A congregational meeting to vote on the sound system will be held this Sunday, April 28, right after the worship service. All members are entitled to vote.
The Parish Board recommended a new $14,000 sound system for our sanctuary at its meeting on April 10.
The final decision will be made at a congregational meeting on Sunday, April 28, right after the worship service. All members are entitled to vote. Installation will be in early July.
“There was lots of enthusiasm for it,” said Board Chair Art Henshaw as he reported the board’s support.
The proposal was assembled by Bob Close, a new face in our FRSUU family and a friend of Betsy Hazen. Bob is recently retired from a career as a sound engineer; he has installed many sound systems in buildings like ours.
The project requires a congregational vote, because the cost is more than $7,000. The funding would come from the Bailey Fund, a maintenance fund, which currently contains $180,000, reports Kristen Fehlhaber, Director of Finance and Administration.
The $14,000 projected cost is half of what the same project would cost if we hired a consultant and paid market rates. Bob is donating his expertise and getting reduced equipment prices.
Professional analysis of the current sound system revealed failed components and outdated technology.
A task force representing various perspectives worked with Bob to develop the proposal, including Art and Vice Chair Karen Young of the Parish Board; Jeff Litcofsky of the Marketing and Communication Committee, which has been studying the Sanctuary sound system for some time; John Harwood and Bettina Turner, who have substantial hearing loss; and Rev. Rebecca.
In his report to the Parish Board, Art noted, “The existing system does not provide for good understanding of the spoken word, and several areas of the sanctuary have quite serious problems with intelligibility. Impaired hearing listeners are particularly affected and not well served.”
In addition to the immediate benefits of improved overall sound and intelligibility, the proposed system would be designed for future expansion. One such enhancement Rev. Rebecca hopes will be met is inclusion of streaming capability which would be used to broadcast the worship service to members and friends—as well as others who are looking for a faith community to join—who are unable to attend in person.
This proposal would build on many steps FRSUU has taken in recent decades to make sure our facilities and our ministries are as welcoming and accessible as possible to everyone—and continues the work focused on what friends and members need to have a complete experience in our church family.
– John Harwood