Microphones and Speakers

Dec 6

When I first arrived as pastor in 2020, one of the biggest issues that I encountered was the microphones in the churches. I received letters suggesting that we seek professionals to fix the problem. People would comment that the air conditioners in the Brant Beach church hall were so loud they could not hear anything other than the droning of the machines. There were times when I sat in the congregation and experienced the poor quality of the amplification and felt the frustration of not being able to hear what was being said.

With the great help of Michele Beck and Grafton Electronic Design, LLC, we upgraded the microphones, speakers, and electronic components in three of our four churches. We will be working on the system in Beach Haven this year. As a parish community we have invested a great amount of time, money, and effort to make sure that we could have the best possible system for our churches.

On Thanksgiving morning, as I was greeting people as they left Mass in Brant Beach, I was very surprised when someone said as they were walking out that they were waiting for us to upgrade the microphones in the church. I was dumbfounded. She kept walking so I didn’t have a chance to ask any questions to find out what was the problem.

We all know that nothing is perfect. We do live in a finite world and sometimes it is just the reality we live in. I do know that the far corners of the south wing of the Brant Beach church (where the statues are) are “dead zones.” That doesn’t mean that the sound doesn’t reach those areas but for some reason they are not as “live” as other areas in the building. If you have difficulty hearing, you may not want to sit in those areas.

Once I was preaching at the Motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and as was the custom, I would join the sisters for breakfast after Mass. One day, while we were eating, one of the sisters said that she couldn’t hear me during Mass and that I needed to speak louder. I do realize that my pitch and tone changes while I am speak to either emphasize one point or another so I made a mental note that I need to be more aware of my diction and clarity when speaking. Then another sister, looking across the table, not at me but at her sister asked, “Do you have your hearing aids in?” She did not.

As public speakers we do have to be very conscious of how we speak. We need to make sure that we speak clearly and at a pace that is not rushed but also one that does not put people to sleep. I admit I am not always conscious of that but promise I will try, and I will encourage the other friars to remember that as well. However, if you continue to have difficulties hearing what is being said I would recommend that you look for the three-foot speakers on the walls of the main body of the church or church hall and sit as close to them as possible. I have been assured that these speakers are the newest and best technology in the industry. Again, I realize that nothing is perfect, and we do live in a finite world, and I am sure you do as well. We all do the best we can with what we have. If you do have difficulty hearing what is being said during Mass, you may want to consider sitting in a different place in the church and see if that helps.

Peace and All Good.