Tips for offering online worship
Online Worship
If your parish would like to host online worship, there are three free products available that will help you do that. At the minimum you will need:
reliable high-speed internet
a computer with a camera, speaker and microphone OR
a tablet or smartphone
Zoom
You can sign up for a free account here: https://zoom.us/signup. With the basic free account, you will be able to host a meeting with up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes. With Zoom a congregation can meet entirely online and everyone can see other participants in addition to the person leading the service. Different people can lead certain parts of the service (readings, prayers, etc). Participants may join a Zoom meeting either using Zoom’s web-based platform, or by downloading the Zoom software. Do let people know that the first time they access it that smartphone users will be prompted to download the app and computer users will be prompted to download the software. Those without access to high-speed internet may call in using a cell or landline phone. Those calling in will only have audio, so worship planners and leaders should be mindful of that. Participants should mute when not leading parts of the service and headsets with microphones are useful, but not necessary.
The Getting Started page of the Zoom website has multiple helpful guides and tutorials.
Here are some simple instructions you can share with parishioners who may be connecting to Zoom for the first time.
Virginia Theological Seminary has a great (and short) video about how to stream your Zoom meeting on Facebook and YouTube as well! They also have a video on how to share videos/presentations/pictures via Zoom as well.
SAFETY: The New York Intergroup has developed some great resources for keeping AA meetings safe from zoombombing and other infiltrations that will also be of use to churches. Zoom Meeting Host Guide, Zoom Participants Guide, Zoom Meeting Settings Guide, Toolkit for Handling Disruptions
Facebook Live
You can host service like Morning or Evening Prayer on Facebook Live from your parish’s Facebook page and offer that as an alternative to meeting in person. *Do make sure you are on your church’s page - not your personal page. Here is a useful getting started guide from the Diocese of San Diego. Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City and St. Alban’s in Spirit Lake both offer this from time to time. There are instructions for embedding your Facebook Live video into your church’s website here if you don’t want to send people to Facebook. New to Facebook Live? There is an easy-to-understand guide that walks you through the steps here.
Google Hangouts
Google has made their Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities available for FREE until July 1, 2020 to all G Suite customers globally including: hosting Larger meetings, for up to 250 participants per call, Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain, and the ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive. Read more here.
Streamyard
Streamyard allows you to involve up to 9 liturgical participants and switch between their cameras and a shared screen with slides. You can add in congregational responses and have them pop up, or display live comments on the screen. With the free version you can stream to one platform, like Facebook or YouTube. With the $25 a month ($20/month with yearly) subscription you can stream to 2 platforms and record up to four hours.
Live Streaming Services
If your congregation would like to be able to offer a live stream of the regular weekly service at your congregation for people who cannot attend in person there are a few things to plan for. You will need high-speed internet in the church building, which may not be possible in some locations. You can stream with a simple set-up like a tripod and phone or tablet to Facebook Live, a web camera and laptop to Facebook Live or YouTube, or purchase a streaming camera like mevo, which is simple and user-friendly (and can stream to multiple platforms).
Live streaming equipment recommendations
Please be aware that when live streaming services, standard music licenses do not cover streaming. There are a few ways to get around this if your services include music:
Choose public domain hymns.
Purchase a streaming license through OneLicense or CCLI - the cost varies depending on your membership. *OneLicense is offering a free month of licenses for new customers or for existing customers who do not already have a Podcast / Streaming License, valid through April 15, 2020.
If you are brand new to the ONE LICENSE service and would like to take advantage of the one-month gratis reprint license, please sign up for an account at https://onelicense.net and use code “CRVS20” at checkout. All fees will be waived.
If you already have an Annual Reprint License and would like to add a Podcast / Streaming License in this season, you can do so by logging in and visiting the “Licenses” tab under “My Account.” Email info@onelicense.net with your license number, business address, and the code “CRVS20” for redemption.
Mute the feed during hymns (note this will only work with the Zoom mobile app – Facebook Live does not offer a muting option) or mute the sound with your microphone or mevo.