Have you ever thought about how dependent we have become on computer technology that we once shunned as totally unnecessary? About how the Presbyterian church managed to get along just fine for five hundred years, without screens or microphones or live streamed services? Or, for that matter, about how most of us now walk around with a computer in our pockets that is a million times more powerful than the room-sized computer proudly owned by York University in the sixties when I was there?
When Rev. Stephen Dunkin was with us, as you recall, he wanted to put in a screen, so he could enhance his bible-based sermons with pictures. At that point (2013 or 2014) we had none of that stuff in the church, and there was much resistance to getting it. “It’s expensive…we don’t need it…” and other objections were voiced, but in the end a camera and screen were installed. That led to the construction of a booth at the back of the church from which the Power Point could be operated, and for a number of years that sufficed. People got used to it, as people usually do, and it came to be relied upon as a real enhancement to our worship services.
And then came 2020, and Wham! We were hit with the pandemic, where for nearly two years we were subject to lockdown after government-mandated lockdown, when we were unable to gather in person at the church and other means of “doing church” and keeping connected had to be found. An emergency meeting was held at the church in March 2020, where it was decided that we would close our doors “for two weeks” to see where things would go from there. Two weeks turned into months of fear and uncertainty as churches, schools and businesses around the world were closed and hospitals laboured to keep people alive. People quickly learned to use meeting platforms such as Zoom to keep connected when we were not able to gather in person. For some weeks, Rev. Rebekah delivered a sermon from her living room.
In the fall of 2020, Bob Twynam, using only his iPhone and a tripod, started recording church services from the church on Fridays, with Rev. Rebekah, organist Eric Medhurst and himself all masked and well-separated from each other, and no one else in the church. The recorded church services were then edited and uploaded to YouTube, where they could be viewed by anyone at any time. That went on for almost a year, until the summer of 2021, when the lockdowns were lifted and we were finally able to gather in person, with certain restrictions. The question then became, did we want to continue providing an online presence that had proven so convenient and valuable for those unable to attend church in person? It was decided that we did, and the possibility of live streaming began to be a reality.
Bob took on the job of researching how to do it, sourcing and purchasing the needed equipment, learning how to use it, and training others. The best method of live streaming at that time was thought to be a device called a Yolo Box. This was purchased and installed, along with two cameras to allow for switching back and forth for different views. A fairly simple live stream system was set up with three components – the live stream to broadcast the services through YouTube, the computer which operates the Power Point for presentation of pictures that you see every Sunday, and the sound system. An AV team of volunteers was formed, and we were in business. The Yolo Box system worked fine, but it did have its limitations.
One Sunday, we were surprised by the return to Graceview of Eldrin Charan and his son Eric, who had been regular attendees a few years earlier. Eldrin, an expert in technology, saw what we were doing and offered his services to assist the AV team. He introduced a better, more professional way of live streaming using a system called OBS (Open Broadcasting Software). This was done by computer, and the Yolo Box became redundant. Over the next few months new equipment was added, and as time went on, with Eldrin’s help our broadcast services became very sleek, professional – and far more complicated to produce.
The booth at the back of the sanctuary was too small to accommodate the new and improved set-up, so Dave Taylor and Earl Nixon planned to enlarge it. The AV equipment was temporarily removed to the balcony and set up on two folding tables so the work downstairs could be done. Before too long, the AV team came to prefer running the show from the balcony, and when the decision was made to make the temporary balcony arrangement permanent, Dave Taylor volunteered to build a wooden table to replace the plastic folding tables. The beautiful table was finished in July 2025, and all the equipment was dismantled in order to install it. Dave, Bob and Earl installed the table on July 16th. On Sunday July 20 there was no live stream or Power Point, and hymn books and Bibles were resurrected for what was supposed to be that one service only.
On Monday July 21, Bob was at the church from 10:00 AM to about 9:00 PM with Candace Raymond, our website manager, and a hired expert named Rich, to reconnect everything and get it ready for re-opening on the 27th. Bob, Dave and Jackie went over the next day to clean up the mess left behind by redundant equipment, and when they left, they were confident that everything was working correctly.
Well, they say “Man plans, God laughs.” On the following Sunday morning, we were surprised to find that absolutely nothing worked! No live stream, no Power Point, no microphones. It remains a mystery how this could be, since the system had been tested repeatedly a few days earlier and found to be in perfect order. So, it was back to the drawing board. Out came the hymnbooks and Bibles again, and Rev. Eric and others were forced to shout in order to be heard, not always successfully. A week of attempts to remedy the situation ensued, with Bob spending much time at the church with and without Candace to try to get it resolved. By the next Sunday, everything was up and running again – except for the choir screen and the pulpit screen. Bob then sought the help of our son John, who is an IT specialist working for Canadian Tire, but John’s attempts to figure out the problem were unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, August 19, the choir screen and the pulpit screen were finally successfully made operational with help from YongKoo, a tech expert recommended by Candace. On Sunday August 24 we were delighted to see that everything was up and running again as it should be. Let us hope that it stays that way!