Podcasting makes economic sense for parishes
The diocese has renewed its Limited Online Music Licence to allow parishes to upload recordings of church services to the diocesan website. Housebound parishioners and others may then download the files and listen to them at their leisure.
Despite the initial poor uptake of this facility, we recommend this method of sharing complete church services as the most convenient and cost effective option and have reinstated the licence accordingly.
Services can of course, be shared by distributing CDs or tapes, but if there is music included, your parish should have purchased a Limited Manufacture Licence (LM) which grants ‘blanket’ permission to legally use music in your own CDs, DVDs, and other formats. For more information about the LM Licence please visit this link.
The parish of St Columba’s, Knock has been putting the online licence to good use as part of its pastoral care for parishioners.
“As a parish we wanted to provide housebound parishioners with a recording of the main Sunday service in their homes so that they can listen with ease and in comfort,” says the rector, Revd John Auchmuty. “Over a year ago the former curate, Revd Robert Ferris, set out to explore the best way of using technology to strengthen pastoral support to parishioners.”
A parish recording team was formed which currently consists of four members of the congregation (pictured left to right with the rector; Aaron Wilson, Alan Boyd, David Deane and Christopher Thompson). They serve on a rota to record the main morning service each week which is then uploaded onto the parish website by 2.00 pm that afternoon.
The technology required to do this is very simple – any sound recorder or laptop with recording facilities is plugged into the sound desk and the service is recorded. This file is then uploaded after the service is over. Because the file is hosted by the Down and Dromore website it is automatically licenced. Users simply log in to a specailly created web page and listen in. It’s that simple.
“I have seen at first hand in my parish ministry the blessing that these parishioners receive from the weekly recordings,” says John. ”As one parishioner said to me recently, ‘It is lovely to be able to listen to the Sunday services each week. This means so much to me and it helps me to get through the week.’”
Please contact the Diocesan Communications Officer, Annette McGrath, with any questions about the above. Read our original article here.