now an Alpha facilitator while participating in Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) in preparation for baptism during Easter 2025.

In an interview, Feng said that when she married her husband, Nate Murray, she wanted to know more about his Catholic faith. 

“In China, I learned in school about religions from the outside or from history, but not as faith. With my husband, I went to Mass, and now I want more,” she said. 

She looks forward to the birth and baptism of their first child later this month. While Feng said she sees common strands in Buddhism and Christian faith, it is the prospect of an afterlife with God in company with her loved ones that has emboldened her faith.

Ashbaugh told CNA that he is very pleased with the progress of Alpha and that an urge to extend it to the Chinese community had been a long-held conviction. The opportunity for evangelization was obvious because of the numbers of Chinese students and faculty in the area.

“I’ve always had it on my heart. Many years ago, in prayer, I had a dream or a vision in which I very clearly saw a tortured Chinese priest covered with cuts on his body. He turned to me and showed the difficulty he was in. But his posture, with hands extended, was one of ‘Please pray and help. In solidarity, please pray for the Church in China,’” he said.

Deeply moved, Ashbaugh spoke no Mandarin but was concerned about how the Church was faring in China; but he doubted that he would ever travel there. With the onset of the Alpha courses, an opportunity opened up to evangelize the Chinese living in Michigan.

“Here they are! Let’s go fishing, let’s cast the net,” he said.

Ashbaugh found willing Mandarin-speaking volunteers to help the 2023 Alpha, which saw several participants enter the Church. Enthusiasm among those touched by Alpha has grown since then. The priest said he was soon to meet again a group of Chinese inquirers who wanted to learn more about the faith that had not been covered otherwise.

“They have much deeper questions. I could have stayed for hours answering their questions,” he recalled. 

The message for fellow Catholics and priests, he said, is: “Pray and look at the demographics of your community. As priests, we are responsible for all the souls of our parish territory. We have to ask, ‘Who are the sheep? Where are they?’ Then get to know them and then ask, ‘What can we do to serve these souls?’ The Gospel is meant to be shared, it’s not meant to be insular.”

The efforts have been worth the costs, Ashbaugh said, saying: “Even one soul is worth it. A life is changed forever after meeting Christ. Who can put a value on that?”

“Let’s keep praying for the Church in China,” he concluded. “My goodness, imagine if the Chinese people came to faith in Jesus Christ! That would be huge. The Lord wants all people to come to know the good news of the kingdom and experience his love and mercy and the faith in the life to come. We need to think broadly and bring the Gospel to Chinese people everywhere.”