Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

AV in the Church Field by William H. Hockman Reaching The Shut-Ins Many churches would like to get the church services to the homebound people of the congregation, and many approaches to the solution of this problem have been tried. Would you be interested in our present plan? In our church this work comes under the Board of Deacons and its arm-of-service is the Christian Service committee. When the CSC sat down and looked this problem over it ran head-on into certain fixed things; (a) the shut-in wanted to hear the entire service; (b) the shut-in was old, in most instances, and wanted to talk with the caller and not listen at that time to something which he/she had brought; (c) the homebound person did not want to receive the church service through any hardto-operate equipment; (d) they did not want to listen just once but several times; and, (e) they wanted to listen when they were in the mood, and able to, and not when it was convenient for some caller to stop by. This is a tough order to fill! But with these factors in mind we went to work. What about a portable tape recorder? We had already installed in the sanctuary a good professional-type tape recorder so there would be no problem at all in transferring services to the smaller recorder. But our real problem was at another point. First, the tape recorder was too 'hard' for these older people to operate themselves, and to reach oin' shut-ins we would need three or fom of them in operation at the same time, pushing our investment in equipment above our limits (so we thought). Then we checked into a short-wave radio system, with receivers in the homes of our home-bound people. This had possibilities, but the initial cost and the trouble in operation soon eliminated this from further consideration. About this time we discovered another factor: Some of our aged could not see to read any longer. How could we serve them? We knew that portions of the Bible had been put on records and in this medium could be utilized by many of our people. This brought us back to records and to a portable record player which could be taken to a shut-in and left The KEYSTONE Standard Overhead Projector is (ivailable for purchase under the National Defense Education Act The Keystone Standard Overhead Projector is designed for the projection of Transparencies, Standard (3!4" X 4") Lantern Slides, Polaroid Slides, and Handmade Lantern Slides or, with appropriate accessories Tachistoslides (4" x 7"), 2" or 254" Slides, Strip Film, and Microscopic Slides. It is useful — In the Science Category with appropriate units of slides in Physics, Biology, General Science, Health, Hygiene, Physiography, and Elementary Science. In the Mathematics Category in teaching NumberCombinations and Fraction-Combinations tachistoscopically; Solid Geometry with Stereograms. In the Modern Languages Category in teaching French, Spanish, German and Russian with Tachistoscopic Units. Write for Further Information or a Demonstration by our Local Representative. KEYSTONE VIEW CO., Meadville, Pa. Since 1892. Producers of Superior Viiual Aids. there to be played at her convenience. Now we seemed to be on a rather ! promising track. All we had to do now was to get the taped church service onto records. Could that be done— within our budget— and would the 'cut' records have a lifetime of usefulness sufficient to justify their production? We soon found a local firm which would transfer our tapes to record.s for $7.50 per record. They could squeeze on to each side about 22 minutes of running time at 33 '/j rpm. We felt we could afford this rate of expense and we set about to create our first "Shut-in Package." It so worked out that the first 22 minutes of the service went on one side and the second 22, which would be the sermon, on the other. Naturally, something had to be left off, and it was the hymns that got cut, in some instances, to one stanza. At other times it was some other item. Now, with our first record we only needed a light-weight phonograph record player, and we were in business. Finding it was no trouble, but we required one with a minimum of controls and considerable sturdiness. For some weeks now this first Package (phono player plus two or three records) has been taken from one home to another by the Minister's Assistant who tells the Christian Service committee that she thinks we have hit upon just the right solution to a knotty problem. She finds that the Package needs to stay with a shut-in about three days, and that in that time it is played many times. She finds that they enjoy both the sermon and the rest of the service equally, but do not miss the parts that must be deleted to reduce an hour to 44 minutes on the record. To our surprise, the operation of the player was not beyond the feeblest if a little care was taken in explaining its operation, and if the record wa.s not cut too close to the edge, making starting difficult. It wasn't long before our worker ran into the request for the Bible on records. We then put into operation a set of the New Testament records from Audio Book Company, Benton Harbor, Michigan. These records have a speed of 16 rpm, a speed now available on many phono players. This brought not only the church service but the Bible to these people of failing sight, and their gratitude has been profound. This album could easily be divided into two parts, each to be included in a Package. We are not certain as yet what the lifetime of one of these cut records will be. It is difficult, in the first place, to know how many playings they have received. Again, we find 438 Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — August, 1960