We have successfully reentered our newly renovated sanctuary, and much of our tech has launched adequately, including screens, sound reinforcement, lighting, and livestream. Despite missing some key elements (due to supply chain issues), these systems are operational and we are learning how to use them better each week. We are grateful to our generous volunteers in the A/V team and to our contractors, including Electronic Design Company, Pulse, and Gephardt. With everyone’s help, we are continually improving our systems, procedures, and outcomes.
While we continue to work on many pieces, we are making some progress on two fronts, both regarding sound in the new sanctuary. The renovated sanctuary is a glorious, large, reverberant space for making music; and congregational singing is well-supported with the increase in surfaces that reflect sound, instead of absorbing it. But this reverberant quality can also make it a challenge to hear and reinforce the spoken word.
We are approaching this problem in a few ways: eliminating the possibility of “open mics” reinforcing the reverb, adjusting which sound frequencies get reinforced at what levels, and promoting optimal microphone placement and usage. We are also awaiting new over-ear microphones with digital wireless transmitters and an improved pulpit microphone, which should arrive this summer.
Second, the launch of our hearing assistance tech didn’t go perfectly. Our system has two ways of connecting: 1) a receiver and earphone that can be borrowed at the usher stand (which seems to be working well), and 2) the “Listen Everywhere” app which connects a hearing aid or earbud through a smartphone to the sound system. After what seemed like two successful tests using the app before launching, it ended up being not very loud and sometimes delayed. The volume problem seems to have been solved, and we are getting assistance from our contractor in addressing the delay. We hope to have the kinks worked out as soon as possible after which, we will promptly schedule an information and assistance session for those who want help learning to use the system.
If you’re interested in how the tech part of our renovations are progressing, please reach out. I’m happy to share where we’re at.
Yours in Christ,
