The 'new normal' at St John's Cathedral

When the coronavirus lockdown closed churches overnight, the Diocese of East Anglia only had two churches across its 51 parishes which could live-stream Masses. Since then, a transformation with long-lasting consequences has taken place.

Come the lockdown announcement, the flagship St John’s Cathedral in Norwich, in common with 95% of Catholic churches across East Anglia, had no means to broadcast its Masses to tens of thousands of parishioners at a time of unprecedented spiritual need.

Priests and technically-minded parishioners started scrambling madly to find a way to continue to serve the spiritual requirements of parishioners who, overnight, could have been left disenfranchised.

But where to find a video camera or a laptop with a webcam and microphone and, even if you did, how to get an internet connection inside a church with thick wireless wifi resistant walls, became urgent questions.

Director of Music at St John’s, Daniel Justin, was one among many who stepped into the breach and quickly managed to set up a home-made webcam system, right in front of the high altar, to provide a static picture and rather echoey sound. But it worked and online audiences, which reached over 3,500 for some key Easter services, demonstrated the strong instant demand for online Masses.

Within a few weeks, up to 20 Catholic churches across East Anglia had set up similar home-made solutions, sometimes broadcasting from churches and sometimes from a presbytery living room or even a hallway or under the stairs.

One Norwich priest even broadcast an evening prayer service live, singing and speaking into his mobile phone, while walking his bike – complete with punctured tyre – back to the church hall.

Pretty soon, Daniel at the cathedral realised that a more professional and permanent solution would be needed as, even when lockdown eases, restrictions on congregations will remain and the considerable audience for online Masses will continue, at least in part for those still self-isolating, the permanently house-bound and a new virtual congregation which has sprung up overnight.

Daniel was fortunate, as he could turn to expert Darren Butler, owner of South Norfolk-based Audio Electronic Design (AED) which, over 30 years, has supplied audio and audio-visual systems to literally hundreds of churches across East Anglia – including St John’s.

Darren had already put his thinking cap on, realising the limitations of a web-cam approach and that many churches had suddenly become wide awake to the opportunities to broadcast their spiritual offerings way beyond the restrictions of church walls.

Many churches could now see, in vivid YouTube colour, the advantages a more professional and permanent solution could bring them in the new “normal” world in which we will continue to live.

Meanwhile, Darren was working on creating a twin-camera system that can be adapted to churches large and small. Once set-up, it can provide multiple camera views and angles, yet be controlled simply with a small remote control device and no other operators needed - simples.

“The beauty of the PTZ system is that it provides up to 16 different shots from just two high-definition fixed cameras,” said Darren. “They can zoom, pan and tilt and are fully controllable from a small hand-held radio-controlled remote control, that the priest or a member of the congregation can easily operate. There is no need for camera or control desk operators as all the shots from the cameras are pre-programmed and transition automatically at the press of a button.”

He is also working on a smaller single fixed camera solution which can be upgraded at a later date if required. Years of experience means Darren is also used to installing the equipment discreetly and in line with any historic buildings regulations.

The system can broadcast live online and be recorded and, Darren believes, will also come into its own for events such as weddings.

Cathedral music director Daniel has certainly been won over: “The real benefit of the AED system is the ease of use as it is totally automatic and allows the cameras to move seamlessly from one close-up shot, via a wider shot, to a different close-up position. This gives not only a professional edge, but an incredibly simple user experience.”

And, he believes, the system will be of great benefit long after lockdown ends.

“I think it has become very apparent that many people have gained a lot from our broadcasts,” said Daniel. “People who have not been able to attend Mass for many years before this pandemic have been grateful for the opportunity to do so.

“We will be continuing broadcasting Masses from the Cathedral even after we return to public Masses, as it is clear they have meant a great deal to a great number. We have had people watching from America, Canada, the Philippines, Australia, and Dubai - it’s wonderful to be able to share our liturgy and our wonderful building with all these people.”

Welcome to the new normal.

Keith Morris is Director of Communications of the Diocese of East Anglia. You can see the St John’s system here, and visit Audio Electronic Design here.