Word on Fire series helps parish fellowship grow their faith

Frank Miles, Scripture Group leader at both Whippany’s Our Lady of Mercy and Convent Station’s St. Thomas More parishes, is in an exceptionally good mood on a recent Wednesday morning.

Miles said, “We had one of our Scrip­ture Group meetings last night at Our Lady of Mercy, and we had a great evening.”

Seventeen of the 22 members attended.

Miles and his group are currently studying Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire DVDs about “Catholi­cism.” Last year, the group studied video presentations of the “Parables of Jesus,” but this year switched gears.

“ ‘Catholicism’ is narrated by Bishop Barron,” Miles said. “This is recorded in 25 different countries around the world, and the scenery is fantastic.”

The Scripture Group meets beginning in September and takes a break for the summer.

Miles started a Scripture Group at St. Thomas More (his home parish) when he taught Religious Education there 25 years ago. When both Our Lady of Mercy and St. Thomas More combined their Religious Education programs, Miles embraced that dual role, as well as the idea of bringing scripture study to Our Lady of Mercy.

When he discovered a number of video series that would enhance discussion, he pivoted to a different format.

He said, “It gives more interest to people, and it broadens our faith because some of these videos — they are amazing. They really are beautiful. It is entertaining, but at the same time, there is a real message, and then when we talk about it afterward, then we pull out, if you will, what appeals to us and what it means to us.”

The group watches 30 minutes of a video in the series and then breaks into smaller groups to discuss how the video affected individuals. Miles also provides questions via PowerPoint to stimulate additional discussion.

Miles said, “The video is 10 segments, but each episode is about 55 minutes, and that is too long for each meeting, so I break it in half. We are going to do 20 sessions on Catholicism.”

Miles feels that both the videos and ensuing discussions are very beneficial.

He said, “We do have some very lively discussions, and I think what the discussion does is allow us to share each individual’s aspects and outlooks on our faith because we all learn from each other. We can watch the video — and sure, we get a lot out of that — but that sharing of thoughts broadens our own faith. I think from a faith standpoint, the discussion afterward is more important, while the video is like a catalyst, a stimulator.”

The Our Lady of Mercy Scripture Group meets every other Tuesday in a classroom at Our Lady of Mercy School. The St. Thomas More group meets on alternating Wednesday afternoons in the parish church building. If interested in joining the Scripture Group, contact Frank Miles at [email protected] or 973-538-6554.