Although Siegfried has always considered himself ‘religious’, having grown up in the Catholic church and continuing to attend church regularly as an adult, he admits he didn’t think too deeply about faith.
“I always looked at it from a bit of a distance,” he notes. “Whenever my wife or someone else spoke to me about it, I would say, ‘I don’t have time and I believe in God anyway. I’ll deal with it later.’”
But deep down, he knew something was missing. His work in emergency services is all-consuming, with long and stressful shifts bringing him face to face with the fragility of life. Yet until he did an Alpha course, he didn’t think about or reach for God in the midst of these experiences.
Dealing with people’s fate
“I’m constantly dealing with people’s fate, with so many experiences and impressions in my head, which I can probably only process because someone is with me, helping me and working through me,” he says. “I am firmly convinced of that now but I wasn’t aware of that until the first Alpha session.”
Siegfried started attending a new Catholic church around two years ago, which began running Alpha. He was intrigued by what he heard about it, so signed up. From the very first session he was struck by the warmth of the young Alpha team.
“I felt very comfortable, like when you go to a friend’s house. You simply feel you are welcome and that makes you want to come back again,” he recalls.
Week after week, as he forged new friendships and explored faith, Siegfried felt new life being breathed into his relationship with God.
Sense of community
“I think that many people haven’t experienced this sense of community, this great love of God. They just go to church on Sundays. Church is part of it but it’s not the only thing. My path with God became more intense with Alpha. I now live more consciously and feel the Holy Spirit with me every day.”
This has significantly impacted his working life, where he draws on his new awareness of the Holy Spirit to help him. One example is when he took a call from parents whose child had fallen into the pool. As he dealt with the situation, Siegfried silently prayed.
Just like you do a first aid course and get your driver’s license, you should do an Alpha course at least once in your life. It’s so important!
“As we were about to start resuscitating the child over the phone, while the emergency services were on their way, I heard the child starting to cry. I thanked God afterwards, saying ‘Thank you, Holy Spirit, that we managed this together.’”
Having experienced this transformation in his own life, Siegfried is now part of the Alpha team at his church, eager to help others: “Just like you do a first aid course and get your driver’s license, you should do an Alpha course at least once in your life. It’s so important!”
