HIGHLANDS UNITED CHURCH: LIVESTREAM 2.0 REPORT
Table of Contents
2 Table of Contents 3 Summary of project to date & initial project goals 4 Reflection and review of current Livestream Broadcast program 6 What do we mean when we talk about “church online”? (goal ‘a’) 10 Livestream Superstars 12 The Host with the Most (goal ‘b’) 13 Putting a Face On It (goal ‘c’) 15 Celebrating the Sacraments Online (goal ‘d’) 17 Constructive Connecting (goal ‘e’) 19 The Wider Church (goal ‘f’) 21 How-To (goal ‘g’) Website Workshop (goal ‘h’) 22 Technological/Platform Research (goals ‘I’ and ‘j’) 23 Recommendations/ Proposed Next Steps (goal ‘k’) 25 Conclusion
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October, 2017
In April, 2017, Highlands United Church was approved by the United Church of Canada’s Embracing the Spirit fund and Vancouver Burrard’s ProVision fund as a recipient of money to begin a 6 month research and development project focused on looking at what it would take to nurture and cultivate a more authentic online worship congregation.
The goals of this initial first-phase were to:
a) Research, explore and visit (if possible) the best practices of churches and organizations that are currently using livestream and building virtual communities or have recently church planted b) To provide a livestream ‘host’ each Sunday who will welcome and orient the livestream congregation, facilitate chat features, invite prayer requests and opportunities to donate c) To create several pre-recorded videos to be used to make the viewing experience more personal d) To explore the theology of the sacraments and inclusion as they pertain to virtual communities e) To connect with (online, in person, or by phone) those who currently worship with us online to explore how their needs are/are not being met through this media f) To initiate and invite potential partners g) To teach those unfamiliar with online tech how to access and participate in Sunday worship h) To offer a virtual workshop i) To source and prioritize technical equipment needed to take a further step j) Provide comprehensive training to all AV staff and volunteers at HUC in the use of equipment k) To make recommendations re: technical and pastoral requirements for the online community
Over the past 6 months several of these goals have been met successfully, others are well underway and still others are a work in progress and waiting for aspects of development. This report to the Highlands United Church community will present not only a summary of findings in relation to the goals above, but a series of recommendations for moving forward with the implementation of what we (for the sake of this report) call “phase 2” of our Livestream project.
At the 2017 Annual General Meeting, Highlands unanimously voted in favor for the exploration and expansion of our online community and it has been my experience over the past 6 months that while the congregation is very much in favor of this move to reach farther online, what it means to do so and what it will require is still very much a mystery. This report will demystify that curiosity and educate our current leadership team in what it looks like to truly create a church outside of our physical walls but just as much a part of the family.
It has been my privilege to have begun this research on behalf of Highlands United Church and I hope this report proves both valuable and practical in the stages of development to come.
Submitted by Andria Irwin
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Reflection on and review of current Livestream Broadcast System
Thanks to the work that was done back in 2013 by a team of knowledgeable and keen volunteers, the Highlands Livestream system was put into place along with an update of technological equipment needed to run the broadcast to its best ‘beginner-level’ ability close to four years ago.
The initial intent of Highlands Livestream was to create a space where those people in our Edgemont Village congregation who found they were unable to attend a service for any reason could tune in and see what they had missed. From choir anthems to sermons, children’s times to community announcements, baptisms to funerals, having this system in place meant that someone no longer needed to be disconnected simply because they couldn’t get to church.
In tough winter conditions, in times of sickness, or in extended periods of travel people were able to remain close to the community that both cared for them and inspired them to care for others.
With this purpose in mind, our livestream broadcasts have been extremely successful. Many members of our Edgemont congregation have attended church this way and have suggested it is a valuable service to the congregation members we have.
One family writes: “having access to livestream worship services allows our family to stay connected to our church family on those weeks when life circumstances or schedules prevent us from getting to church on Sunday morning. Our typical livestream experience involves our children pointing out people they know from the congregation and dancing along to the hymns and choir anthems.”
Another family shares their story of using livestream while traveling: “Highlands Livestream was such an important thing for my family while we were abroad in Australia for a year. It really helped me still feel connected even being on the other side of the world. This was especially true when we tuned in on Christmas day to the Christmas eve pageant. We were in 40 degree heat and the children were completely out of sorts with a hot Christmas and being away from all their family and friends. They were so happy that a little piece of ‘normal Christmas’ was accessible to them.”
The ability to be present with the congregation even when scattered enables people to go deeper in their faith and relationships — relaxing their grip on the notion that church is something we only do on Sunday mornings, in a certain place, at a certain time.
Over the past 3 years, however, we have come to see an increase in the number of people worshipping with Highlands United online and we have been surprised to discover that these visitors are not only members of our Edgemont church, but are also people who have no connection to Highlands United at all and are attending as community outsiders. These people include past congregation members who no longer live in North Vancouver (and instead
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worship with us all the way from Ontario or the UK!), church seekers, strictly online worshippers, and other communities of faith and church leaders looking to use our services as a resource.
These statistics, coupled with the ever-increasing prominence of technology and online advancement in the world, have led to my asking of the questions: is the current representation of Highlands United Church online a faithful representation of the community we know and love in person? Is the community of online worshippers being faithfully led, encouraged, connected, nourished and cared for? Is the online community being educated in the discipleship, outreach and mission practices of Highlands United Church? If the only Highlands United Church someone knew was online, would it be an authentic representation of the community our Edgemont congregation has described in its vision statement as being “a community that gathers and takes risks,” one that “engage[s] a diversity of people,” and “celebrate[s] life-giving worship”? One that encourages people to “learn pray and grow together,” and who “share time, ministries and money?”
These questions have proved difficult to answer from the perspective of our current Livestream congregation. Our broadcasting platform does not enable us to contact those who visit our online space — an indication that there is so much more to do in the realm of building community — and therefore the feedback we have received is skewed. The feedback I have been able to gather comes from online worshippers who also (if not primarily) attend Highlands United in Edgemont.
Several comments that reflect the nature of the Highlands community vision as it is currently portrayed online can be seen here:
“For someone like me, who is “challenged” by being in large groups, the online enables me to feel like I am an integral part of the Highlands Church Family.”
“The special welcome each Sunday acknowledging that there are others “out there” brings me to church in a meaningful way, and makes me feel included.”
“When Sandi Parker mentioned us in her welcoming address at the start of the service all the children started to cry with joy!”
It has been made clear in my initial period of research that our Edgemont congregation is appreciative, supportive and invested in the infrastructure of our worship broadcast platform. They have been constructive, caring and detailed in giving feedback (all of which is taken into consideration later in this report) but overall think the platform is doing its job as a resource for the existing community.
Where the task becomes more difficult is in answering these questions from the perspective of an outsider. It is in that place this research begins.
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What do we mean when we talk about “church online”? A reflection on goal ‘a’
Research, explore and visit (if possible) the best practices of churches and organizations that are currently using livestream and building virtual communities or have recently church planted
When Highlands first developed its livestreaming program the intention was for the online space to be an extension of the physical space. While this is still very much the case, new research and our own research has shown that those people joining services online don’t necessary have a physical church they attend on a regular basis. This means that instead of Highlands online being an extension of the physical space, it needs to exist as its own entity if we hope to encourage visitors and new comers to both grow in relationship with Christ and in relationship with one another.
If Highlands United Church decides that gaining new membership and fostering new relationships through its online platform is a target, it is important, first, to understand what this new platform of church looks like in its ideal form.
In his book, Wired for Ministry, John P. Jewell writes that “people whose primary communities are Internet-based are attempting to fulfill a need for genuine community through [. . .] a virtual collective,”1 and he argues that as Christians it is our mission to reach these people through whatever means they determine necessary. In other words, the advancement of technology and the popularity of having everything available online is not our concern. Our concern is how we are going to meet the needs of those who have already decided this is how they are going to most authentically worship. Whatever circumstances have brought people to the virtual doors of our worship communities, we need to regard and welcome them with the same authentic and intentional openness we do the newcomers who walk into the Sanctuary on Sunday morning.
For Life Church in Oklahoma, USA, one of the pioneers of internet church and the developer of a successful church online platform, this means a dedicated streaming website (to function as the sanctuary) that loops old services and programs so when people attend — even if it is not on a Sunday — they can witness the church in action. Introduction videos to what ‘Online Church’ is and what they can expect as congregation members are easy to spot and quick to access. There is no need for someone to sign up for an account to watch the service, however, if they would like to participate in the chat feature, they do have to register. The chat feature is what I argue makes the difference between a viewing experience and a worship experience. Life Church’s online team agrees, saying:
1 John P. Jewell, Wired for Ministry: How the Internet, Visual Media, and Other New Technologies Can Serve Your Church (Michigan: Brazos Press: 2004), 58.
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“Church Online is about watching the message, but it’s so much more than that. For many attendees, Church Online represents their complete church experience—from worship to teaching to community. Church Online is more than a content delivery system; it’s a place for those who might never walk through the doors of a church to find hope, prayer, and relationships.
So, we put a lot of emphasis on chat in our online experiences. Trained volunteers host every service, and they reach out to attendees offering prayer, encouragement, and answers to questions.
Several features enhance the chat experience. With “@mentions,” a host can address an attendee by name. With Direct Chat, a host can message an attendee in a private chatroom to handle sensitive topics. And through Live Prayer, a volunteer can pray with and on behalf of someone in a one-on-one chat.”2
As one can see by familiarizing themselves with Life Church’s online ministry as well as the ministries of other large website churches, there are several things an online church — even one that is based on an in-life church — needs to develop and implement in order to successfully bridge the gap between viewing and participating. These things include a dedicated minister, welcoming hosts, and community guidelines. At the bare minimum, if these things are in place, so too will the safety, inclusion and formation of the attending congregation be.
The goal in developing an online ministry that pays attention to the inclusion and spiritual lives of its congregants is not to take our neighborhood church to mega-church, but instead to ensure that the community we have cultivated online gives its members the same feeling the members of our physical location have. While those of us who attend a church both online and in person and impose the feeling of community on one platform from another, for people who visit our church only through the doors of Google, there is one element that does not transfer well and that is the people.
Through our broadcast we are able to share the liturgy, the scripture, the sermon, the offering, the education, even the Eucharist. These things can transfer from film to screen with little more than the push of a button and some intentional eye contact, however, the more challenging part of fellowship to convey is the coffee-time conversations before and after the service — the personal how are you, nice to see you, the ‘can you sit and pray with me for a minute — that very blessed part of gathering for worship is easy to miss when we just have to click a button to tune in.
The practices of training online greeters and hosts to elicit, manage, and respond to personal requests for attention, prayer, connection, and information is the first step in building this kind of community. This kind of facilitation calls for training from a senior member of a pastoral team (or the lead minister) in partnership with the tech team. Online prayer and
2 https://open.life.church/training/36-the-chat-is-where-it-s-at
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pastoral care must be handled as sacredly as it is in-life — ensuring confidentiality, respectful delivery and appropriate response. In large online ministries with a dedicated online minister, this person would do this training and possibly the facilitation, but in smaller churches it is common practice to train volunteer hosts and chat facilitators in the practices of the specific community as to equip them to handle any number of circumstances that might present themselves in conversation.
Once these channels have been opened up, there is opportunity to begin building relationships that might — eventually — lead to opportunities for online classes, bible studies, even small groups. Creighton University, a Jesuit Catholic university in Nebraska established this kind of online ministry for its staff and faculty that has now grown to reach people world-wide3 — another indication that there is a need not currently being met.
Most of these existing programs and ministries, however, are still functioning on the basis of in-person relationships — the ministries holding online resources, but not necessarily community. Examples of communities who use such resources are numerous. Ponoka United Church in Albert, Canada, meets weekly in their Sanctuary to celebrate the spirit with music, storytelling, scripture, and fellowship and then broadcast’s in the weekly reflection from neighboring Bashaw United Church. The London Internet Church4 — a project sponsored by the Anglican Church of England — offers resources for celebrating the Eucharist in a small group or home setting. Another example is RightNow Media,5 a popular American online catechesis/worship resource, used worldwide. I was introduced to this online toolbox by a military chaplain in the Royal Canadian Navy who uses it to run short, 30-minute worship services onboard destroyers when deployed. Those who participate in the worship are given a membership to RightNow Media and can learn, study, and communicate with others outside of their worship times.
A popular form of community for many of these gathering communities is social media — a place where both in-life congregation members and online congregation members can come together and share stories, memories, events, and form connection. The most popular site for this is Facebook. Looking at ways churches can use this platform more effectively as a means of community building is worthwhile work. Posts that encourage responses instead of giving information, quick Facebook live videos (can be done with the use of anyone’s iPhone) sharing stories of the different communities from the week, typed testimonials of relationships made or sustained through the faith community, giveaways and games that encourage people to connect and even direct instructions for members of the Facebook community to introduce themselves on a post will encourage this kind of online connection and begin to make people
3 http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo.html 4 http://londoninternetchurch.org.uk/ 5 https://www.rightnowmedia.org/
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familiar with the different names that might belong to our community despite not stepping foot in our sanctuary.
Most importantly, the building of an authentic online community is not done overnight and is not done without intentionality and effort. Much like our in-life congregations employ ministers and administrators and hospitality teams and welcoming committees, so too does an online have these needs. To succeed in building an online community is to essentially build a new church. Growth can be expected to be slow and to only sustain itself where it is being fed.
Much can be learned by the church through gaming and virtual communities. In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, American gaming designer Jane McGonigal says “the idea of the ‘lone gamer’ is not true anymore. Up to 65 percent of gaming now is social, played either online or in the same room with people we know in real life.”6
Similar to playing an online game, the continuation of our faith formation happens outside of the Sunday morning service — there is learning to be done, self-reflection, a sharing of stories that brings to life the work of God in the world — and this is done through communicating with others. In the game world, this happens in online forums, websites created around specific topics relating to the game in which similarly-focused individuals can discuss areas of consonance and dissonance before the next time they meet on the playing field. The same kind of community gathering space is required of the church online. Outside of the Sunday service chat box, a healthy, ideally facilitated dialogue has to continue.
My research has not yet presented me with a faith community who is doing all of these things, although some exist that are doing it better than others. On the next page, you will see a list of “Livestream Superstars,” that is communities of faith who are working hard at being intentional with their online congregations. Represented on this list are a short collection of church communities internationally, locally, and locally within the United Church of Canada who are showing that they are committed to developing a more disciple-based online ministry.
In conclusion, the intentionality of the in-life team leading, ministering and facilitating the online community makes the difference between a cold viewing experience and a warm worship experience. Being personally welcomed as an online worship community either through chat text or video message, being invited to offer names or concerns for prayer, being eased into the online experience with frequently asked question sections, ‘who we are’ videos, and technological support and having a dedicated space separate from the main website of the in-life church all help to cultivate a church environment specifically created for online users. Additionally, a more directed use of already existing social media platforms can help to engage both in-life and online congregants in relationship without re-inventing the wheel.
6 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/jane-mcgonigal-on-how-computer-games-make-you-smarter- 22964/
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Livestream Superstars
Internationally:
Hillsong United Church (AUS) https://hillsong.com/channel/
Elevation Church (NC, USA) http://live.elevationchurch.online
Life Church: Church Online (OK, USA) https://live.life.church
Church of the Highlands: Online (AL, USA) https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/campuses/online
North Point: Live (GA, USA) http://northpoint.live
Saddleback: Live (CA, USA) http://saddleback.com/visit/locations/onlinecampus
London Internet Church (UK) http://londoninternetchurch.org.uk/the-london-internet-church/about-the-internet-church/
Everyday Church:Online (UK) http://everyday.online/uk http://live.everyday.online
In Vancouver:
Coastal Church: Church Online https://coastalchurch.org/church-online/ http://live.coastalchurch.org
Relate Church http://www.relatechurch.ca/watchlive/
Oakridge Adventist Church: Church Online http://churchinvancouver.churchonline.org
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In the United Church:
Niagra Online Worship (NOW) https://niagaraonlineworship.com/
First Met United Church Victoria http://www.firstmetvictoria.com/pages/live-stream
St. John’s United Church Elmvale https://www.youtube.com/channel/UcgSci1MVqcFZFBqiI9q3DkQ
McKillop United Church Lethbridge https://www.facebook.com/mckillopunited
Brandon (MN) Central United http://www.brandonchurch.ca/
Trinity United Thunder Bay http://www.trinityunited.church/
Rising Spirit Ministry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdeX6qoNTrc
In the United Church in Vancouver:
West Vancouver United Church http://wvuc.bc.ca/worship/livestream-worship-service/
Highlands United Church https://livestream.com/highlandsunitedchurch
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The Host with the Most A reflection on goal ‘b’
To provide a livestream ‘host’ each Sunday who will welcome and orient the livestream congregation, facilitate chat features, invite prayer requests and opportunities to donate
Over the past three months of this work, effort has been directed to implementing what methods of communication between Highlands and Highlands online attendees we can with the current resources and technology we have. As previously determined under goal ‘a’ the most important element of this is a conversation started on our end with those joining us for online worship.
A script has been created for those on our tech team — both staff and volunteer, senior members and new recruits — to use on Sunday mornings as our service goes live. This script was created through consulting, watching and observing the various methods of greeting and engagement used by other broadcasting churches. This script is located on our Dropbox site and is easily accessible by anyone managing the Livestream for the day.
Sample:
Welcome to our Sunday morning worship! We are so thrilled you are visiting from near and far. We invite you to participate in this service the way you would if you were in our Sanctuary — use the lyrics on the screen to sing along, speak the prayers, and take advantage of this chat feature to connect with each other over when the service is over. If you experience any technical difficulties this morning, you can reach us in this box or by emailing [email protected]
Since implementing these engagements in early August, Highlands has begun to receive its very first online prayer requests. In response to this Highlands has had to create a system for transferring these names to the prayer request list that makes its way forward for the prayers of the people.
One online only member writes: “I love the fact that I can send a message of those that I would be like added to the prayer list.”
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Putting a Face On It A reflection on goal ‘c’
To create several pre-recorded videos to be used to make the viewing experience more personal
One of the elements of the online broadcast Highlands has not yet implemented that other churches have is an audience directed video welcome/interaction at different points in the broadcast of the service. The benefit to this is not only to provide the online congregation with information that might only pertain to them, but to give them a face of someone in the community.
A sample script of one such welcome video as taken from the Coastal Church website is as follows:
“Coastal church online is a community of people all over the world experiencing God and connecting with one another like never before in history. What does that mean? It measn you have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you. Just as you are. Right where you are. Anywhere in the world.
Church online is a safe and welcoming community where you can connect with others. It’s a simulated live broadcast with real-time communication through online chat which you can choose to join if you want to connect with others watching.
There’s always worship music to begin the service, a weekly message from our senior pastor, and caring volunteers who will pray with you over the things that matter in your life.
It’s just like attending church at one of our physical locations, except it’s online! Our focus is on reaching the world with the love of Jesus Christ — regardless of your age, background, location, or current circumstances, know that you are welcome here at Coastal Church online.
We would love to meet you.”
Through consulting the videos of other online churches, we have developed several generic scripts of our own to be filmed in mid-October in professional quality by Joel Grinke — an independent North Vancouver visual media consultant. In consultation with Joel we will figure out the best way to incorporate these videos into our current broadcast so that the implementation is seamless for viewers and simple for our tech staff.
Several of our sample original video clip scripts can be seen on the following page.
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Sample Broadcast Video Scripts
Welcome to our Highlands United Church Livestream, we are so glad you could join us for worship today! We are worshipping here in North Vancouver, British Columbia and we would love to know where you are joining us from. Our service will be starting in just a few minutes, so we invite you to take this time to use the chat box and let us know who you are, and if there is anything we can help you pray for today. See you soon!
Hi there, online friends, my name is Andria Irwin and I’m one of your livestream hosts for Highlands United Church online. We would love to know the difference that Highlands Online is making in your life as we look to improve and develop our online community over the next few months. If you have any feedback, suggestions, or testimonies as to how God has reached you through this platform you can email them to [email protected]
Welcome to the Highlands United Church Livestream. As our in-person community gathers in North Vancouver I wanted to take a moment to personally welcome you to this morning’s worship. If you would like to view the Highlands United Church community announcements you can do so at anytime by visiting www.highlandsunited.org
We invite you at this point in our service to contribute financially to the work of this church if you feel so called. You can click the “make a donation” button on the highlandsunited.org homepage or mail a cheque to the address you see in the chat box. Not only do these contributions help us in the outreach and community work that is so important to us, they assist us in the day-to-day running of this church, including our online ministry that you find yourself a part of. We encourage you to consider giving to Highlands United Church at this time.
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Celebrating the Sacraments Online A reflection on goal ‘d’
To explore the theology of the sacraments and inclusion as they pertain to virtual communities
At Highlands United Church we celebrate the Eucharist once per month together in worship. It is under these circumstances the theological implications of this practice need to be considered in regard to an online worshipping community. While those attending worship online can most fully participate in worship as it is written and experience in-life, three Sundays out of four, once per month the online congregant may have an experience very unlike anyone in the physical Sanctuary of the church.
Nancy J. Duff writes in an article for Theology Today, “when the elements are passed from person to person in the pews or administered to congregants who come forward and kneel at the rail, are parishioners doing anything other than receiving the elements alone together?”7 While the alternative to this point of view is that without coming together in person the Eucharist is not being celebrated as Christ intended. It is curious, however, to ask the question of whether or not we could presume Jesus’ ministry would expand the same way ours has, thousands of years later, to include a different option.
There are people who think so — a number of churches are presenting virtual communion options, allowing the worshipper to provide their own sacraments and have them sanctified in thought and word through the actions of a minister online. Highlands United Church is not yet one of these.
According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal in 2013,8 the practice of serving communion online has been common in the evangelical church as the sacraments are to be taken as representation as opposed to a Holy Mystery. In mainline denominations, however, this kind of celebration of the gifts is more problematic. In his book “For the Life of the World” by Alexander Schmemann points out, “it mean[s] an action by which a large group of people become something corporately which they had not been as a mere collection of individuals — a whole greater than the sum of its parts.”9 Theologically, therefore, the conversation surrounding the “sacrament or sacrilege” debate is a very diverse one. In a denomination where salvation is more central than sacrament, the celebration of communion online might make sense. Where mainline churches and divine immanence are concerned, the experience of the online congregation member during a Sunday morning service of communion needs to be very delicately addressed.
7 Nancy, J. Duff “Praising God Online,” Theology Today 70, 1 (2013) 28, http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a5e91545-f068-42a3-910e- 69eecd2cf7a1%40sessionmgr4007&vid=0&hid=4212 8 Church’s Online Communion: Sacrament or Sacrilege?” Valerie Bauerlein, The Wall Street Journal, last modified November 15, 2013, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304868404579194423734251960 9 Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1973), 25.
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At this moment, in our congregation, an online worshipper is only able to participate in a part of our liturgy of the Eucharist because they are not able to “come together in one place,”10 however, if we are to consider the following statement from John Macquarrie we might be able to deduce that the online congregants experience is just as worshipful as that of the in-life congregant. Macquerrie writes: “it is not our faith or our expectation or our activity, still less is it the power of the priest, that produces the encounter with God. He has always got there before us. Sacraments are not human inventions to summon God at our convenience.”11
At this point in our online worship experience we have not received any information that indicates the current format of filming our Eucharist is spiritually unsatisfying to our online congregation, however, it is important to preemptively address this in our own congregation before someone does feel let down. Rev. Will Sparks has indicated there is no theological reason that in the United Church of Canada he could not bless the meal and instruct those online in administering communion to themselves. Extending this invitation to the online congregation would have to be carefully crafted so as not to disrupt the spirit of the service.
These considerations are ongoing in this church and others.
10 Schmemann, For the Life, 27. 11 John Macquarrie, A Guide to the Sacraments (UK:SCM Press: 1997), 6.
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Constructive Connecting A reflection on goal ‘e’
To connect with (online, in person, or by phone) those who currently worship with us online to explore how their needs are/are not being met through this media
One of the challenges of the livestream system we curranty have in place is that is does not require (nor make it easy) for people to register or sign in to watch a service. While there is great value for the visitor in being able to remain anonymous, it is challenging for our livestream ministry to not know who we are ministering to. As mentioned in the introduction to this report, this means our data has come primarily from people who worship both online and in person with Highlands United Church.
The benefit of these relationships, however, mean that there is a general understanding of the kind of community we hope to build online — one that is representative of our in-life community. The feedback and criticism from these people has been in general been supportive, constructive, enthusiastic and eager.
One young woman wrote me from Victoria: “I miss home. I miss the home that accepts me and my [child]. I miss the place that roots me, brings me back to life. I love seeing familiar faces, I love my daughter saying she misses being there, I love being welcomed, from my couch. I love seeing my people, hearing my people, and being moved by the spirit. It is an opportunity for me to still feel like I am part of a community that I love. I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am to be able to tune in.”
Another frequent attender of our in-life congregation says of her online experience: “When I have been home on a Sunday and enjoyed the Livestream, I felt I was sitting in the Church in the pew (but in my PJ’s). I even sing right along. I have been frustrated though if the audio was acting up & I could not hear everyone. By either the hand-held mic or headsets or stationary mic. Usually logged in to give feedback at this time. But, I understand it is hard when ‘all speaking’ have different tones to their voices.”
Still another writes a most helpful critique/compilation of suggestions saying: A few simple notes on the possible improvement of the live stream service: start about 5 minutes before the service. A simple view of the sanctuary would do the job to show that there is connection. Think about picking a team song for Highlands... we could start the transmission every week with the same song... just pipe it in....We have the technology...use it! Geordie might have the solution in that for us...Buy a book on videography and make the people who are involved with live stream read it. (Make them learn the basics!) Right now, the camera is on auto focus and auto aperture settings...The background is bright white, the people are mere silhouettes on the TV unless you zoom in on them so that they will fill the frame. Use spot metering on the speaker’s face and ignore the bright background. (Or just reduce the metering area to a central metering. During the service, there are way too many instances with a blank
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screen... with only some message on it. Have the camera show the actual view of the assembly and maybe superimpose the message.”
These three samples of different circumstances and demographics show what we have found to be true for our livestream audience: some are there just to be a part of the church they call ‘home’ and whatever service is provided for them is enough, still other are interested in a more technologically stable worship experience online and finally, there are those with a trained eye who want to know the production value of our online worship is similar to that of our in-life worship.
This online community, despite occasionally worshiping with us in-life, has started to come forward with suggestions for increased community. Suggestions for online bible study and workshops have organically emerged, as well as an email as recently as this morning from an online congregation member saying: “I [am working for] the flea market and enjoyed the tremendous fun and I thought about your question re: online and possibilities. What about offering an online auction for those who can’t come to the flea market?”
The congregation of Highlands is lucky to be blessed with so many who are forward thinking and possess an innovative spirit. This kind of congregation is the reason we have been able to move forward with this work as we have. It is a joy to hear the stories of those who have found themselves back with a community and family because of Highlands online and it is our vision to offer this to as many people as possible — near and far.
There seems to be no doubt that the basic needs of an online worship service are being fulfilled by this ministry initiative, however, after 5 years it seems to be time to start “leveling up” (as they say in the gaming community). Those who worship with us online have started to see it, and the greater community is calling for it.
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The Wider Church A reflection on goal ‘f’
To initiate and invite potential partners
When we first began this project in May we were invited by the Embracing the Spirit committee to join a community of people who were embarking on similarly considered ‘innovative’ projects. This network provided several introductions to communities who indicated they were interested in keeping up with this project and, in the future, potentially collaborating.
One of these communities is a Presbyterian home church in the British Columbia Cariboo region. They share worship between several different homes and — while they admit they don’t utilize technology — have agreed that having a resource like a United Church sermon (they currently partner with a United Church in Kitimat) that they could readily use would be a huge benefit.
Another community reached out to Highlands not soon after from Port Alberni, informing us they had joined us for several Sunday services from their Sanctuary. Below is a section of the email:
“Our congregation so enjoyed watching and listening to the service you did last year with your choirs leading the service. It was so inspiring. Also, I personally check in on your services, because I enjoy what you are doing with your ministry, and also learning new things from a technical point of view that we can learn about for our own livestreaming initiative.
I understand your technical challenges, but don’t worry, we all face them...... it does not take away from the good work your people are doing...... we face the same challenges.
One of the challenges we faced in watching your service is being able to see the images of your people. We are using a standard power point projector to project the video onto our screen but the clarity is not good. We have the same problem when watching videos, so we need to upgrade our projector or go for a widescreen TV.
I am so ever hopeful that we can join your service at some point, and maybe even explore doing a joint service, wherein we each do a portion of the service, if you are warm to such an experiment. With Livestreaming there are so many possibilities for reaching out beyond our own four walls a concept we are exposing our congregation to. So far it is being met with support. In the interim we will work toward upgrading our video system, so we can actually do this in the near term.
In the interim, keep up the good work you are doing and in sharing your ministry with the outside world.”
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In addition to formal interactions such as these, several conversations were had at the BC Conference assembly in May leading to contacts and requests to be kept up-to-date on the project. The idea of a resource that could be made available to the United Church instructing churches who currently used technology on Sundays but who are not sure where to begin broadcasting their services. The number of churches who have indicated in passing that this is a valuable ministry to be pursuing have made it clear while Highlands is no pioneering congregation, we are still very much ahead of this trend in our denomination.
I firmly believe that these partnering relationships will develop on their own once we have a system in place to better accommodate them. Suggestions for this system are made in the final section of this report.
In the meantime, conversations with Cariboo Presbyterian and Port Alberni United, along with several United Churches in the Okanagan region will continue.
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How-To A reflection on goal ‘g’
To teach those unfamiliar with online tech how to access and participate in Sunday worship
An opportunity to hold a workshop of this kind did not present itself (nor did the need arise) during the 6 month duration of this project. While being familiar with how to access our livestreamed services is important for our congregation, it is not helpful in the bigger picture of developing a community that comes from outside of our in-life church. However, the resources and trained staff exist to provide this workshop if the need/desire arises (eg. A senior’s lunch seminar, potentially coupled with a social media workshop) and we would be happy to do so.
Website Workshop A reflection on goal ‘h’
To offer a virtual workshop
In June, Highlands United Church hosted a congregational renewal event titled “FaithFest.” I was scheduled to offer a workshop on Social Media 101 and, as outlined in this grant application, thought it was a good opportunity to offer it virtually to any who were interested.
Along with a member of our tech team I researched the best practices and platforms for offering something like this, eventually settling on Adobe Connect (based on the simplicity of the platform, the price, the equipment needed, and the size of the workshop.) This workshop was advertised as being offered both online and in-person.
Several days before the event, the online workshop attendance dropped to 0 and so we made the decision, instead, to livestream the workshop and keep it posted for future reference. This worked extremely well, and indeed we did have people tune in after the event to attend the workshop a-synchronously.
One online participant send me a Facebook message (from a newly created account!) saying:
Here I am, watching the rest of your workshop on the website! And learning how to send private messages in fbook, which I didn't know before. Wow, almost as good as email
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Technological/Platform Research A reflection on goals ‘I’ and ‘j’
• To source and prioritize technical equipment needed to take a further step • Provide comprehensive training to all AV staff and volunteers at HUC in the use of equipment
In June, 2017, Highlands United Church received a letter of resignation from our technical team lead. What this means insofar as this part of the work is concerned is that it is still in process. While the staff member who left contributed greatly to the livestream development through creative design skills, branding knowledge, and platform familiarity, Highlands was left without someone to do this technological research in the meantime. Effort went into filling tech positions for Sunday morning services and training new tech staff so we were not short.
During this time of transition, we managed to lose only two of our broadcasts — and this loss was later attributed to a glitch in our equipment, not a lack of competence.
With a core part of this research now complete, I have been able to recruit a technological/video-media advisor (Joel Grinke, the same person putting together our welcome videos) to be the centrepoint for this part of the work. He has agreed, if Highlands decides it is valuable, to both do the research on our needed technological upgrades, and to implement the necessary technological changes and train our current tech team in using it.
It is my understanding that the grant-funded contract hours first allotted to the initial tech-team member can be used now for this consultation.
Upon an initial consultation in our Sanctuary, the consensus was that we already have everything needed to take some steps in seriously enhancing our production value. The camera and sound system we use are of good professional quality and do not need to be upgraded. Several small changes will have to be made in order to better accommodate our vision of a smooth viewing experience, and this comprehensive will be provided to Highlands United Church in November, 2017.
Joel has offered to run the production for the first month of our new broadcast and in this time train all tech staff on how to best run the system.
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Recommendations and Proposed Next Steps A reflection on goal ‘k’
To make recommendations re: technical and pastoral requirements for the online community
The following recommendations are to be taken into consideration by Highlands United Church in the moving forward of this project. They appear in order of the goals as mentioned in this report and not in order of importance. Ideally this next phase would be completed by the Christmas eve services on December 24th, 2017.
Having Christmas Eve as a ‘target project completion’ date will enable Highlands to see the result of its online work at play during the largest service of the year. This not only opens the doors up to a new ministry (Christmas Online!) but greater financial contributions, and a wide use of the production equipment (the challenge to broadcast well a pageant is no small feat!)
If this next phase is successful and these following recommendations are followed up on and implemented where able, January 2018 would serve as a great time to begin seriously considering deeper forms of online ministry such as an educational program or monthly workshops in partnership with the development of a more widely useable resource for churches who wish to begin their own online community development.
Recommendations and Proposed Next Steps:
• To create a video summary of this report to be placed on the website or played on Sunday mornings on occasion to keep the project relevant in the eyes of the congregation • To appoint several “Highlands Online Ambassadors” to share the enthusiasm in the project at different Highlands meetings, gatherings and functions. Keeping this project in the forefront of people’s minds is imperative if it is to remain valued • To make sure all tech team members are aware that they are to be hosting conversation with online congregants in the Livestream chat box. Provide all members with the location of the script (Dropbox) and encourage them to engage in conversation when prompted. • To create and train tech staff in a policy for handling prayer requests a) as it pertains to getting them to the chancel for the Prayers of the People and b) as to how to best respond or what to do in the case pastoral care is needed • To trial run one Sunday using the Live.Church platform • To decide based on success of trail if a change in broadcasting platforms is beneficial • To update our highlandsunited.org’s e-commerce ability so that we can manage one- click donations as opposed to a click-through form that is more of a donation deterrent than encourager (Live. Church platform has this function)
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• To create a separate website for our online congregation that includes: the broadcast, a FAQ section, a Welcome to Highlands Online video, a contact form, and links to our social media accounts (primarily Facebook) • To film and implement at least two personal videos on the front and back end of the livestream broadcast • To create a beat-by-beat “online dream service” on paper to present to Joel as a vision to work backwards from (eg. In an ideal world, what would the worshipper see when they turn on our Sunday service? How would it sound? How would the music lyrics be shown? What angles are best? Where should the camera be placed? Etc.) • To continue in conversation with those who have expressed interest in participating in this project (churches and individuals) and to provide them with resources as requested • To interview several attending members (not HUC volunteers) of our Amica location as to their experience • To find a way to elicit contact information from our visitors that is not solicitation or a betrayal of privacy (further research needed) • To initiate conversation with HUC social media manager, Chandler McCorkindale, as to how we can better form community on our Facebook page and encourage conversation between online and in-life congregants • To make the smallest enhancements to our technological equipment that make the biggest difference (eg. a different camera tripod) • To arrange a consultation between Joel Grinke and Dave Wilson • To arrange a consultation between Joel Grinke and our outside contractors (eg. West Coast Sound) • To host a formal “tech training” day and service simulation well before our Christmas broadcast (training to be hosted by Joel Grinke in partnership with Andria Irwin) • To engage in conversation with the leadership board as to what priority this project has in the new 5 year ministry plan — host the conversation around the online “congregation,” (do they contribute to our numbers, why or why not, can we include them in our stewardship campaigns, etc.) have this discussion in a safe and facilitated environment • To advertise as part of our Christmas Eve service marketing the online broadcast of all four services, including the pageant and candle-light service • To consider setting a strict time-limit on certain areas of the service (eg. announcements) so that we can practice pulling out parts of our broadcast and replacing with more online-specific messaging — this step will be crucial if and when we collaborate with other churches. • To look into television monitors for those on the chancel to see (these play the power point, a clock, or any other reel wanted)
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Conclusion
Over the past 6 months of doing this research I have discovered the main reason committed Christians prefer to be part of an online community as opposed to what I have been calling an in-life community are usually mental illness (anxiety disorders are high on the list as are personality disorders), as well as isolation (being in a remote location, incarceration, hospitalization, military placement, or being removed from a cultural circumstance that supports/accepts the faith).
If these people are wanting to live out their worship expression online it is first crucial that they are properly welcomed into the faith community online. In Jessica Duckworth’s book Wide Welcome she explained that in the successful evangelical Lutheran church model a new comer would say to someone at the church “how do I belong” and the answer would be, “we have a way.”12
Before that question could even be asked, however, they had to walk in the doors of the church and be greeted by someone willing to hear the question. We cannot miss this step in creating online expressions of the church. People need to be welcomed with open arms, people need to be seen in order to feel they belong.
My research began because I was noticing the trend of large broadcasting churches getting bigger and better and louder and ‘converting’ more people online while somehow seeming to become less and less like church. These services were a viewing experience, not a worship experience. So my question became, for those who are committed to living a Christian life and living into Christian practices online, how do we give them back ‘church’?
The answers to this very large question are surprisingly simple in theory, but are remarkably difficult to put into practice — especially as a smaller organization. Thankfully, this research has shown they aren’t impossible.
Through the practice of consistent intentionality, I believe we are able to cultivate relationships online the same way we do in person — through vulnerability, deep listening, engaged interaction and effort. In the hope of building these relationships as ones that exist inside our online church we must first act to take care of our ‘building.’ We must make our online Sanctuary a safe place — a place with boundaries and expectations, a place of deep respect and diversity, a place free of outside world distractions, a place we are proud to welcome Jesus and educate those who meet him there in his ways of living, a place that inspires those people to then power down and scatter into the greater world as disciples, nourished by the word, fed by the spirit, and grounded in God.
12 Wide Welcome
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