Moving into the Digital Age (Information Age)

Newsletter

On September 9th, 2010, the first weekly issue of Metro News, a computer-generated newsletter listing upcoming events at Met United, and providing details of the Sunday worship services, was distributed electronically to Metropolitan United Church members. Thankfully, its electronic means of communication remains steadfast and continues to this day (2023), usually feeding our congregation what they need to know every Thursday.

Website

After many successful years of mastery of the art form and management of Metropolitan’s website, Ann Clarke stepped down in the fall of 2011. The continuing management was taken up by the audiovisual team of Ross Turnbull and James Baker. Access to current sermons began in December 2011. 

Videotapes

A video camera was purchased by the Men’s Club as an extension of the audio ministry that began in the 1960s. (Please see pages 117-8 in Metropolitan’s 1996 book of history, On This Corner.) The first video to be posted on Metropolitan’s website was recorded on December 11, 2011, and it featured the Christmas Pageant. The first traditional worship service with Dr. Crittenden’s sermon, An Unexpected Explanation, was recorded on videotape December 18, 2011. Between that time and September 12, 2021, Ross and James recorded 615 events, mostly of Sunday morning worship services. During this period, they have preserved listings of each sermon topic and any special activities … baptisms, guest speakers, church gatherings, etc. Additionally, they recorded quite a number of memorial services, with DVD (digital versatile disc) copies going to the families involved. As well, there were recordings of demonstration sermons at Huron College and at Metropolitan’s first (9:30 a.m.) worship services, Water’s Edge. To add to this enormity, the many presentations at Dr. Crittenden’s Revitalize conferences were recorded and made available on DVD to participants. As well, numerous guest lectures and presentations were recorded for the Men’s Club and the Time Out programme. For instance, lectures by Ted Browne, John Hamilton and Russ Allison.

The videotape files and records are stored on external hard drives, for ready access using today’s electronic technology. Over the years, Ross and James filled a 2Tb (terabyte) hard drive, a 3Tb drive and almost a third of another 3Tb drive. All videos remain on file (2024) for retrieval or to be written to DVDs. This means of storing Metropolitan’s data was followed and expanded greatly in 2021 by Rob Cairns’ very talented work in ‘livestreaming’ to YouTube, a free video-sharing website, where services can be viewed live or retrieved for later viewing. 

Radio Broadcasts

Prior to livestreaming, live radio broadcasts of Metropolitan’s 11 a.m. traditional worship services began on CKSL AM 1410 in 2004 thanks to the generosity of Edwin Kelly. Many positive comments indicated that this service was greatly appreciated by those who could not attend the Sunday morning services in person. In particular, the elderly and sick could now continue to participate in worship services as part of our church family. Sometime between 2004 and 2021, our Sunday morning radio broadcasts moved to CJBK AM 1290 radio and officially ended in September 2021. 

Livestreaming

With awareness of the radio broadcast service due to end, in February of 2021 Rob Cairns and Ross Turnbull successfully developed electronic ‘livestreaming’ capabilities to ensure continuance of Metropolitan’s outreach into our church community. Rob set up an account with YouTube, a free video-sharing website so that our entire church community and others with an internet connection on their digital devices can view and listen to Metropolitan’s Sunday morning worship services from the comfort of their homes every single week. Access for everyone to retrieve stored program files is possible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This versatile livestreaming setup became a priority and made it possible for Metropolitan United Church to connect with people around the globe, not just within our church community. This practice continues in 2023 and secures a tremendous outreach advantage for our church leaders:  our outstanding scholarly Senior Minister, Rev. Dr. Jeff Crittenden; our knowledgeable Liturgist, Rick Wood; our gifted associate musicians, bell ringers, choirs, choristers and our Director of Music and the Arts, Dr. Gregg Redner. Occasionally, our staff and volunteers also livestream hybrid meetings with members of our large congregation. Special mention is due the sound operator and students from grades 7 to 10 at the Lester B Pearson School for the Arts, London. Weekly they carefully monitor and control the livestreaming during the 11 a.m. worship service. This very satisfactory setup continues today (2023).

In October 2023, Dr. Crittenden began livestreaming and recording funerals and memorial services at Metropolitan, then emailing the video links accompanied by a warmly worded note of caring to the families.