THE CHALLENGE
As COVID-19 continues, maintaining a high-quality worship service experience for churchgoers has become a challenge for many places of worship. Without access to proper broadcasting equipment or in-person services, congregations were forced to go without.
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lebanon, IN experienced these difficulties firsthand, and was eager to find a solution to provide a meaningful worship experience for members of the church who didn’t feel comfortable attending in-person or were unable due to illness or quarantine guidelines. If the congregation could not be together, St. Joseph wanted to ensure there could be a shared worship experience.
Fairchild Communication Systems, Inc. previously installed a complete sound system for St. Joseph and continues to provide service and inspections for their systems, so when Shannon Peycha, Director of Operations, needed assistance, she called Fairchild before anyone else.
THE SOLUTION
After recently completing designs for other churches and assisting his own congregation with their weekly streaming needs, Fairchild Director of Sales, Matthew Ranft wanted to design a solution that was more than just a single camera stream from a phone or tablet, while still being affordable.
Ranft’s solution included a system with two state-of-the-art robotic cameras that could focus on the several areas of the church where the priest conducted parts of the service, which could also connect directly to the sound system for high quality audio. Additional inputs to the system would allow for the posting of title screens and the text of prayers and songs. The system cost under $15,000 and rivals the video quality of broadcast TV.
“It has proven to be a good evangelization tool as more people learn that the weekly and other special services are available right on our website,” said Peycha. “We recently streamed a funeral service at the request of the family, and they were very pleased relatives who lived far away could be a part of the service.”
The easy to use, yet flexible camera system, robotic cameras and streaming controls were gracefully integrated in St. Joseph’s beautiful sanctuary, allowing every member to receive the message they’ve come to love in a way that is most comfortable to them.
Are you looking to enhance your church’s virtual experience? Contact our team to learn more about our solutions and how we can best help you.
