A fresh opportunity for outreach
The diocese brings you another opportunity to reach out to those who are not currently engaging with church or who are housebound. Sunday service and sermon podcasts are increasingly a part of the church’s communications toolset and an effective method of sharing worship. Now the diocese can offer parishes the facility to upload podcasts to their parish page on the diocesan site and to place a link to the file on their own website.
Why are we doing this?
Some churches are already podcasting from their website but, with the purchase of an online licence at diocesan level, we will be able to save parishes copyright costs. For those who have yet to venture into podcasting, we can guide you through the process and hopefully get it working for you quite painlessly. Even without a website, you can simply direct folk to the download on your parish page.
What’s wrong with CDs?
Nothing! There is, however, a clear cost advantage in going digital as there is no copying involved. Churches may decide to offer both a hard copy and a digital download and some parishes already broadcast their service on a radio frequency. Others have purchased cheap MP3 players and speakers for their housebound parishioners. This is just another option and one that we believe will gain traction as more and more people consume their media online.
Important copyright information
If you are recording services (with music) onto CDs tapes etc you are required to have a licence. If one licence covers one website then if you upload and download through the diocesan website you no longer need an individual recording licence from PRS.
Case Study: St. Columba’s, Knock
On Sundays we plug a recorder into one of the outputs on our sound desk. We have set up a rota of “recording team” members whose tasks are:
to press record
press stop
upload to the internet
We also have a distribution team whose tasks are:
to download the recording from the parish page – in their own homes
take the mp3 player with the weekly news sheet to the home of those who request it.
The advantages of this are:
Individuals get visited each week, they get to join in the services, costs are reduced as no recording licence is needed at parish level and there is a small initial outlay for cheap mp3 players and speakers (optional).
What does the parish church need?
Recording
Something to record onto. In St. Columba’s we have tested it out using a laptop … any laptop with a mic line input will do
A piece of recording software … we are using the free audacity software.
A lead to connect your sound system to a 3.5” Jack
Someone in your congregation to connect it up!
An internet connection to upload it to your section on the diocesan site (which can be done at home/ office/ wherever)
2. Distribution(this is what we do)
Some internet enabled parishioners who can download from the site onto mp3 players and distribute them out to those at home
Mp3 players – we in St. C’s are having 2 mp3 players per housebound parishioner (so that one will be with the parishioner and one with the distributer who swap them over week by week)
One set of inexpensive speakers for each house
Uploading to your parish page on the diocesan website
Log in to your parish page using the icon at the bottom of the homepage. Select ‘Audio’ from the right hand menu. Insert a title and a short description then, browse your computer for the audio file. Click ‘submit query’ to upload it and it will appear under ‘Podcasts’ on your parish page.
There are also instructions for linking to your own RSS feed.
For further enquiries please email: dco@down.anglican.org