Across the 21 counties and 69 parishes in the Arlington
Diocese, there are countless opportunities for Catholics to
learn about their faith. Yet each parish faces the same
challenge: Actually getting people to show up to events.
To help address that challenge, the Arlington Diocese will
help parishes pay for access to an online resource for faith
formation. Nicknamed “Netflix for Catholics,” FORMED features Catholic study
programs, audio presentations, e-books and movies to help
them learn more about their faith.
“We have the worst traffic and the longest commutes in the
country,” said John Knutsen, coordinator of adult faith
formation. “There are a lot of very busy people in our
diocese who just can’t come to parish events … It
allows those people to be fed while at the same time giving
parishes a tool to reach out to those who are disengaged. And
more than that, I think it can really help our committed
Catholics evangelize their friends and families and bring
people back to the faith.”
Each parish that has signed up has an access code for the
website that can be shared with anyone within their parish
boundaries. The diocese is underwriting the cost so that
parishes can access FORMED for just half the regular price,
$770 a year. About 30 percent of the parishes in the diocese
currently subscribe.
FORMED is a relatively new resource, launched by the
Augustine Institute in Denver, Colo., last September. The
website draws on the resources from the Institute, which
professionally records all of its classes for a distance
education program, and offers dozens of audio talks from
Lighthouse Catholic Media (which has merged with FORMED).
Ignatius Press, which is a co-owner, offers e-books from
authors such as Archbishop Fulton Sheen and retired Pope
Benedict XVI. FORMED also features a growing amount of
content in Spanish.
“Our mission is to help people to learn, live and share their
faith. And we wanted to give people a tool to do just that,”
said Dan Donaldson, director of diocesan and strategic
partnerships at the Augustine Institute. “We live in an
Internet age. We live in a digital age. Everybody uses the
Internet and we see it as the new Roman roads. Like St. Paul
in the early church, the Gospel was spread through the
communications system of the day.”
Donaldson said that some parishes have found creative ways to
evangelize using FORMED. One Texas parish mailed its access
code to 35,000 people within the parish boundaries. Another
in Ohio sent it to 12,000 people.
“We have a multitude of stories of people coming back into
the church and people getting baptized,” said Donaldson.
He gave the example of a mother in Colorado Springs, a
Catholic convert who would argue about the faith with her
evangelical son. The mother shared FORMED with her son
shortly after the website launched and he started watching
the videos and listening to the audio presentations,
Donaldson said.
“He had questions about the saints; he had questions about
Mary,” Donaldson said. After “it came down to the Eucharist,”
the son watched Lectio: Eucharist, a 10-part
video-based study. “It convinced him to convert and he
actually came into the church on Easter.”
Donaldson hopes that many more Catholics will follow the
mother’s example when they use FORMED. “It gives us an
extraordinary way to spread the Gospel,” he said.
Find out more
Visit formed.org. Ask your
parish first if there is an access code for parishioners.
Individual plans are available at $9.99 a month for people
who are not signed up through their parish, but not all the
materials are available. Parishes may contact John Knutsen at
703/841-3802 or [email protected].
