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“Cathedral of His Glory – New Lighting Technology Successfully Attracts a New Congregation”
by: David Martin Jacques

To be Published in the September, 2004, issue of Church Production Magazine

Many churches struggle with the decision on whether or not to upgrade their lighting, video, and sound systems to appeal to the modern congregation. Young people are constantly being barraged with dynamic lighting images from music videos, movies, and rock shows. This powerful visual art has left a profound influence on the aesthetics of the new generation of church members. Several questions are brought to mind: How does a church compete with this technology and engage new parishioners with a modern aesthetic? Should the church use this technology in its mission to attract people who would not otherwise consider attending a service? Is it worth the money to upgrade the church’s technology to appeal to this audience?

Situated in Greensboro, North Carolina, The Cathedral of His Glory has welcomed new parishioners since 1975 to experience the message. Facing the same challenges as many other churches trying to flourish in the modern pop culture, The Cathedral of His Glory looked ahead to find the answer. It was this forward thinking that led Pastor Dennis Willis and Cathedral Technical Director Kenny Brutcher to discover how to entice a younger generation of church members into the sanctuary.

They developed the idea of a contemporary worship service on Sunday evenings entitled “Sunday at 7 “. Sunday at 7 is quite different from the traditional service. It is indeed a “Church with a different twist”, and it’s the main reason why the Cathedral’s lighting upgrade became a reality. Unlike more conventional worship services, Sunday at 7 is designed to appeal to the younger members of the church—incorporating contemporary Christian music acts performing in a state-of-the-art facility.

Kenny Brutcher describes the mission of the Cathedral of His Glory: “The big focus for us is trying to reach the lost people. Trying to give other Christians a platform to bring people to church.” Why was the addition of the moving lights so important? “Sunday at 7 is designed like a contemporary concert. That is what Sunday at 7 is all about. We darken the cathedral and make the atmosphere inviting. You don’t feel isolated with people looking at you. People can come in and be comfortable. They experience great music supported by state-of-the-art lighting effects. All this in combination proves that you can have a good time praising the Lord.”

With a seating capacity of 2200, the Cathedral of His Glory is ideally situated to feature modern lighting technology in its services. The building was originally constructed in 1981 with very little lighting equipment. There was standard architectural and some television lighting, but little else. The Cathedral now broadcasts its services on the Trinity Broadcast Network. This, along with the Sunday at 7 series, has made the upgrade in lighting a necessity.

Kenny states that the goal of the new lighting system was to bring the Cathedral up to 21st Century technology with a flexible system that would work for both the traditional services and the concert venue on Sunday evenings, as well as support the video broadcasting needs of the church. As Kenny notes, “We want to be able to control the atmosphere and change the traditional stigma of the church. We want it to be on the cutting edge”.

According to Kenny, the biggest challenge was “…finally getting the church’s board to say ‘Let’s try this’. Since 1991 the church has been growing and people have been more accepting to the technology. The one question we heard the most was: ‘Are we going to be able to see the lights? The biggest hurdle for the congregation was getting everyone used to seeing the lighting equipment and the trusses. We installed the truss and let it hang for a month. To my surprise no one said anything about it. They got accustomed to seeing it there.”

Working within the confines of a building that was constructed in 1981 with no technology incorporated or future technology thought of was no easy feat. The Cathedral was originally built “for a piano and a guy standing at a podium”. New lighting positions had to be designed with electrical distribution that could handle the moving lights. In addition, low voltage DMX lines had to be run to all the moving lights, along with accommodations for dimmers and controllers.

With a lighting budget of approximately $100,000, several lighting manufacturers were eager to bid on the system. Kenny and the Cathedral finally settled on Carey Sound of Greensboro, North Carolina. Cary Sound had specified Robe Lighting Controls to supply the moving lighting fixtures. Kenny explains: “Robe had an edge. We performed shootouts with the competitors. Robe’s equipment was brighter. For the price it was a no-brainer. We would have gotten half the fixtures and be out of the budget.” The Cathedral ultimately decided to purchase 24 Robe Show Lighting Spot and Wash 575XT fixtures. A Hog PC with a playback and programming wing was purchased to control all the fixtures.

Nicole Franklin (Vice President of Carey Sound) remarks that the Robe equipment was just the right balance of price point versus function. “Robe was a manufacturer for some of the larger automated .lighting companies and they came out with their own product line. Their specifications made a lot more sense. Robe was able to provide 24 lights where the other companies were specifying less.”

Nicole noted that bringing Robe in as a new manufacturer was a challenge. “Every major lighting manufacturer came in and bid. Robe competed with all of them.” Service and customer support was also a leading consideration. “We all felt that Robe as a new company would be extra supportive. Robe was so quick to realize ‘The Golden Rule’. Larger companies seem to forget that. The warrantee was double of what the other manufacturers offered.”

Regarding maintenance and serviceability issues, Kenny Brutcher states that since it’s a permanent installation and the lights rarely move, travel worthiness is not an issue. “Half of the variables of moving lights has been wiped away with the luxury of having them sit all week.”

The Cathedral’s expanding video broadcasts were another important consideration in choosing the lighting fixtures. Correct color balance is critical for video broadcasting. It is always a challenge balancing the 575w arc lamp moving lights with the existing 3200 Kelvin incandescent conventional lighting in the Cathedral. Kenny chose to use the Robe’s color correction filters to balance color temperature down to 3200 Kelvin. ““We have 60 - 1000 watt PAR’s for television lighting along with the 24 Robe Intelligent fixtures. Robe color temperature features make it possible to integrate into a stable video color balance. We balance everything to 3200. Although the sanctuary is blue, it works better to bring everything down to 3200 Kelvin to enhance the warm wood tones of sanctuary.”

The new automated lighting system is only the first of several phases that the Cathedral is going through. Upgrading the audio and video systems are in process. According to Kenny, “The next step is sound control. The last major upgrade was in 1996 and we are still working with that system. I just ordered a Midas Verona Sound console. We are waiting to see what else is out there.”

Catering to the sound needs of contemporary Christian rock groups has been a welcome challenge for Kenny, “I elect to run everything from Front of House. Occasionally we use an onstage monitoring console if group requests it. But I prefer to control everything from the front so I can have overall control of the sound. “

Some of the artists who have performed at the Cathedral of His Glory include: Jeremy Camp; Natalie Grant; Bleech; Jinny Owens; Fusebox; John Groves; and Out of Eden. “It’s refreshing to have Christian bands come in. They are all very impressed with my staff and the new lighting equipment. I am the only paid technical person and rely on church volunteers. They are terrific and extremely helpful to the bands. It is not unusual to hear the musicians say: ‘If all the churches take care of us this way, we would not need a rider’.”

And how has the congregation reacted to the new lighting? Nicole comments that “Most everyone’s first reaction is ‘Wow, is that in a church?’”. “All of our email has been extremely positive” says Kenny. “We only hope that it brings in more people who were lost and who can now receive the message.”

So was it worth the money to upgrade the Cathedral’s technology to appeal to an audience who may have never thought otherwise to step inside a church? The numbers speak for themselves--at a recent Sunday at 7 concert over 3500 people showed up to the Cathedral that seats 2200. Kenny Brutcher makes the case even clearer : “If we save one life, then it has all been worth it.” So far, it seems to be!