2021
ONLINE WORSHIP
ONLINE Worship at HLUMC
History
Prior to Covid we had “livestream” – one camera set up in the back just sending out whatever it picked up of the service. Sometimes it worked sometimes not. Usually there were about 4-6 people watching.
During Covid we learned quickly how to livestream with more cameras using sling studio and posting to Vimeo. We began paying for a subscription to Vimeo so we would have a better broadcast and no commercials. We updated a LOT (but not all) of our editing software and hardware and began prerecording some of the elements from home and church.
Once the congregation came back into the space we struggled to manage BOTH/AND – both in house worship and livestream. We struggled to find a balance between pre-recorded pieces and live pieces. Often our tech crew could not manage the multitasking asked of them. Too many moving parts for the level of expertise our folks have.
We quickly realized we needed to use our resources wisely and do a pre-recorded service for the online community and have all our man/girl power on hand for in person worship on sunday mornings.
The PLAN going forward
We will pre-record elements of each sunday service and put them together cleanly with great audio and video. Each service will include the major pieces of a sunday worship: Welcome/Gathering, Opening Song, Children’s time, (a youth piece as well?), Scripture, Sermon, Prayer, Mission Opportunities and a way to connect with the pastors.
We will record on wednesday and thursday, use friday to edit, and have it ready for production on sunday. The service will be live for any worshippers online at 10:30am Sunday. We will also re-run it at 6pm on Sunday evening complete with hosting/chat for any who would like to join in then as well.
The Purpose
To provide a way to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed in a way that reaches beyond time/space.
To provide a way for HLUMC folks to worship when not able to get to in person worship
To provide a way for all HLUMC folks, members and visitors alike to stay connected with the theme of the week, the gospel lesson, our leaders, and the current mission of the church.
To provide a way to connect with the community, with those looking for a church community, with those seeking God in many different levels of faith, with those not ready to venture into live worship yet.
To provide a way to share with the community around us who and what we are as a church faith community.
To provide a worship opportunity for those who connect better in a digital world
To expand our reach – beyond the walls and out into the world just as Jesus commanded.
A few details:
The service will be shorter than in-house…attention spans are short these days – we will do everything we can to make each element as high quality and engaging as we can to help our online worshippers participate.
Once we clean up our production we will begin live-streaming on Facebook and Youtube as well as on our website. We will use as many outlets as we can to engage people when they come to worship with us online.
We will ALWAYS encourage people to come worship with us on sunday mornings in person as a priority in the way we worship. BUT we will NEVER make people feel like they are not worshipping in a real way if they choose to worship online.
We will continue to strive after ways of connecting with people in the online worshipping community – through the chat, connection card, online giving, participating in mission, etc. Worshippers online will be treated as an equal part of the church and invited to participate in prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness just as in house worshippers.
2021
Mask UP for Worship
Here we go again! We had so hoped we could keep going in the right direction clearing Covid out of our country and God’s world but not quite so fast. Sadly not enough have been vaccinated YET and the variant is taking over in a hurry. All that means though is that we must keep doing our part! If you’ve been vaccinated – put your mask back on to try to slow the spread as much as possible. And esp help keep our children safe who have not been able to be vaccinated yet. If you have not been vaccinated – go do it! Find a way – any way! I (Pastor Carrie) will personally give you a ride there and take you for ice cream on the way home if you’d like! Anything to keep our kids in school this year and to see less of our friends and family sick or even worse. (Pastor Tom probably would take you too but his leg is still out of commission for driving)
As for HLUMC worshipping? We are asking everyone to wear their mask when we have large group gatherings and especially for in person worship. Vaccinated or not we are inviting everyone to put it back on for the whole service. And we as leaders will set the example. It’s not about politics. It’s not about who’s right or wrong. It’s about doing EVERYTHING we do in LOVE. That’s what we are commanded to do – LOVE one another! Let’s do it by this one simple thing. The only exception is that when we preach OR when we sing solo we will take it off so you can hear better. Otherwise – mask ON for now!