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Maranatha welcomes members with Absen LED screens
With a history dating all the way back to 1907, where a local potter, Mr Walker, started an interdenominational Sunday school for children in a school hall in Kempton Park, Maranatha is a dynamic, contemporary church with a passion to help people reach God’s plan for their lives.
Maranatha recently acquired an Absen PL2.9 lite LED curved screen positioned in the church’s entrance foyer and another PL2.9 unit which is being used as a song board in the auditorium, both supplied by DWR Distribution. All churches have a unique story of where it all began.
“A steady growth through all the years has been something we are grateful for,” said Mark Bradshaw, a pastor at Maranatha. “We really do see ourselves as a family church, taking care not to leave the older generation behind and keeping it fresh and relevant for the next generation. We praise God for the growth and multigenerational, multicultural place we call home!”
Part of the church’s history saw Mr. Walker and a group of teachers building a little wood and iron hall,
Kempton Park’s first church, lovingly known as the Little Tin Tab (Tabernacle), which opened in 1915. The same God who was relevant then is real and modern in Maranatha's 3000 auditorium and counselling centre today.
“I remember our senior Pastor, Leonard Stone, addressing the 20s congregation recently for their conference,” said Pastor Mark. “He said the following to them, ‘You are not the future of the church, you are the church.’ So, whether it's music, lighting or media, we do cater for the younger generation, but we do so carefully and considerately.”
Maranatha recently invested in a curved Absen PL2.9 LED lite LED screen has made a huge change to the church’s entrance. “It has been wonderful running music videos through the week in an area that has a lot of foot traffic, and it obviously makes a fantastic first impression on a Sunday as people entering see our welcome loops, church photos and creative imagery.” The second screen is being used to display song lyrics for worship inside the auditorium.
Robert Izzett, Keith Pugin and the team from DWR Distribution worked together to neatly install the new units. “We value the relationship we’ve built with Maranatha over the years and thank them for the opportunity to be involved in this project,” said Robert. “LED screens are fantastic tool to share messages, song lyrics, videos, announcements or whatever is required. Absen panels are lightweight, reliable, and deliver bright, high contrast visuals. Absen is backed up by our technical team and workshop when needed.”
Keith continues, “The other challenge was that the wall surface was not flat and cladded in in stepped stonework, and whenever you are dealing with any curves, it complicates the design even further. To provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance, DWR created a sheet metal cladded border around the entire screen. We were very pleased with the final product and would like to thank Maranatha for being so accommodating and for the wonderful coffee served during the installation!”
The Maranatha technical team have found their way around the new technology. “Our IT and media department did take a couple of days to iron out teething problems and to learn the ropes, but there is huge excitement for the massive step forward,” said Pastor Mark.
“What a joy to use tech to advance the kingdom of God.”
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