A primary school teacher in Yorkshire aims to transform Catholic nones’ faith experience through an innovative online video series.
Greg Finn, an educator from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary Academy, has launched “The Redeemed“, a weekly video project designed to encourage stillness, prayer and spiritual reflection among Catholic secondary school students.
Aiming to engage the “Nones”
Finn’s initiative targets a growing trend of young people identifying as nones – those who profess no religious affiliation.
He aims to provide teenagers with a fresh way to connect with their faith.
“The Redeemed is here to help teenagers encounter Jesus in a life-changing way” Finn said.
“It is a new way for young people to enter the presence of God, a weekly video series to help a new generation experience the Gospel.”
The videos, each about 10 minutes long, feature reflections on spiritual themes that resonate with teenagers.
Finn explained that the series aims to prioritise an experience of God’s presence over traditional intellectual formation.
Follows success of Lockdown Project
The Redeemed is not Finn’s first foray into digital ministry.
During the COVID-19 lockdown he created the “Mark 10 Mission”, a video series that helped children engage with Catholic teaching when they could not attend Mass.
The project was widely adopted by schools across England, creating 86 videos in 2023 alone.
Drawing on the success of Mark 10 Mission, Finn hopes his latest venture will have a similar impact on older students.
New voice for a new generation
Georgia Clarke (pictured), director of youth ministry at St Elizabeth of Portugal church in Surrey, plays a key role in “The Redeemed”.
Clarke believes the series will appeal to young people by offering authenticity.
“We introduce some pretty big themes through the videos” Clarke said.
“The fact that they’ll be hearing our authentic voice is something that makes it stand out.”
She added that today’s youth are more open to spiritual exploration but seek leaders who are genuine.
“What I see from our young people is that they are super-open, but they want to see openness from those who are trying to lead them—otherwise they build up walls.”