St Mary's church in Haverhill received £1000 grant from the Growing in God funding to help them purchase hardware and software that would allow them to deliver to a professional standard when livestreaming services and events to a congregation and other newly interested individuals who were not comfortable visiting the church due to Covid.
By doing so, this has allowed the church to reach more people than ever, and has meant that the Covid barrier can now be overcome as people can take part in worship without even having to take a step outside.
Some of the software and hardware they have purchased has enabled the services to improve vastly, including the ability to now provide servics with two-way interaction, known as "hybrid" church, which lets the services be more interactive, and more like how it would be in normal circumstances. The new camera purchased for the church also enables flawless transitions between different focus points, and doesn't disrupt the service. The church firmly believes that with the continued use of livestreaming they will be able to garner greater reach in a parish that is on the verge of significant growth in population. The church also plans to use their software to connect with people over Lent, and share study material with each other.
Additionally, Charlotte Kalinsky, who has lived in Haverhill for her whole life and was christened at St Mary’s Church in 1991, but never attended church prior to the Covid-19 lockdown has become a fully fledged member of the congregation after seeing their Café Church online service via social media.
Charlotte said: “I am a frontline healthcare worker, and the past year has been incredibly tough but connecting with members of my community via the online church services has been a lifeline through these extraordinary times. At a time where loneliness is rife, online church has not only provided me with an incredibly strong sense of community but lots of new friends too. Revd Max Drinkwater and the team, including Tracey Sevenoaks who is the licensed Evangelist, who introduced me to the church have been so welcoming and supportive. I am grateful to have the opportunity to regularly connect with other members of the congregation and will be attending physical church services as soon as they resume.”
The purchases have proved to be extremely useful and have helped immensely in growing the congregations and will continue to be an asset even after restrictions are lifted.
