From “leaving our parish” to “Two thumbs up!

Every once in a while we hear a story that illustrates the incredible importance of intelligible sound to the worship. Power Sound of New England recently completed an audio system renovation for Our Lady of Hope in Ipswich Massachusetts.  Recently Deacon Carl Robertson shared such a story with us.  We with his kind permission are posting it here…

 

From “leaving our parish” to “Two thumbs up!

"I was greeting parishioners at the side door after Mass on Saturday evening; it was just two weeks before the new sound system was to be installed at our church. A gentleman approached me with his wife and, after an exchange of greetings; he told me that he was leaving our parish as he planned to attend another church.  Surprised, I asked why?  He went on to say that he simply could “not hear” the spoken word in the church with any clarity.  He noted that in addition to the “horrible” sound quality from the PA system, the activity and noise from restless children made this untenable for him.  I then invited them to follow me and brought him and his wife to our newly constructed family room in the back of the nave. I pointed out the large windows overlooking the interior of the church, and the speaker in the room for the people to hear what was said in the church proper.  I shared that this would be a welcoming and comfortable place, offering families an ideal place to worship with children.  (Now some weeks later, I can say that the room is widely used, and parents of very young children have told me they are very grateful for this.)

I then pointed out to the couple two areas at the front of the church, just in front of and on either side of the Sanctuary, where two new nine foot high speakers would be installed; these would replace the sixteen inefficient speakers now hanging throughout the church.  Even though nine feet high, I told them that the speakers would be almost invisible for they would be only about six inches in diameter.  I assured them that I was confident that the Power Sound system would give us the glorious sound we wanted. I asked that they not go to another church, just give me two weeks for them to "test" the new system when installed." 

~ Deacon Carl Robertson; Our Lady of Hope, Ipswich, MA

At Our Lady of Hope Parish in Ipswich Mass Sounds Better than Ever

Massachusetts Church Sound renovation project – Pro Sound for worship

Our Lady of Hope, Ipswich, MA

PSNE recently completed as church sound system design project at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Ipswich. The Church’s audio system lacked intelligibility. Power Sound of New England, specializing in professional AV installation and custom sound systems for worship, was chosen by Our Lady of Hope in Ipswich Massachusetts for the design and installation of the state-of-the-art church audio renovation. The church audio system design and AV installation project was executed to give the church rich, clear sound in the sanctuary and overflow areas.

Pro Bose speakers for churches

The Project: Pro Sound components are employed in order to address the needs of large worship spaces. We know that professional church sound equipment is an integral part of a good sound system installation. However, quality pro sound parts are just that, parts. A good design is essential to achieve the professional sound quality parishes seek. For this Massachusetts church, audio intelligibly for both the spoken word and the music is a priority.

Speaker in overflow area

Features & Benefits: During sound system installation projects, PSNE integrates the audio in each space into a master system. This allows for speakers in each room to project sound as part of the main system or the main sound system to work independently. At this church their primary goal was to have speakers in auxiliary spaces that could project sound during Services from the main church to other spaces as needed. This is an effective solution for churches that have overflow congregation in vestibule, narthex or chapel. It can also be employed to project  sound to classrooms, church offices, and even outdoors.

Speakers are colored to match brick walls

Another focus of the every AV system we design is the visual effect. Churches are beautiful! We want to be sure church audio and video components don’t diminish the visual impact of the worship space.  Understanding that the aesthetics of worship spaces must be maintained, we work to match components to the surface on which they are mounted. For example speakers are custom-colored to match with walls, ceilings or columns as part of the sound system installation. This assures the visual integrity of the worship space in preserved.

Since 1969 Power Sound of New England has provided custom church sound systems to address the unique needs of each parish. Some of these features include: Sound for the Celebrant that is clear and intelligible from the front pew to the back; Effective solutions for amplification for the Choir & Music Ministry; professional-grade electronic equipment; design and AV installation by the only New England based company that understands the AV needs of worship and specializes in church audio visual systems.

Power Sound’s New Digital Bulletin® - an exciting alternative to paper Church Bulletins

Eliminate clutter with new "Digital Signage" instead of unruly Bulletin Boards

PSNE’s church-inspired digital signage is a product designed to help churches communicate more effectively.

An exciting alternative to outdated paper Church Bulletins; Power Sound of New England, (PSNE) offers custom Digital Bulletins®. Churches want a way to reach their congregation that is more visually engaging. As part of the design of church video projection and AV installation projects a church digital signage system is an effective tool to reach out to parishioners to communicate church news, schedules, religious education schedules, and other timely information.

As we wrote about in our last post, Power Sound of New England recently completed Audio Visual System renovation project featuring our new Digital Bulletin® at St. Mary Parish in Chelmsford MA. The church video system design and AV installation project at St. Mary Parish lent itself naturally to the digital signage application.

The Project: The AV renovation project is part of a series of audio visual systems’ application the parish has undertaken to deepen the connection to the worship. Power Sound of New England has been trusted by St. Mary for the design and installation of their audio visual systems for many years. We are honred to have earned that trust.

The PSNE Digital Bulletin® is displayed on vivid LCD monitors; Digital Bulletin is perfect for narthex, community hall, Sunday school, or rectory. Vivid displays capture and keep viewers’ attention far more than old-fashioned printed bulletins.

“The new digital signage is an exciting addition for the parish. We’ll run 24 hour displays featuring bulletin articles, photos of special parish events and various parish news announcements. And, Power Sound has offered any help we need with the new system. As we grow into the technology we look forward to adding other exciting features that will benefit our parishioners."   ~ Paul Firicano, Business Manager; St. Mary Parish

Flexible format. Example of 3-zone screen.

Features & Benefits: During AV installation projects, PSNE integrates the Digital Bulletin with video projection systems or it can be a standalone product. Flexibility and ease of use is bar far the most tangible benefit of the PSNE Digital Bulletin. Information is more visual than ever. The system increases communication opportunities throughout the congregation. System features include flexible display formatting. Displays can feature News, Photos, Video, RSS feeds and more.

Church video projection featuring the Digital Bulletin offers an attractive way to replace clutter of traditional paper bulletins using vivid monitors to display religious imagery, church messages and meeting announcements; to announce upcoming classes and meetings and highlight fundraising appeals or gatherings. In the lobby, office or community hall, Digital Bulletin is also ideal for webcasts, weather, event announcements, and much more. And, they totally eliminate crowded unsightly bulletin boards. "We need to remove a plethora of unwanted notices from our lobby bulletin board, actually several times a day." said a pastor about his desire to see digital signage replace the parish bulletin board.

Programming and updating is straightforward for those with intermediate computer proficiency. PSNE offers programs to maintain the digital signage system and manage programming for churches, or for parishes desiring to manage their own updates we will train staff to mange programming in-house.

Churches have shared many ways they could put the Digital Bulletin to work to communicate in an engaging, effective, visual way. At Power Sound of New England we have customized our Digital Bulletin to meet the unique needs of our parish customers.  “We look forward to feedback from our parish customers”, said Troy Jennings, “as to how we can tailor a Digital Bulletin system to their individual needs.”

To learn more about church video projection and other custom audio visual systems for worship you can visit Power Sound of New England’s website: http://powersoundne.com/worshipav.