A new visual educational resource to aid our Catholic faith journey has been launched today, Monday 2 May.

Chris Noonan, a parishioner at All Souls Church, Coventry, has created ‘Mustard Seeds’ and will be producing a series of short films on various topics connected to the Catholic faith.

These will be available for school and parish use across the country.

In recent months Chris has interviewed Archbishop Bernard Longley on the Season of Lent, and Auxiliary Bishops David Evans and Stephen Wright regarding the various aspects of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Mustard Seeds website has gone live today and features information about the project, as well as a shop page to buy the first full series - six videos about the Sacrament of Confirmation - which schools and parishes are able to download to use as part of sacramental preparation programmes.

The downloads will enable schools and parishes to use the series as many times as they like, so schools can use them with numerous year groups over the coming years.

There will also be an optional pack of PDF files to accompany the series, so pupils can build up a file of key facts and thoughts ahead of making their Confirmation.

The website is also offering a short video about Miracles - suitable for assemblies or a starting point for group discussions - which is free to download for any school and parish joining the Mustard Seeds mailing list.

Over the coming months Chris is aiming to offer further free downloads, along with paid downloads, to offer choice.

Chris launched the Mustard Seeds project having created a number of short Gospel reflections during Lent and Advent throughout the pandemic.

“I spoke to friends and colleagues within the Catholic education sector and there seemed to be very limited options for relevant video content to complement the RE curriculum,” said Chris.

“Having spent the past 20 years working as a television sports cameraman and running my own media company, Pin Sharp Ltd, I decided to try and use my filming and editing skills to provide a solution for schools and parishes who would like to offer contemporary, professional video content that covers areas of the Catholic curriculum.”

Future plans for Mustard Seeds include two or three short films for assemblies/small groups before the end of June, a four-part series on the Season of Advent to be released in late September, the Season of Lent six-part series to be available by the end of the year and a series on First Holy Communion to be released in due course.

“In time I hope to have a library of nicely-produced video series and shorts suitable for all manner of occasions for Catholic schools and parishes,” added Chris.

“This is shaping up to be a great project and I’m enjoying meeting new people along the way. I’ve received great support from people at the Kenelm Youth Trust (KYT) and across the Archdiocese and there seems to be a genuine enthusiasm for what this project is trying to achieve. Initial feedback from the teachers and priests I've liaised with has been exceptionally positive.”

Find out more on the Mustard Seeds website and follow on Twitter @MSeedsVideo