In Their Own Words:

Background:

Ford’s Chapel United Methodist is located in the town of Harvest, Alabama and is the state’s oldest Methodist Church.  After losing part of their building to a tornado, the church decided to build a new multipurpose space that would become the home for their contemporary worship service.  Church member Dave Crenshaw connected with Essential Audio’s Al Gilbert to talk about the project.

Project Goals:

The church wanted a quality sound, video, and lighting system that would be suitable for their contemporary worship service.  Because the room would be relatively small, controlling stage noise would be a high priority.  Also, because the ceiling was fairly low and constructed out of finished white sheet rock, the components needed to be as visually clean as possible.  Finally, the plans included a smaller multipurpose room adjacent to the worship space, separated by an air wall.  This space would be used for various meals and functions, but it would occasionally need to serve as an overflow area for the main worship space.  Consequently, additional AV support would be required.

Solution

The sound system consists of a Soundcraft Si Expression 3 console, QSC amplifiers, and an exploded mono array of three Danley Synergy Horn loudspeakers, supplemented by a pair of TH112 subwoofers. The subwoofers are recessed in the side walls and masked with custom covers made with the same fabric as is used on the acoustical panels. The exploded mono configuration was chosen because the stage is located on the wide side of the room and only a small percentage of the seats could have been able to benefit from a stereo system. System processing is handled by a Symetrix Solus, and a full complement of Sennheiser wireless microphones and wireless in-ear monitors were provided.  Thanks to the wireless in-ear monitoring, stage volumes are well controlled.

Lighting system components include ETC Source 4 Junior Ellipsoidal fixtures, Elation Opti Tri Par RGB LED fixtures, and Chauvet ColorDash battens, all controlled by a Jands CL console. Because a dimming panel had already been included in the electrical design for the house lighting system, Essential Audio worked with the Electrical contractor to get the channel count increased and a DMX option card installed. This gives the church the ability to take control of all LED, theatrical, and house lighting from the Jands console during services, while allowing for control of house and conventional theatrical lighting from the wall panels when no technical personnel are present. A black, powder coated light bar was installed, and dimming circuits land on dedicated outlets which are flush mounted in the sheetrock, making for the cleanest installation possible.

Graphics are handled by an iMac running Renewed Vision’s ProPresenter software. Two Sharp 80″ LCD Panels function as the main displays for the congregants, while a 60″ panel mounted adjacent to the rear door serves as a confidence monitor for the musicians on stage. HD video signals are distributed with Blackmagic SDI converters.

A grid of QSC full-range and subwoofer ceiling speakers cover the overflow space. An additional 60″ display was mounted above the fireplace. The display and sound system are configured either to derive their signal from a local auxiliary input and microphone or to copy the audio and video content from the main room. Audio selection is handled via a Symetrix wall panel, recessed in the wall adjacent to the television.