this next bit seems like a choir-specific tangent but the same principle is elsewhere in our church; please consider it as a parable in addition to its literal, face-value meaning:

One problem with the choir is that we really don't know what we sound like. It's totally different being in the choir versus being in front of the choir. When we find out what we sound like, we're going to find out two things:

1. We sound better than we think we do
2. There are things we can do to sound better that are within easy reach, but we couldn't see them because we didn't have an accurate view of ourselves.

Westwood Hall has a large room that overlooks the main hall. Currently it's full of broken chairs and miscellany. I would like to clear it out and spend some money creating an audio/visual control booth.

(possible aside: if we get rid of broken chairs, it creates one narrow possible logistical problem: if a program in the sanctuary requires a full roster of chairs on the sacristy, and another program requires full seating in Westwood Hall, we might run out of chairs. This is one of those irritating nitty-gritty details, but don't ignore it…)

The big-ticket items we would need:

• A heavier door, deadbolt, etc.
• Nice speakers (Recommend Yamaha HS-8)
• A nice computer
• Another mixer
• Furniture
• Networking (this is a larger topic)