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ByDave Hall

Moving forward, future proofed

Integrating technology into some of the UK’s most historic listed buildings – that’s the mission of first-time exhibitor FWD-IP at CRE 24.

Future-proofing buildings by enhancing network infrastructure, telecommunications and security, the firm designs and installs state-of-the-art CCTV camera systems, contributing significantly to health and safety protocols, security measures, visitor management and crowd control. Their door and gate access control, barrier systems and automatic number plate recognition technology help manage car parking and secure premises effectively.

In operation since 1992, FWD-IP has partnered with time-honoured institutions such as Ely Cathedral, The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs, Cambridge (OLEM), the Fitzwilliam Museum and Cambridge University.

‘We are thrilled to participate in our first CRE, where we will showcase our premier security solutions designed to safeguard places of worship and our national treasures,’ said FWD-IP director Will Everitt. ‘With many venues hosting an increasing number of large-scale events, our technology ensures seamless and secure operations, allowing them to focus on their mission and community.’

• FWD-IP are on stand C1 at CRE 24

CRE 2025

Book your ticket to CRE 25!
To book a stand at CRE 25, contact:
James Batterbee
T: 0161 240 4500
E: james@creonline.co.uk

ByDave Hall

Speaksee set to ‘amaze’ at CRE 24

A ground-breaking technology that delivers live speech transcription directly to a mobile phone or AV system will be launched at CRE 24.

Iain Harvey-Smith, of DM Music, believes Speaksee will have church leaders amazed at how it can help deaf people and those who hard of hearing. ‘This is a brand-new product in the UK,’ he said. ‘Seeing Speaksee in action will provide a better understanding of its capabilities than any description I can offer!’

An added benefit of Speaksee is that it can also be an effective language-translation tool for those for whom English is not their native language

DM Music – established over 30 years ago as a dedicated church supplier and installer of sound equipment – is now one of the leading AV system installers with installations in over 3,000 churches.

Adam Lee, the UK regional director for the Dutch-based Speaksee company, will join Iain at CRE 24.

• DM Music are on stand A17 at CRE 24

CRE 2025

Book your ticket to CRE 25!
To book a stand at CRE 25, contact:
James Batterbee
T: 0161 240 4500
E: james@creonline.co.uk

ByDave Hall

Why ease of use is the key to church AV

Churches don’t have an endless supply of volunteer AV technicians – and that’s where we come in.

So says DSAV’s Dan Herbert (above) in the latest in a brand new series of CRE Exhibitor Podcasts showcasing a range of organisations you can expect to meet at CRE 24.

‘A lot of the audio-visual systems we install are geared around ease of use,’ explains Dan. ‘Nine times out of ten you can simply turn it on at the beginning of the service and turn it off at the end.’

Dan points out how many AV companies will look at what happens in church on a Sunday in isolation from the rest of the week.

‘The Sunday service is the culmination of what happens over seven days in church but what takes place in midweek is just as important,’ he maintains. ‘The verger may need to turn on the system for a service or stream a funeral, for example. That’s where ease of use really has to come into it.’

A lot of the systems DSAV install come with personal training.

‘It always amazes me that there are still churches out there with no system whatsoever,’ says Dan. ‘We’ll make sure we are there for your first service and return three or four weeks later to answer any questions you may have.’

Click here for the full podcast and here for an introduction to all the interviews on offer.

• DSAV are on stand B15 at CRE 24

CRE 2025

Book your ticket to CRE 25!
To book a stand at CRE 25, contact:
James Batterbee
T: 0161 240 4500
E: james@creonline.co.uk

ByDave Hall

Last chance to nominate your volunteer of the year

You have until this Friday (26 July) to nominate your volunteer of the year, as part of the new Benefact Group Charity Heroes Awards.

Supported by CRE 24 exhibitor Ecclesiastical, the awards are designed to celebrate and support people working tirelessly to make positive change. They are open to charities and not-for-profits, including churches, based in the UK and Ireland. The winners will be awarded £5,000 and runners up £1,000.

With six categories, churches are invited to apply here via a quick and simple form. Here are the awards, and what the judges are looking for:

Volunteer of the year  – Volunteers who have gone over and above, making positive impact for charities, dedicating their time and energy to a great cause

Climate action project – Charities which have inspired and motivated action to tackle the climate crisis

Local community initiative – A project which has reached the heart of a local community to tackle a local issue

Digital fundraising initiative – Inspiring digital fundraising which has created new sources of income and motivated supporters

Small charity, big impact – A small charity (with a turnover of less than £1m) that has made a big impact

Charity leader of the year – A charity CEO or other senior leader who is a role model for others by championing a cause and inspiring change 

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on Thu 28 Nov. An additional colleagues’ choice award will also be announced during the ceremony.

Helen Richards, church operations director at Ecclesiastical, part of the Benefact Group, said: ‘We are delighted to support the volunteer of the year award as part of the launch of Benefact Group’s Charity Heroes Awards 2024. This new awards programme celebrates and supports charities and churches working tirelessly to make positive change.

‘Ecclesiastical is proud to be part of Benefact Group, a family of award-winning specialist financial services companies and the third largest corporate donor to charity in the UK. Owned by a charity ourselves, charitable giving is at the heart of what we do. All our available profits go to good causes and the more our group grows, the more we can give.’

• Ecclesiastical are on stand A1 at CRE 24

CRE 2025

Book your ticket to CRE 25!
To book a stand at CRE 25, contact:
James Batterbee
T: 0161 240 4500
E: james@creonline.co.uk

ByDave Hall

Worship without the worry: simple, affordable solutions from CCLI

Through a growing number of carefully-selected partnerships, CCLI now offers a whole range of solutions for churches – from worship software to tracks, apps to administration tools.

‘Traditionally, visitors have approached our stand at CRE with questions only about copyright and licensing,’ explained CCLI’s Rich Burrough. ‘But last year marked a significant change, with the introduction of the CCLI Family. A logical next step from copyright licensing has been to empower churches with content that can be used under those licences. Now we want to provide time-saving applications and tools that enhance church services and activities where that content is used. Our DNA is to serve the church and that’s what the CCLI Family is all about.’

First to join was WorshipTools, a small team of software developers who are all involved in worship in their local churches. Central to WorshipTools’ vision is that their applications can be used for free. Having started with Presenter, which is simple, yet fully-featured presentation software, WorshipTools now provides online planning and church database management applications appropriately called Planning and Community, as well as a digital music stand app called Charts.

‘All WorshipTools applications are built with the needs of churches in mind,’ explained Rich, ‘they’re easy to learn and connect seamlessly together, saving time. And, of course, they can all can be used free, forever!’ 

With the growing adoption of tracks in worship, their next partnership was with Loop Community. Loop provides a range of track solutions, from sophisticated multitracks that can supplement the sound of larger worship teams, to simple Lite tracks, designed for congregations who may not have any musicians available.

‘All tracks are easily customisable, either online, or using Loop’s free Prime App,’ said Rich, ‘making them a more flexible alternative to backing tracks.’

The latest member of the family will be introduced at CRE 2024. Sunday Sounds provides quality patches and templates for keyboards. As sound designers and worship musicians, Sunday Sounds’ team understands the needs and challenges faced by worship keyboard players. As well as their library of sounds and song-specific patches, Sunday Sounds’ solutions include apps, software and hardware to help keys players.

‘Just as CCLI grew out of the need for copyright solutions, the CCLI Family is about providing simple, affordable solutions to the challenges faced by today’s churches,’ said Rich. ‘And not just churches with technical know-how and big budgets. We believe we have solutions for every church, no matter their means.’

And they’re not stopping there!

‘We hope to have something very new and exciting to introduce at CRE 24, which a growing number of our customers have been asking for,’ said Rich. ‘Want to know what it is? Come and meet us in Milton Keynes!’

• CCLI are on stand C42 at CRE 24

CRE 2025

Book your ticket to CRE 25!
To book a stand at CRE 25, contact:
James Batterbee
T: 0161 240 4500
E: james@creonline.co.uk