1st United Methodist Church of Grants, New Mexico
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Settings for using musical
instruments and singing.
|
| Back to Main Page |
Settings for using musical
instruments and singing.
|
| Our hybrid-worship setup
results in the equivalent of a giant computer in the sanctuary running
Zoom. The screen is a twelve-foot-wide video image projected onto the
wall; the speaker is the sanctuary's sound system; the camera is a
video camera on a tripod; and the microphone is actually multiple
microphones connected to the sound-mixer board. There is no actual
giant computer! In fact the computer itself is a humble laptop computer
running Zoom software. The result is that our church can have some people in the sanctuary and some at home running Zoom on their computers. Zoom is free videoconferencing software. It allows everyone running Zoom to see each other and talk to each other. For our hybrid worship services, those in the sanctuary see those who are at home. The at-home people appear as thumbnail videos at the side of the screen. The main part of the screen is used to show videos of those speaking or singing, as well as any videos (or stills) used as part ot the service. This main part is also visible to those at home. During the joys and concerns part of our service, people at home can speak to those in the sanctuary as well as to others at home. Those in the sanctuary who have joys and concerns can talk into a microphone, with the result that everyone (including those at home) can hear them. And, people at home can also do readings that are part of the service. In fact, the sermon could even be preached from home. Same goes for solos. During the pandemic, we don't have the benefit of a choir. As a substitute, we use YouTube videos. There is a surprizing number of excellent choir performances on YouTube. Many of them come with inspiring video as well. Have a look at my Hymns and Music page: click here. Our choir director is at high risk for COVID. Sometimes he holes himself up in one of the rooms at church, or sometimes he stays home. Either way, he can display YouTube choir performance videos for everyone to see. Zoom has a feature that allows participants to put up video (or anything else) for others to see. | The pandemic keeps some people at home because they are at high risk of
medical consequences if they catch COVID. And of course, even without a
pandemic, there are those who are homebound for various reasons. A
hybrid service is a great benefit for those who need to stay home. It's
also much better than live church-service broadcasts, which don't allow
viewers to participate. The diagram below looks complicated, but basically it shows the following:
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