South Africa - Established in 1946, the Uniting Reform Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) is committed to creating welcoming spaces where people can build community and grow spiritually. With a focus on meaningful worship experiences and outreach programs, URCSA recently expanded its Atteridgeville campus with a significant extension of its existing building.
The goal was to boost community engagement and provide a purpose-built auditorium space for events, services and gatherings. The team at URCSA sought close collaboration from the beginning to help them achieve their aims, and a partnership with Stage Audio Works (SAW) proved pivotal.
“This extension is not just about expanding the space, but about creating a lasting legacy for the community,” explains Sekgwari Matsena, technical team coordinator at URCSA Atteridgeville. “For the AV side of the project, our primary goal was to modernise our audio, visual and lighting systems to enhance the worship experience. From the beginning, Stage Audio Works took the time to understand our unique needs and vision.”
URCSA sought expert guidance to ensure its new facility would benefit from the best technology to empower its services and help the church reach new audiences. SAW was engaged early on in the project’s design phase. "The URCSA Atteridgeville team understood the value of involving us from the beginning," explains Kieran Hempel, project lead at SAW. “This close collaboration and an iterative approach to developing the solution was key to the success of the project.”
“We needed technology that would be easy for volunteers to use whilst ensuring professional-level sound, visual quality and lighting control for services, events and live streaming,” continues Matsena. “We wanted to create an immersive, distraction-free environment that would help people engage more fully in worship.”
Alongside the design and integration of audio, video, lighting and live streaming technology for the new auditorium, SAW also provided training for the church’s volunteer technical team, equipping them to manage and maintain the new technology efficiently and guarantee the system’s longevity and smooth operation. Wholly funded by donations from church members, the project needed to honour their generosity by being executed with integrity and excellence, whilst making the very best of the allocated budget.
When it came to designing the audio system, Stage Audio Works opted for a distributed system throughout the space rather than a classic L/C/R solution. “This approach minimises reflections on untreated walls and improves gain before feedback on stage. The pastors wanted to use lapel mics, so gain before feedback was an important consideration.”
The main PA system is mounted on a catwalk trussing system, built directly above the stage. Here, five Plus Audio CPH212 three-way passive dual 12-inch loudspeakers are secured at specific angles to ensure clear and consistent audio, across both the front of the auditorium seating and part of the upper-level balcony. Four on-stage monitors and two subwoofers, placed under the stage, complete the main PA.
13 smaller form-factor Plus Audio CPU105 5-inch coaxial loudspeakers serve as under-balcony fill to cover the back of the room. Front-fill, mounted directly around the front of the stage, consists of a further six CPU105 loudspeakers. Upstairs in the balcony seating, a ring of seven CPU9 9-inch coaxial loudspeakers provide coverage to areas not reached by the main PA system.
Plus Audio’s own A204D and A044D Dante amplifiers power the system, featuring built-in DSP and FIR filters. A Yamaha TF3 digital mixer and Tio stage boxes provide comprehensive system control, capable of handling complex productions. “We designed this distributed PA system to minimise excessive echo,” remarks Hempel. “It includes the flexibility to deactivate the balcony loudspeakers when the area is unoccupied, reducing unwanted reflections and helping the venue to be as efficient as possible.”
A full stage lighting and video streaming system was also required. For on-stage visuals, two Appotronics HD laser projectors allow for services to be accompanied by engaging video content, displayed on two screens on either side of the stage. The lighting is PC-controlled, consisting of Cameo Auro Spot 200 moving lighting, which decorates the stage with customisable coloured lights, and Stage Plus LED Fresnel lights, mounted on the overhead truss.
Aida PTZ cameras, a Blackmagic Design video switching system and a Kiloview streaming encoder facilitate seamless live streaming of services, with control via an easy-to-use Stream Deck unit.
Sennheiser EW-D wireless microphones provide reliable communication and greater freedom for on-stage speakers and performers. SAW also supplied the IT infrastructure required for the new system, including business-grade WiFi and wireless access points around the venue.
“This project demonstrates conclusively that quality solutions can be achieved whilst effectively managing financial considerations,” concludes Hempel. “Our collaboration with URCSA has optimised the church’s technical setup and underscored the importance of strategic planning and partnership. The results speak to the high standards we strive for, proving that excellence and cost-efficiency can indeed go hand in hand."
