2016-10-11 12:31:00

Church hails streaming scheme a success


More than 40 thousand people from all over the world tuned in to watch Anglican church services in the last year as part of an initiative to open up worship via social media.

Multiple types of liturgies, from traditional carols to a service in a tent at Glastonbury Festival, were watched on mobile phones, laptops and tablets as part of a ChurchLive scheme.

A total of 53 churches representing diverse styles streamed services via Twitter app Periscope in a move to provide a first taste of worship, prayer and preaching for people unfamiliar with the Church of England.

The Rev Arun Arora, Director of Communications for the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England said: "It has been a joy to offer the best of the breadth of services offered by the Church to tens of thousands of people over the past year. We have been delighted by the way churches have embraced the opportunities offered by social media to proclaim the Gospel afresh and to reach new audiences."

More traditional worship broadcasts included a carol service at St Martin-in-the-Fields church, London, while at St George's, Leeds, a group were baptised in the middle of a more contemporary style of liturgy featuring drums and an electric guitar.

Churches taking part came from across England, as well as St Andrew's, Moscow, in the Diocese in Europe. Viewers tuned in from all over the world, including the USA, Puerto Rico, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia.

Alice Beverton Palmer from Twitter UK said: "It's been fantastic to see people from across the world watching the ChurchLive broadcasts on Periscope. The success shows how platforms like Twitter and Periscope can really bring communities together both locally and globally.”

The initiative concluded on Sunday at The Point Church in Sussex, the same place where it had begun a year earlier with a sermon on the Middle Eastern refugee crisis by the Vicar of Baghdad, Canon Andrew White.

 

Richard Marsden








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