Study service helps parishioners get excited about faith

Formed offers Catholic videos, movies and books as part of online faith formation

Published: November 2, 2015

By Fran Presley
Texarkana Correspondent

Fran Presley

Kelli Nugent, director of faith formation at St. Edward Church in Texarkana, brought Formed to southwest Arkansas to expand faith formation opportunities for parishioners.

Fran Presley

Kelli Nugent, director of faith formation at St. Edward Church in Texarkana, brought Formed to southwest Arkansas to expand faith formation opportunities for parishioners.

TEXARKANA — Online adult faith formation is coming to southwest Arkansas.

At St. Edward Church in Texarkana, pastor Father Paul Worm told parishioners the parish has bought a subscription to Formed, an online program giving Catholics access in one place to some of the best videos, audio talks, e-books and movies available in the Church today. The subscription includes mission churches St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Ashdown and Sacred Heart in Foreman. Every parishioner received a card with a code necessary to get access. It is just a small card but opening a door to big treasures.

Kelli Nugent, director of faith formation, said, “Any member with Internet access can use Formed. They can use these programs in study groups, classes and at home. The mission churches almost always miss out on special events at St. Edward. And some parishioners of St. Edward also live a long way from the church. They can watch these programs online and download workbooks and discussion questions.”

Rose Trabbic of Ignatius Press told Arkansas Catholic that the Formed project is a joint venture between Ignatius Press, the Augustine Institute and Lighthouse Media. Formed offers access to many of the Church’s most knowledgeable teachers, such as Dr. Edward Sri, Dr. Scott Hahn, Teresa Tomeo and Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron. The program also is currently being used at St. Joseph Church in Tontitown.

At St. Edward, Formed was made-to-order for Alison Mayo and the class of 20- to 40-year-olds she leads. When Nugent told Mayo about Formed, Mayo embraced the program with enthusiasm. Her group is the first class to use Formed.

“We didn’t pay much attention to religious education when we were young,” she said. “We want to learn the faith again. We want to be able to pass it along to our children.”

She said the class is made up of “a wonderful group of people who all have the same goals in mind — to strengthen our Catholic faith and get to know our church family.”

At present, the class is watching “Beloved,” a series of videos on the mystery and meaning of marriage.

“This material has ignited a fire in many of us,” class member Justin White said. “Now more than ever, as a husband, father and Catholic, I have truly begun to push myself as a Christian. I find myself eager to get up and excited to learn more in our Sunday school class. I look forward to Mass more and more, and I am striving to teach my children more about their faith, because these materials have given us so much useful information. I love my church family more today than ever before, and it is because of these study guides — along with God — which have helped strengthen that bond.”

White said he also enjoys the discussion that follows each “Beloved” video.

“I look forward to plenty of time to talk, hold conversations between all of us. We as a group discuss each lesson and share our feelings with one another. We discuss the struggles each of us faces, and we offer ways to overcome them. We do this several ways: either something we have learned in our study guides has helped address an issue, or we turn to each other for prayer, or we share what we as couples may have gone through during a difficult time.”

Brandy Debenport’s husband Dan works and cannot come to the Sunday class, so they watch the videos online. She said they are learning to be willing to “lay down our lives for one another every day. And it is good to know your Catholic buddies are doing it, too.”

White said he sees another benefit to Formed.

“In this predominantly Protestant area we live in, we often find ourselves being cornered by our Protestant friends asking us questions that some of us may not have the answers to,” he said, “so we as a group are hungry to learn how to defend our faith.”

Individual and parish monthly subscriptions are available. For more information, visit formed.org.