We are making positive momentum towards a reopening of the Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church sanctuary for regular Sunday worship. Our Regathering Task Force has been instrumental in this process, including tracking Covid-19 numbers, reviewing research and medical opinions, and listening to the thoughts of the many people who are part of Beautiful Savior. Three major advancements around worship in the sanctuary have resulted from this extensive and continuing work:
Installation of air purification systems
Installation of high definition live-streaming capable cameras
Adding a worship technology coordinator position
All of these improvements are centered around a desire to share the love of God in Jesus Christ with more people while also keeping at the forefront the safety and health of people worshiping God in our building.
Air Purification Systems
These systems help purify the air and thereby create a safer environment. Two large systems have already been installed in the Welcome Center, since we have known for a while that this area of the building would be the first space to be used. Now, we are awaiting the delivery of systems for the Sanctuary, which understandably have been delayed due to tremendous demand. To be clear, installing the systems does not guarantee that a virus has been completely eliminated from the air; they are not the types of filters seen in places like hospitals. Still, utilizing a needle-point bi-polar ionization process, they are intended to help.
The purchase and installation of these systems are made possible by the generous donation of a Beautiful Savior family.
High Definition Live-streaming Cameras
New cameras have just been installed in the Sanctuary so that we can livestream worship for the many hundreds of people who are now worshiping online with Beautiful Savior. In the coming weeks, we plan to use this camera system for the prerecording of online worship. After a couple weeks or so of practice, we want to transition to live-streaming (i.e., live broadcasting online) of Sunday morning worship in the Sanctuary. We will send very clear information about indoor worship procedures when a date is set for reopening the Sanctuary for worship. We do keep in mind that a dramatic decline in public health or changes in law can affect these plans.
The purchase of these cameras and the system that manages them have been made possible through a combination of memorial funds and generous donations. In the coming weeks, we will share opportunities for people to make gifts to help with these and future purchases for the Sanctuary reopening.
Worship Technology Coordinator
Tremendous expertise is needed to understand, manage, and effectively use our new camera system. This fact, coupled with the tremendous growth in Beautiful Savior’s online worship ministry, made it abundantly clear that we need a staffed position to guide this new and expanding ministry. For that reason, we are bringing onboard Dave Eicher to fill this role as part of our team. As you may know, Dave, along with his father Al, have been instrumental in recording and producing the online worship many of us have had the opportunity to experience for the past months.
Increased electronic giving, some due to online worship, allows for the addition of this position.
We Are Blessed
It is so exciting to be part of an innovative congregation that is expanding in our reach to share God’s love with the wider world. These three advancements, though highly important, merely scratch the surface of the amazing things still on our horizon. If you have any questions about this information, please feel free to reach out to me.
Thankfully, in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Nik