The Bay Community Church Malbis campus in Daphne, Alabama illuminates the lives of its congregants in many ways, including through contemporary worship services in a new 1,500-seat worship center. Eight Clay Paky Mythos fixtures – the first installed in a house of worship – and eight A.leda B-EYE K10 fixtures from ESB Group do their part to light up the weekly services. A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky lighting instruments in North America.
The interdenominational Bay Community Church holds a Saturday evening and two Sunday morning services – which are live streamed on the Internet – at its Malbis campus, plus entertaining First Wednesday events known for their high production values. The church also has campuses in Mobile and Foley, Alabama.
ESB Group of Springville, Alabama designed and installed the AV components of the new worship center. ESB designs and builds unique media experiences from start to finish using leading-edge audio, video and theatrical lighting products.
“Bay Community Church was looking for a very modern approach to its new sanctuary,” says Nic Taylor, in Southeast Sales at ESB Group. “They have always used moving lights and LEDs in their services but were looking for a bigger scope now that the sanctuary has more than doubled in size. They also wanted to upgrade their AV package.”
ESB Group was considering a number of lighting options when A.C.T introduced the company to the new Mythos fixtures. “Mythos can be used as a Profile and also as eye candy – it has really nice beams in the air,” says Taylor. “The B-EYEs also deliver really good eye candy. A lot of churches are influenced by lighting design. We really wanted these fixtures for how they look on camera and to the congregation.”
ESB Group installed five Mythos fixtures on the risers across the back of the sanctuary stage and three more above them at the back of the stage. “The zoom range on the Mythos is ridiculous: It gets so wide then goes down to that amazing beam mode,” Taylor says. “They’re really bright and great for a room this size. The five Mythos on the risers make great camera shots – they give a nice glow behind people on the stage.”
The church uses the B-EYE K10s in their shapes mode, according to Taylor. “They are more or less fun, playful lights. They’re flown from the overstage grid on two truss rows and give great bounce with plenty of shapes; they have a lot of macros and gobos built in.”
Taylor reports that Bay Community Church is “very happy” with all the fixtures and the new look they give to the new sanctuary. He has also been pleased with A.C.T Lighting’s renowned customer service. “A.C.T has been awesome,” Taylor says. “I have to give them a lot of credit – they’re a breath of fresh air compared to other companies. A.C.T is always on the ball and answers questions quickly. They do what they say – and that’s rare these days!”
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, added, “Houses of Worship are among the many industries that are perfectly suited to our newest lights. We’re glad to see Bay Community Church embracing them.”
