A SCOTS parish is plugging into a higher power in an effort to reach more parishioners – by beaming its sermons live over the internet.
St Patrick's Church in Dumbarton has started streaming Masses across the web in an attempt to spread the good word.
The new theological advances were introduced in the hope of attracting lapsed churchgoers and reaching out to older and housebou
nd members.
For the past three weeks the webcasts have been beamed from the church building in Strathleven Place. Funerals, weddings and baptisms will also be broadcast, so people who are unable to attend will be able to join in the celebrations.
The idea for the holy "beamback" came after the church tried to identify ways in which it could reach more elderly and housebound parishioners.
Parish priest Canon Gerry Conroy said the move was taking the church into a new era.
He said: "We have been seeking to introduce this video service in the church for some time now. It is in its infancy, but the reaction has been good.
"The sound is excellent, but the picture quality is limited at the moment."
Canon Conroy added that the system was set up in matter of weeks. He said: "We had a phone line installed and then a sound engineer gave us a box to allow the sound from the speakers to feed into the computer.
"It means that people who cannot get out to attend Mass in person can watch the service in their homes or in hospitals, or wherever they are.
"This will be especially relevant to housebound parishioners or hospital patients before they receive a visit from a priest or a lay minister who has been authorised to give them Holy Communion."
A fixed camera set up in the church streams the weekday Masses, as well as three services on a Sunday.
Canon Conroy said that the new service has already been watched by exiled parishioners in different parts of the world.
He said: "Occasionally we have people tuning in from overseas, perhaps for a funeral they couldn't attend.
"I know of one case where the relatives of a person who had died and were unable to travel home for his funeral were able to watch the funeral Mass in their own homes in another country via the new video service.
"I don't think this will mean people won't bother coming out to Mass," said Canon Conroy. "People go to mass because they want to go. I have no real worries about that."
"In fact I think this can only be a good thing," he added.
