Friends,
The Communications and Ministry & Worship Committees will be bringing the
minute below for consideration and (hopefully) approval this coming Sunday
at Meeting for Business. The minute reflects the discussion we had a couple
of months ago when first considering this matter.
Please take the time to read and consider before Sunday.
In the Light,
Doug Smith, Clerk
LH Communications Committee
___________________________
*Minute on Providing Audio Streaming of Meetings for Worship and Business*
Over the past few years, Langley Hill’s Communications Committee has worked
to improve audio capabilities in the Meeting Room for the benefit of those
members of our community who have hearing challenges. We have installed
microphones in the ceiling, linked to local broadcast equipment in the
Meeting Room closet, and receivers and headphones maintained in the
building lobby.
The broadcast equipment has been used occasionally to allow others outside
the Meeting Room and outside the building to hear what is being said in the
Meeting Room. Examples include allowing remote family members to listen in
on a memorial meeting, as well as providing language translation services
during a wedding.
The Communications Committee and the Ministry and Worship Committee would
like to conduct a test using this equipment to allow community members to
listen to Meetings for Worship and Meetings for Worship with a Concern for
Business from outside the building. This would allow community members who
are homebound due to illness or physical limitations to participate in
worship, and to hear afterthoughts and announcements. It would also allow
community members who are traveling or who live in other areas to
participate.
Our intent is to help Langley Hill increase its inclusiveness through this
outreach. We do not see this as a substitute for Friends worshipping
together in the same room when they can.
We are seeking the Meeting’s permission to test this capability for a
period of six months to see how well it meets the needs of community
members who would like to listen in, and whether it affects the quality of
worship for those in the Meeting Room. We also want to see if the
participation of others not in the Meeting Room affects the sense of
gathering in worship.
These broadcasts would be “listen-only.” Only members of the Langley Hill
community who contacted the Communications Committee would be given access
to the audio stream. It would not be available to the public. We would not
record the audio stream for future use.
At the end of the six-month test, the Communications Committee and Ministry
and Worship would seek input from those who have utilized the service and,
via the listserve, input from those who have worshiped in the Meeting Room.
If the test is considered a success, the two Committees would likely
recommend making the practice permanent. That recommendation would come to
a future Meeting for Business for approval.
The Communications Committee still needs to work out the details on which
digital tools would be used for streaming the audio, but is seeking the
Meeting’s approval of the test before finalizing these details.
