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Kirk beams onto iPhones and iPads

IN WHAT was believed to be a first for Britain, a Church of Scotland congregation in Bo'ness has screened its Sunday services live onto iPhones and iPads.

Members of Bo'ness St Andrew's Church say this groundbreaking move allows people to follow worship real-time in nursing homes, public transport and even on the golf course.

The pioneering venture was spearheaded by minister Reverend Albert Bogle and congregation member Neil MacLennan.

Mr MacLennan explained: "We've been webcasting our services for a number of years now, but with last week's iPad launch in Britain we felt now was the time to test out the Apple applications.

"We tried the technology a fortnight ago, and I was able to sit in my car on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and watch the morning service live.

"Essentially you could watch the service anywhere which had a 3G network."

Reverend Albert Bogle said that the initiative could open up a whole new world for the housebound: "The Apple technology is so simple that your granny could use it.

"Although it is feasible for an old folk's home to set up a projector with a laptop and speakers to watch one of our services online, it's not very practical to do that every week.

"But with us streaming live onto the iPad everything is available at the click of a button.

"Maybe we will need to start fundraising for our local nursing home and other elderly members who cannot make it out to church, but if a successful entrepreneur wants to step in and donate 10 iPads we'd be delighted to hear from them!"

Bo'ness St Andrews has built up a reputation in the Church of Scotland of always being at the forefront of using cutting edge technology in worship, and it is hoped their success could be replicated across numerous congregations.

Mr MacLennan said: "What we've developed is not some big secret to be kept in Bo'ness - we want other churches to try this and we'll be happy to help them on their way."

The congregation also plans to try streaming services live onto BlackBerrys, Google Android-based phones and Nokia phones in the not too distant future.

Ends

Note to News Desks:

For more information please contact Neil MacLennan on 01506 827 217 or 07710 752 222.

To speak to Reverend Albert Bogle, minister at Bo'ness St Andrew's, please phone 01506 822 195 or 07715 374 557.

nr/36/06/10

Monday 14, June 2010

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