Staff

Shortly after our marriage when Kathy was Senior Minister at St. John’s UCC in Columbus, Ohio, I remarked that the church needed better microphones and speakers because it was really hard to hear in that huge sanctuary. We researched what might be needed and, ultimately, the church acquired a very sophisticated audio system and a broadcast-quality camera. No one knew anything about A/V, including me, and so I set out to learn it and then train a few folks.

Fast forward 10 years. Shortly after Kathy started her ministry here at Rock Spring, I again remarked on the poor-quality audio and that we had no video capability at all. Fortunately, Rock Spring made the decision to purchase a new system. It also became apparent that we needed to think about reaching out to people who lived further away and those who are homebound. That’s when Rock Spring made the decision to begin livestreaming our services and special events.

During the pandemic, we have upgraded our capabilities even more, and I have learned so much about A/V. I have found it very intellectually challenging to experiment with new ways of bringing people closer together, even when we couldn’t be together in person. We have a great team of volunteers that runs the equipment on Sunday mornings and for special events.

I will say, though, that this job is surely very different from my “real job” as Professor of Management at The University of Toledo!