The Starr King UU Church tech team shares how they arrange their space and set up their technology with an emphasis on the value of inclusion. Illustrations by Nathan Heigert.
Basic Technology Elements
- Microphones! At least one wireless handheld to start. Add others as needed.
- Screen(s) & projector(s) (so Roomies can see Zoomies)
- Cameras (so Zoomies can see Roomies)
A Zoom-Optimized Worship Setup
This is the multiplatform tech setup for worship at Starr King UU Church in Hayward, CA, USA:
This is a sketch of our rectangular physical sanctuary with rows of congregants in chairs, and windows along the left wall. The front of the sanctuary is on the right. The worship leader stands at a podium with the chalice on the left and a piano on the right. The sound booth is in the back right corner of the room. Drawing by Nathan Heigert.
Zoom Connection
The sound booth has a laptop that connects to zoom. A camera mounted on the rear wall of the sanctuary provides the video for this connection, and the sound board provides the audio. Audio coming from zoom goes back into the sound board and video from zoom goes to a projector on the ceiling, which makes the image appear on a big screen at the back of the chancel. This means that in general, Roomies and Zoomies are seeing the same thing on-screen, assuming everyone is in speaker view. Zoomies of course can switch between speaker view and gallery as they please. In the sanctuary we generally stay with speaker view, but at certain times in the service, like when we’re waving to each other at the start and the end, and during joys and sorrows, we use gallery view on the big screen so Roomies can see Zoomies. We also spotlight the Faces camera during these times so Zoomies can see Roomies better.
“Faces” Camera
This is a small tablet on a tripod in the front left corner of the sanctuary, facing the people in the room. It allows Zoomies to see Roomies – not perfectly, but better than the occasional back view from the back wall camera. It has its own zoom connection – video only to avoid audio feedback – and it enables the Zoomies to see the faces of the people in the room. It was a low budget acquisition – a cheap tablet on a cheap tripod – and it doesn’t need any wiring because it can connect over wifi. Normally the Faces camera just sits there on its tripod, but when there’s something happening, like children sitting on the floor during intergen worship or a child dedication ceremony, we have someone move it around for maximum benefit. This helps Roomies see as well as Zoomies, an example of universal design. When not in use, it recharges in the sound booth for the next service.
Managing the Zoom Feed
Our zoom host, not shown in the diagram, operates from the office and manages the service from there. When we first started zoom services in the early days of covid, church members handled all the zoom host functions. But we got burned out on that (we wanted to attend our services instead of always working them) so we hired someone (who happened to be back east) to work a few hours a week for us running our Sunday zoom service and uploading the video to YouTube. It was money well spent! Our zoom host:
- Starts and records the zoom session
- Admits participants and assigns co-host privileges (sound booth, zoom greeter)
- Screen shares hymn lyrics, videos, words we say together, etc.
- Adds and removes spotlights as needed
- Trims the recording and uploads it to YouTube
Usually the zoom connection in the sanctuary is spotlighted, which means the camera on the back wall delivers what everyone sees. This camera is wired to the laptop in the sound booth, and to a little camera control panel that has presets for podium, podium + chalice, piano, whole sanctuary (as much as it can see), etc. If the speaker is remote, they’ll be spotlighted and appear on the big screen (and to Zoomies).
Chalice Lighting
We light 2 chalices, the usual one in the physical sanctuary and one on zoom to also sanctify the zoom space. Our zoom greeter (someone on zoom who welcomes people, manages the chat, and facilitates conversation and connection after worship) usually provides the zoom chalice. It has its own zoom connection (again, video only), typically from a phone focused on a small chalice. We try to light (and extinguish) the two chalices at approximately the same time. Both of them are spotlighted for those moments. Zoomies appreciate the zoom chalice, both for the symbolism and because it gives them a meditative focus during worship if they want it.
Music
Our pianist is also our song leader, so she wears a lapel mike. We also mike the piano. Its mike is tucked under the partially open piano top to shield it from the speaker which is right overhead. When the choir sings we have special mikes for them. This was a challenge for us at first, getting mikes that worked from a distance. Most of our mikes have to be very close to the speaker’s mouth or they get nothing. Someone has now loaned us some mikes that work from a distance, along with mike stands that hold the mikes above the singers. These mikes have a deadzone on one side and we point that towards the speakers to minimize feedback. The speakers aren’t shown in the diagram. There’s one on either side, near the front, high up.
Worship Leaders and Other Speakers
Speakers generally stand at the podium, which has a microphone. If they were sitting, we would make a new camera preset to center them in the back wall camera’s view. Then everyone (Roomies and Zoomies) would be able to see them clearly on the screen. Next to the speaker is an adjustable tripod holding a laptop with yet another zoom connection (video only) so the speaker can see the faces of the Zoomies as well as the Roomies who are right in front of them.
Mobile Zoom Station (Not Shown)
Years ago someone donated a large screen TV to the church, along with a cart to roll it around. It now has a small laptop, a webcam, and a good wired mic, and it has become our “mobile zoom station.” Before worship we put it in Fellowship Hall in case Family Ministry needs it, and after worship it is available for in-person congregants to interact with Zoomies. If we’re doing something out on the patio after worship, we roll the cart out there. It puts Zoomies in the center of the action – our Earth Day Fair, for instance – and makes it easy for Roomies to talk with them. For Family Ministry, we create a breakout group called “Happy Heart Circle Time,” with the Mobile Zoom Station assigned to the breakout group, and if children are going to join virtually, their parents set them up with a zoom connection in the breakout group.
A Multiplatform Listening Circle
This is how Starr King UU Church arranges the physical sanctuary for a listening circle.
This is a sketch of our physical sanctuary configured for a listening circle. It shows in-person congregants sitting in a big circle, with images of our nine Zoom attendees projected in gallery view on the big screen at the front of the sanctuary. We put the Faces camera in the middle of the circle facing the speaker, and someone adjusted it as the handheld wireless mike (which also served as the talking stick) moved around the circle.
When we got to the front of the sanctuary, the “talking stick” passed virtually to the Zoomies, who were spotlighted as they spoke. We numbered them to make the speaking order clear, and one of the Zoomies handled the spotlighting. The facilitator sat in the circle wearing a lapel mike, and another person, also miked, was the timekeeper. Each person got the same amount of time to speak. Drawing by Nathan Heigert.
The multiplatform dimension was seamless! We could see each other, we could hear each other, and it absolutely didn’t matter that we were physically in different locations.
Note: Many congregations have invested in a Meeting Owl for smaller gatherings in a circle format for inclusivity.
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