AV system continues ministry at St. John’s

Can’t see as well as you’d like? Can’t read that tiny print? No problem, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Cornell, has a new AV system that makes worship services much easier than before.

Thanks to a $5,000 anonymous donation from a couple in the congregation, the church purchased and installed the system earlier this fall.

“We identified a need, that our congregation needed to make a step forward in the world of technology,” said member Ron Demulling, as the reason for the donation. “Because, it’s easier for our older members, and it’s also easier for almost everyone to be able to see the big screen and the reading on there.”

Demulling says it also sometimes hard for elderly to hold hymnals, but hymnals are still available in the backs of pews, for those who can read music and like to follow along that way.

“We just thought it was time for us to move forward with the technology that’s available today,” said Demulling.

The church’s previous system was 25-30 years old, and sound just wasn’t as clear as it could be anymore. Now, after purchasing a new speaker and microphones, amplifier and mixing system, the sound resonating on Sundays and special occasions, is crystal clear.

In addition, announcements, verses, hymns/song lyrics and graphics can be viewed over the pulpit on a 75-inch TV monitor.

“There are a lot of different things that we can do now, that we could not before,” said Demulling. “It’s been a huge benefit to the congregation and also for our visitors.”

Demulling says it’s much easier to follow along with the service, especially for parents with smaller children.

The system is controlled by a laptop or a tablet that can tweak things during the service, if the pastor’s volume needs to be higher. St. John’s offers a traditional worship service, but they also offer two Sundays a month of “blended” worship, with a mix of traditional and contemporary services.

In just one day, the system was installed, with all congregation donated labor. However, the church did hire an AV consultant, to ensure system tuning was sufficient to distribute even sound throughout the worship hall.

Now, the pastor can use a clicker to progress the prepared slideshow and imported videos/clips can be shown online.

“It goes pretty smoothly,” said Demulling. “We’re getting better.”

St. John’s sister church, Our Redeemer, in Ladysmith, also was able to install an AV system in their church, but on a smaller scale. Demulling says without the anonymous couple’s generosity, it would have taken some time to budget enough to purchase the system.

“This congregation has always responded when they’ve been asked,” said Demulling.

Pastor Chris Christenson agreed, saying the church can’t share their appreciation enough for a gift that helps them share their ministry.

“They shared with us,” said Christenson, “so we could share with other people.”