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Vancouver, British Columbia’s Trinity Central Church Members.
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The services at Trinity Central are not intended to be "loud, brash and glitzy" says the church’s technical advisor, Mark Peskett. "We use technology to maximize the potential of the gifts of the musicians in the band so that we can best and most comfortably lead the congregation into encountering God."
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To display song lyrics, the church uses ProPresenter software in conjunction with one of the venue’s cinema projectors. "We get to throw up the words on the enormous cinema screen, which is kind of cool," says technical advisor, Mark Peskett.
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The church recently acquired a Mackie DL32R digital mixing system controllable via iPad. Engineer Mark Peskett favors the mixer’s preamps, noting their dynamics, clarity, and air.
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"It’s all about stewardship, really, and finding a balance between investing in equipment that will last you a long time and won’t cost a lot of money to replace and maintain." - Mark Peskett, Technical Advisor, Trinity Central Church, Vancouver, British Columbia.
In May 2012, Mark Peskett officially became an expat. An AV engineer by trade, Peskett was a relatively new member of ChristChurch London, a congregation that gathers each week in different venues throughout the city, when Rhys Scott, one of the church elders, announced that he and his family were moving across the world to plant a new church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. After some reflection, Peskett decided to join Scott and participate in the birth of a new church.
“When [Scott made his announcement], I'd been at [ChristChurch London] for only six months. I hadn't yet felt very plugged in or connected with the church––it was quite a new community for me, and certainly a new set of values of being a Christian that I hadn't experienced before, so I was somewhat new to the whole thing,” Peskett recounts. “As time when on I got to know [Scott]; we shared some personal interests like music production––he likes to write, and at that time was writing and recording his own music, and I helped him a lot with that.” After a while, it seemed like Vancouver was in Peskett's future, too: “As I got to know [Scott] and opened up to the idea of coming to Vancouver myself, I became quite convinced that this was part of God's call on my life, as well. And so I came, primarily to be a part of the church.”
New Calling
Part of the Newfrontiers family of churches, Trinity Central was formed in February 2012, its members meeting in the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre in downtown Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown district. The non-denominational portable church has since moved locations, and now holds its weekly services in the Vancity Theatre, a cinema just down the street from Roundhouse. Currently, Trinity Central’s congregation is about 150 members, some of which––like Peskett––are English expats.
Initially, Peskett served as the church’s chief audio engineer, and while these days his main gig is playing electric guitar in the worship band, he continues to serve as Trinity Central’s technical advisor, providing oversight and training when required. (On weekdays, he is a full-time AV support specialist at the University of British Columbia.) He explains that in his view, technology’s role in worship is a means to an end. “The purpose of it, in my mind, is not to entertain people––we don’t want to create a service which is loud and brash and glitzy and has lots of technology just for the sake of it. We use it to maximize the potential of the gifts of the musicians in the band so that we can best and most comfortably lead the congregation into encountering God,” he explains. “At the end of the day, that’s what matters. And if the technology can help us to be effective in doing that, then we’ll invest in that technology.”
New Investments
Recently, Trinity Central invested in a Mackie DL32R digital mixing system, controllable via an iPad. Peskett has noted that the church favors the audio quality of the mixer’s preamps, which he likes for their sense of dynamics, clarity and air. The church uses the mixer’s on-board compression and the EQ on pretty much every channel, with reverb and delay on the vocals, snare drum and acoustic guitar. He recounts that while he has used presets, for the most part he configures his settings manually––his way of forcing himself to rely less on visuals in favor of listening more. He also oversees the church’s podcast, making use of the DL32R’s multitrack recording capabilities.
The DL32R is at the center of an audio system that also includes Meyer Sound UPA-1P speakers and UMS-1P subwoofers, Shure ULX Beta58 wireless microphone system, including one with a DPA headset mic, plus six Sennheiser ew 300 IEM in-ear monitor kits.
To display song lyrics, the church uses ProPresenter in conjunction with one of Vancity’s cinema projectors. “We get to throw up the words on the enormous cinema screen, which is kind of cool,” Peskett says. He uses a Tascam SR-200 to record weekly podcasts, and for lighting, the church makes use of the cinema’s existing system.
As is the case for many portable churches, Trinity Central’s biggest technical challenge is the clock: time is limited for set-up, sound check and tear-down. “People have, primarily, their own responsibilities to take care of and we all work together to get it set up,” Peskett says, although he admits there is still some room for improvement. “It’s more my personality really––I like a really neat, clean kind of set-up, [with] the mic stands positioned in a particular way, and so on. And the perfectionist part of me can make the set-up longer than it should or could be, really.” As for the technology itself, he says that the church rarely runs into problems. “This is one of the advantages of investing in good equipment. The only thing that might possibly happen is we run out of batteries.”
New Philosophy on Technology
Peskett says that technology isn’t treated as an outright ministry at Trinity Central, “but we do think theologically, in that as far as the worship band is concerned, we have a vision of what we’re trying to do––it’s God-focused first, and our musicianship and our pursuit of excellency in musicianship comes under that. And the same could be said for our tech team,” he says. Once again, the technology is a means to an end––creating an environment in which people can encounter God––and technicians must consider how audio, for example, plays a role in that. “Loudness would be one example: if you’re too loud it could be disengaging for some people; if you’re too quiet, people might feel uncomfortable about their own singing to the extent that they can be heard by others.”
"This is one of the advantages of investing in good equipment. The only thing that might possibly happen is we run out of batteries."
Mark Peskett
Technical Advisor, Trinity Central Church, Vancouver, British Columbia.
While for Peskett, technology shouldn’t be the central focus in church services, it does require some thoughtful consideration––and some financial commitment. “People might have different views on this as far as the cost of gear and such––because it’s very expensive, of course––but the point is not to, I don’t think, buy just what you simply need at the moment, nor is it to go overboard,” he says. “It’s all about stewardship, really, and finding a balance between investing in equipment that will last you a long time and won’t cost a lot of money to replace and maintain. And bear in mind, if you’re a portable church, chances are you’re going to be relying on volunteers to do your work for you, so buy equipment that is easy to learn and operate.”
[ Trinity Central's Equipment List ]
Mackie DL32R digital mixer
Meyer Sound UPA-1P speakers and UMS-1P subwoofers
Sennheiser ew 300 IEM in-ear monitor systems
Shure ULX Beta 58 kit + lavalier kit with UA844SWB antenna splitter
and power distribution
DPA headset mic
Furman power conditioner
Tascam SR-200 digital audio recorder
Shure Beta 58A mic
Shure SM57 mic
Rode NT5 mic
Heil PR-28 mic
Sennheiser e901 instrument mic
Sennheiser e609 guitar mic
Mogami and BRTB cables
Neutrik connectors
K&M stands
Radial JDI, ProAV2, ProDI/D2, SGI direct boxes
Yamaha DTX Multi-12 electronic pad
Nord Stage 2 88-key keyboard
Fender Deluxe Reverb guitar amp
Dinosaur cases
Apple Airport Extreme and Airport Express
MacBook Pros with ProPresenter and ProVideoPlayer
