New video conferencing technology helps reach the far corners of the Salt Lake diocese

Intermountain Catholic

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(Counterclockwise from far left) Shannon Lee conducts a Stewardship for Youth Sub-committee meeting with Huy Ngo, Father John Evans and Veronica Brand. On the video screen is Michelle Welch from Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in Logan. IC photo/Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocese of Salt Lake City has implemented a video conferencing system that will eliminate some travel time and costs for diocesan staff as well as for people in the more remote areas of the diocese in Utah.

The video conferencing system was funded by a grant through the Catholic Church Extension Society in Chicago without any cost to the parishes, said Michael Lee, director of diocesan pastoral operations. "Being able to communicate in person is best, but the video conferencing system is pretty close and a way for us to communicate without having to travel."

Before implementing the system, Lee and others looked at options and found one that "allows us to be centered at the Pastoral Center as well as have a mobile unit, which can be used at different sites with an Internet connection," said Lee.

The six parish sites connected with a fixed video conferencing station are Saint Thomas Aquinas in Hyde Park, Saint James the Greater in Vernal, Saint John Bosco Mission in Delta, Notre Dame de Lourdes in Price, Saint Elizabeth in Central Valley and Saint George in Saint George.

George LaDamus, a data IT specialist with the diocese, tested the setup with the parishes in October and for the most part, the response was positive, he said. "I think they were pleased with how easy it is to use," he said. "The software automatically loads when the computers are started, so there are not a lot of steps the user has to do. With it being a new system, there will be a few technical functions that will have to be worked out."

Among those who have already used the system is Shannon Lee, Stewardship and Development director, who used it to conduct the annual Diocesan Development Drive chairman training with St. Thomas Aquinas and St. George parishes.

"It’s hard at times to have a sense of community in this diocese because it is the whole state, but video conferencing not only brings the pastoral center to parishes, but also brings parishes together," Shannon Lee said. "The DDD training went well and we were able to have a question and answer dialog back and forth."

Jill Luttrell, who participated in the DDD session said she felt a part of the conference despite being in St. George.

"We could see the others who were sitting in a chair like me, looking at a screen, as well as how many people were in the room with Shannon at the Pastoral Center," Luttrell said. "The screen was clear and everything was explained well. Shannon used a PowerPoint presentation that was easy to see."

Mary Garrett also received training for the DDD, but her experience was not as positive as Luttrell’s. She thought the screen was too small and the audio was too quiet, she said.

Nevertheless, "I think the video conferencing will help because living in Logan it’s hard to get down to the meetings in Salt Lake, especially during the winter months when the weather is bad," she said.

Maria Cruz Gray, director of the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministries, agreed that the video conferencing will alleviate winter driving. "The system will save us a lot of time and money and it is going to be a wonderful assistance for our ministry and the people in the missions in Central Utah," she said.

Ruth Dillon, director of the Office of Liturgy, has used the technology to connect with Saint James Parish in Vernal.

"The system worked great," Dillon said. "We could see and hear the participants and they were glad they didn’t have to travel."

Anyone with a camera and Internet access can watch the video conferencing presentations, but can’t interact unless they are at one of the parish sites, said LaDamus.

Another attribute to the system is that presentations can be recorded and archived on the server so they can be viewed at a later date.