Thoughts after Pentecost

The Spirit-given gift to the disciples enabled them to offer their message in ways that allowed EVERYONE, regardless of their native language, to understand has been much on my mind since our Sunday celebration.

In a small sense, our attempts to offer our worship through various media so that ALL can engage is analogous. Our hope is that ALL will be able to participate, though in necessarily different ways by removing barriers and distractions that might stand in the way of being able to be fully in the presence of God.

These barriers might manifest themselves in many ways—awkward movement or pauses, candles that resist the flame, wrong scripture readings or hymns (!), the fire siren going off or a loud lawn mower or trolley commentator going by an open door… But in the world of trying to offer hybrid—simultaneous—worship in several media—the possibilities multiply.

Peter and the rest of the disciples succeeded in reaching the crowd, though not without some detractors. Our attempts on Sunday were not as successful. At least, not for all audiences. Oh, I think it was festive and fine for the in-person group. The celebratory procession of flying dove and streamers, the voices of little children, the profusion of red in the flags, the vestments and clothing, and the altar flowers. And the return of hymns and service music, even though limited to four masked voices and humming congregation.

For our Zoom audience and those who will access our recording things were not so smooth. It is possible to overlook many glitches—but sound is not one of them. Being unable to hear and/or understand essentially cuts people out of full participation. Yet sound is the single most difficult aspect of hybrid worship—not just for those of us at Grace Galena but for every church attempting it—mall churches operating with minimal equipment as well as large churches with the full gamut of sophisticated technology and a team of sound and audio technicians to monitor every minute.

On Pentecost Sunday, after much coaching and testing, we introduced a new device meant to improve the sound to Zoom without adding echo and latency for those in the church. It would also get rid of the 65’ cable running under the pews from the sound system to the camera. It worked great in our tests. It transmitted the sound from our microphones and sound system as well as the pre-recorded anthem through the computer.

One thing was overlooked. This sound device also minimized the sounds from the room. Sounds good, right? No background noise? Trouble is, it cancelled everything that was not captured by microphones—congregational response, the voice of our Intercessor who gave up her mic to the choir quartet, the communion music from the Erben organ.

So, apologies to the Zoomers and to those whose voices were not heard. This problem will not happen again—even if we must return to the long, green cable. We learn as we go. We continue to work toward a longterm solution that will truly speak to ALL people in language they can understand. Your input is important—recognizing that for hybrid worship to work, there will need to be some adjustments. This is the case with every new thing. When the disciples were baptized by fire and filled with the Holy Spirit, they did not become perfect. They learned along the way, sometimes stumbling, sometimes making significant inroads. May we, too, be lead—but not programmed—by the Spirit.