Mary Frances McClure, the pastor at Bethel United Methodist Church, is responsible for making sure all parishioners could have access to the church. During the height of the pandemic, she encouraged each individual to use Zoom on their own personal computers and mobile devices to access activities and services. But when some people started returning to in-person activities, that solution began to falter.
“Once there was a big group of people in-person, we started running into tech issues. I used my laptop with an external microphone and camera. That solution wasn’t picking up the group well enough for at-home people, and the set-up was complicated. It was causing me a lot of stress.”
In the spring of 2021, Mary Frances started looking for recommendations. She was hoping to find a device that would be compatible with Zoom and her MacBook, and ideally wanted to find an all-in-one solution so she wouldn’t have to juggle a lot of equipment. A clergy member in a Facebook group recommended using the Meeting Owl.
Mary Frances made sure to chat with council members about the decision to make the purchase. In the end, everyone agreed that finding a hybrid solution was vital, and the Meeting Owl could solve the problems that they were having. “After using it, you realize that it’s worth the price,” Mary Frances added.
Mary Frances started by using the Meeting Owl for Bible study and Sunday school. She found that the size of those groups grew because activities were able to include people from neighboring towns or states. Mary Frances also noticed that people who didn’t have the time to make it to church in person could join from wherever was easiest for them.
“Once we went online with the Owl, people would join in from other places. People who didn’t want to drive at night to come to Bible study were given an option to join the group in a way that was more comfortable and convenient for them.”
Mary Frances’ Bible study is often very conversational, so it was important to her to use a device that would organically follow the people talking.
Mary Frances is usually the only one hosting activities using the Meeting Owl, but she feels confident that other people could get the hang of it if needed.
“I like the fact that it’s Plug and Play. When I had to leave town last week someone else had to take over for me. When I showed her how to run a meeting using the Owl and Zoom, the Owl was the easy part. She just plugged it in.”
Primarily, the Meeting Owl is being used for Bible study and Sunday school, but Mary Frances has recently started bringing it to council meetings. She notices that when given the opportunity, people will often dial into meetings remotely, and council members appreciate the flexibility. “It’s really handy to have that option.”
Her congregation has grown to include people from other towns, and she wants to make sure all activities, services, and classes remain accessible to them.