Dear St. Paul’s family,
It’s been almost three years since our outstanding, state-of-the-art broadcasting system went live. This was a remarkably generous gift from a parishioner. If you are new to our community you might not realize that the little, black, coffee-can-like objects high up on some of the columns in the nave are television cameras, remotely operated from a control center behind the choir room. There are six cameras in all, including very tiny cameras on the east and west walls. We are blessed to have some technically gifted and experienced folks, notably Mike Thornburgh, who are comfortable operating the equipment and make it possible for people across the globe to experience our principal worship services.
Parishioners under Mike’s direction film all our Sunday 10:30 am and 5 pm services as well as the weekly organ recital. You can watch these events live on Facebook on the cathedral’s page and on our web site at stpaulcathedral.org/watch/. After the fact, Jim Langston meticulously edits the footage which is then made available for on-demand viewing on the web site. The quality is outstanding, and we have a small but regular virtual congregation, some of whom exchange the Peace digitally, as far-flung as Scotland and Japan. We also occasionally film and stream special events such as weddings and funerals (our a/v ministers are paid by the family for these events).
Our “Cathedral Broadcasting System” provides a wonderful opportunity for each of us to share our love of St. Paul’s with friends and family everywhere. Let people know that they can tune in and sample our beautiful worship and music for free! They will see an invitation to make a donation at some point in the service, and I hope that people will be moved to contribute to the considerable cost of the cathedral’s ministry.
We are in need of people to step up and be trained on both the videography and editing ministries. If this interests you, please contact Jeff Martinhauk at martinhaukj@stpaulcathedral.
For those who are interested in reading sermons rather than seeing them in living color, we post the texts of our sermons on the blog at stpaulcathedral.blogspot.com. They are usually available within 24 hours of being preached.
By the way, unless you sit in the north-west corner of the nave you are within camera range and might appear on camera at any time. Those of us who sit in the chancel have learned to assume we are on camera at every moment: that means no rolling of eyes or reading of novels during the service!
I am extremely grateful for the gift of this system and for those who operate it: what an incredible way to share the good news of Jesus with the world!
Your sister in Christ,
Penny
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