Tech has shown its merit, says PCI moderator ahead of digital Easter

Rev William Henry was speaking as Churches across Britain and Ireland prepared for the first ever virtual Easter services.

The Church of Ireland has published a selection of services being broadcast and streamed online, with several dioceses and parishes streaming their own services.

The Roman Catholic Church and the Methodist Church are taking similar measures, as are Churches from some of Northern Ireland’s smaller denominations.

The News Letter asked Rev Henry to reflect on the new, digital way his church is conducting worship amid the lockdown.

The Presbyterian Moderator recently began a series of Sunday worship services that are being made available on the church’s website.

“My own church had been live streaming our service for some time anyway, but I wanted to do something for the denomination as a whole — particularly those parishes which do not have the technology themselves,” he said.

“Principally the reason is to give a little bit of normality in the midst of all the chaos. All the normal elements you would find in a Presbyterian service are there. It takes a bit of the pressure off the local ministers, hopefully”

He continued: “When you see the numbers of people who are watching it, there’s never been more. I’ve been surprised. I did a little tiny clip on Facebook and there were 16,000 hits in a very small time.

“And you’re getting people on the far side of the world watching as well.

“I simply go into the building and record all the spoken bits — the prayers, the reading, and a kids’ talks.

“ I choose my songs but I’m using the material going back to or three years, which has already been recorded. But it’s video. So you can pan back and see the congregation so there’s a connection that this is what we used to do.”

But the clergyman admits it is a “bizarre” experience preaching to an empty church building.

He explained: “When you’re in a building that normally seats 350 and there’s nobody else in there except for the cameraman, it is a completely bizarre experience.

“You miss the interaction with people. A preacher interacts with his people.

“It lacks a bit of that but you try to make it as normal as possible.”

But while everyone will be hoping the coronavirus crisis passes sooner rather than later, Rev Henry believes the streaming technology has shown its merits.

“I would imagine that any congregation who has dipped their toe in with all of this will want to develop it (once worship returns to normal) because they will see the reach that it has.”

He continued: “They will want to develop their journey with that.

“You have people working away from home, even people on holidays and students are still connecting with their home Church.”