d&b helps unite tradition at St Mary’s

UK - With traditional and informal band led worship at its heart, St Mary’s, Hampton is a growing church with a thriving online congregation. Reverend Ben Lovell, who arrived at St Mary’s in West London four years ago, inherited a sound system that he described as unsightly – “big black speakers nailed to a historic war memorial. The system was muddy, the volume would change, the band was very loud,” he explained.

A self-confessed audio enthusiast, Reverend Lovell used to run the sound engineering for The Boy’s Brigade main worship band. “So, I like good sound,” he said. When long-awaited improvements became possible, dependable audio became part of the project. “It was about us not having an amateur system that had been pieced together, but rather having one that was top notch – a professional system. I also wanted good bass response because it gives music a warmer tone and people enjoy it. We interviewed three companies and really felt that [AV production and installation company] SFL understood what we were trying to do.”

“We were able to guarantee the main features of the church would not be dwarfed by a speaker system,” confirmed Andy Felix, project manager at SFL. “For their power and price efficiency, we selected products from d&b’s installation-specific range – the xS-Series point sources and the xC-Series columns. Because these systems match tonally – and conveniently came painted white as standard – we designed a solution that not only gives every member of the congregation the same sonic clarity, but also blends sensitively into its surroundings.”

Although streaming wasn’t a consideration when the church embarked on its renovation, Reverend Lovell has embraced what it can do. “What SFL have done is they’ve given us enough tools that we’re able to do it well. We’ve been able to keep the live sound live. And we’re seeing new people engage in our online services, again and again. People are getting to taste a little bit of what church is like before they cross the threshold.”

St Mary’s is now looking to the future and new ways to connect with the local community. “We’re talking about trying to offer ourselves as a concert venue, to make us a cultural hub but also, of course, to raise some money,” continued Reverend Lovell. “One of my visions for the church is to be more modern, but more traditional at the same time, and, thanks to some great teamwork, we’ve definitely achieved that.”

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