As we approach our 16th year of doing Alpha at St. Michaels, we have yet another wedding to show for it!  It would be fascinating to look and see how many weddings Alpha has produced here at St. Michael’s.  This past week, I officiated the marriage of a couple who took Alpha last fall.  Kristin and Bernardo Perkinson not only met and fell in love with each other during Alpha, but fell in love with the one who brought them together, Jesus Christ.  (Read Kristin’s Testimony below)

While we don’t often do weddings on the beach, it was one of Kristin’s dreams, so we brought St. Michael’s to the beach. There were two very special elements to this wedding:  The first, as you can see from the picture, we used the St. Michael’s cross.  This cross is made out of old pew rails from St. Michael’s.  Secondly, in addition to their family, the spiritual family of St. Michael’s was present through their life group!  It was so rewarding seeing members of Bernardo and Kristin’s life group in attendance.   If you want to meet Bernardo and Kristin, all you have to do is attend the evening service as Bernardo is our newest guitarist on the 6pm Praise Team!
-The Rev. Al Zadig, Jr.+

In January 2009, I was living with my best friend since grade school, McLaurin Bruce. She was invited to Alpha at St. Michael’s by a friend, but did not want to go by herself so asked me to join her.  The first night of Alpha, I invited God into my life and knew that I needed to make changes in my life.  During the next few weeks, Bernardo and I began dating and I knew that there was something special about him. During the Alpha Weekend Away on Pawley’s Island, I prayed and asked God to allow me to forgive all of my past so that I may give my entire heart and love to Bernardo.  From that moment, God began to change my life in ways I never imagined and allowed Bernardo to see that he too wanted to change his life.  He attended Alpha in the Fall and we grew closer to God and fell more in love each day.  We participated on the Alpha team each season and during Fall 2010 Alpha Weekend in the Mountains, Bernardo proposed that Friday morning during a hot air balloon ride.  We then celebrated the engagement with our friends from St. Michael’s during the Alpha Weekend.  We thank Al Zadig and the Alpha Course for helping us bring God into our lives. God has brought us together to love one another for eternity. Wedding was May 21st at 6:00 pm on Folly Beach, SC.

~ Kristin Perkinson