Sound By Julie B. Sevig W
hen Gerald Williams moved to Northfield, Minn., after his wife died, he looked for a house where he could have work- shops for his electronic equip- ment and for the wood- and metal-working equipment that support his sound and video activities. The real estate agent showed him several homes that were finished, and then one with the interior framed out. “As I looked out the win- dow I saw a church parking lot coming right up to the edge of the property,” he said. “I asked the agent the name of the church and he replied, ‘Bethel Lutheran.’ At that moment I felt the Lord tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Jerry, this is where I need you. How close do I have to put you?’ ” Williams was 79 at the
ministry
Young people hear the call loud and clear in Northfield, Minn.
teer. Twelve boys and girls are now trained as operators and substitutes. Each year two seventh-graders are selected from applicants for training. That’s right, they apply. And they spend a year on the audio mixer before they’re trained as camera operators. It’s about the same age
Rose Mibus (right) operates audio while Tim Freeland supervises. Kelly Groenewold is the other adult super- visor. Above them is the wall of honor. Since 2007, Bethel Lutheran Church, Northfield, Minn., has grown from 800 members to 1,200. Gerald Williams said part of that is because people can hear well and because of Bethel’s exposure on area TV: “When they see what they like on TV, they come for a Sunday visit.”
time. Now he’s 85, and the folks at the church next door know his name and reputation pretty well. When Timothy McDermott, a pastor of Bethel, first
met Williams he told him, “We need you here, Jerry, we have a dreadful sound system.” Williams checked it out and declared it not only dreadful but unusable. He prom- ised to make changes gradually until proving his cred- ibility. His credibility was understated and the pastor wasted no time pointing that out. Williams, after all, was founder of Williams Sound, LLC, Eden Prairie, Minn. With rummage sale funds provided by Bethel’s
Women of the ELCA, Williams bought a 24-channel audio mixer to control the church’s four microphones. A week later, Jens Loven-Holt, a high school junior, asked Williams to show him how to operate it. “In five minutes he had it figured out and asked if he could operate the mixer on Sunday mornings,” Williams said. It was the beginning of Williams’ youth ministry. After Williams installed four remotely controlled video cameras, young people again stepped up to volun-
40 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Williams was when he got the technology bug. In his biog- raphy for Williams Sound (
www.williamssound.com) he writes that he was “a lad of 14” when his parents gave him a kit from Allied Radio Corp. for Christmas. It was the beginning of his engi- neering vocation. Years later, Williams is busy tapping the talent in his congregation. He says an added plus is that the stu- dents learn the liturgy pretty
well: “They must know instinctively what comes next so they have the correct microphones and camera shots ready.” Video operators create subtitles to identify wor-
ship leaders, the readings, hymn titles and Evangelical Lutheran Worship numbers so TV viewers can follow along. A neighboring assisted living community “looks forward to our broadcasts and they let us know when we goof,” Williams said. Two 65-inch video displays are also used for announcements prior to worship, and to show musicians and baptisms during the service. “The youth are dependable. They know they’ll be dropped from the roster if they’re late or absent without lining up a substitute,” Williams said. Six years later, Bethel’s sound system—and an
85-year-old’s influence on young people—are loud and clear. Returning college students stop in at the sound booth—what used to be an usher’s closet is now a 12-foot-square AV room, with photos of graduates on the wall. Williams calls it the wall of honor.
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