The term "Church Lighting" includes many aspects of lighting in today's modern church. With the explosion of new multimedia applications for churches and the emphisis placed on the worship atmosphere, church lighting has become more than just an after thought. In this section, we will cover some of the basic lighting applications found in churches. Sanctuary Sanctuary lighting design could be the most complicated aspect of church lighting. But, if the primary function of the church sanctuary is understood, the lighting requirements can be more easily relized. For example, will the church conduct special theatrical events more than once or twice a year that requires specialized lighting, or will the church only require white lighting with full dimming control for the bulk of the services? A common mistake among churches is to purchase the top of the line specialized lighting gear and not utilize these resouces but maybe once or twice a year. Specialized lighting has several requirements including cost, maintenance, and experienced operating personel that needs careful consideration. For these reasons, the rental of this type of lighting gear would make sense for most churches. The cost alone of specialized or intelligent lighting would require several years of use to justify the purchase. This means you are locked in to the lighting gear you purchased and it has to work for all applications in the sanctuary, even if it would not be the best choice for all events. This makes intelligent lighting rental very attractive. The advantages include: renting is a fraction of the cost of buying, the latest techonolgy is always available, your lighting can be designed for your event instead of the event being planned around the lighting, and the church would not require the services of a full time intelligent lighting operator. Now, what lighting do you include in a church sanctuary? Most churches only require white light for the bulk of the services or events. Some churches will also require some color lighting for the praise and worship portion of the service. These requirements can be met with the par can and the theater lighting fixtures. |
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