In 2022, our parish embarked on a $330,000 renovation of our sanctuary. From the moment I arrived at St. Augustine, I have shared with all my acquaintances how the architecture and art of our parish raise the mind and heart to God; it is easy to pray here. Indeed, many visitors and parishioners have approached me to tell me how striking and beautiful the renovation has been. At the same time, these parishioners have noted that there was an unintended consequence of the renovation: sound quality decreased. The modification of the sanctuary opened up the space at the center of the Church, thereby creating a more voluminous area for the sound system to fill. This increased the amount of echo or reverberation in the church.
 
Reverberation is the number one problem with sound systems in large spaces like ours. Reverberation is how long it takes sound to decay or, put another way, it is how long a single sound will echo in a space. Depending on the acoustics, a single word spoken from the sanctuary through the sound system may echo for several seconds. The result is that, due to this reverberation, when the lector reads the Sacred Scripture, you will hear multiple words from the same sentence simultaneously at different volume levels. This makes it hard to understand what is being said.
 
There are a few ways to reduce reverberation. One way is to add features to the space that absorb sound. This is exactly what Msgr. Pearson did when initially installing the sound system 25 years ago. If you look at the ceiling, you will notice sound tiles that help reduce the reverberation in the space.
 
Another way to reduce reverberation is both to reduce the amount of sound being put into the space and to minimize the opportunities for that sound to bounce off hard surfaces. This is accomplished by bringing the sound, that is, the speakers, closer to people's ears.
For example, if you are alone with a friend in the church and standing close, you can speak at a normal volume level, and your friend can easily hear what you're saying. Why is that? Because at a lower volume, your voice does not echo throughout the space. It doesn't have the opportunity to create a cacophony of sound before reaching the ears of the other person. On the flip side, if you and your friend are standing at opposite corners of the church and then try to have a conversation, you will need to shout. The obvious result is a notable echo, which will make it harder to understand what you are saying.
 
That is the same situation with our sound system. Right now, we have five huge speakers placed far away from the ears of the listeners. Because the sound must travel a greater distance, it must be blasted at a much higher volume. Therefore, it has the opportunity to bounce off of many hard surfaces, creating a lot of reverberation, a lot of echo. However, by having smaller speakers placed closer to the ears of the listeners, we can reduce the overall volume and minimize the opportunities for sound to bounce off hard surfaces. This reduces the echo and makes distinguishing the words spoken easier.
 
We have consulted with two professional companies on our sound challenges, and both proposed a similar solution. Instead of utilizing our five large speakers blasting sound into our space from 44 feet above our heads, they have recommended placing several smaller speakers along a couple of the pillars close to the pews where people are seated. Instead of 44 feet above us, these new speakers would only be 12 feet above the listeners. Just imagine how much easier it would be to hear someone speaking to you in the church from 12 feet away versus 44 feet away! It will make it easier to hear.
 
However, even at 12 feet away, and with many other sounds in the church that naturally come when it is filled with people, there will still be some echo. As such, some community members may still find it difficult to hear. For those who are already experiencing hearing difficulties, this upgrade may not be enough. Therefore, our new system will also incorporate an assistive listening device. We've all seen these before. The sound system incorporates a transmitter to broadcast the audio signal directly to battery-powered receivers that people can pick up at the church entrance.  These devices will allow the sound from our system to be heard through a headset with zero reverberation, zero echo. It will be like speaking to a friend in a quiet space, clear and distinct.
 
An assistive listening device is often the best option for those with hearing impairment. Additionally, with modern advancements, not only can people pick up headsets to use, but they will also be able to use their cell phones with Bluetooth earpieces or hearing aids.  After initially pairing a personal device with the system, simply entering the church will connect one directly to our sound system and enable one to hear clearly whatever is said at Mass.  After consultation with the pastoral and finance council, we have decided to partner with VIP Productions, a local professional sound company with a proven track record.  Upgrading our sound system with new speakers, wiring, amplifiers, and assistive listening will cost roughly $40,000.
 
In addition to addressing our interior church needs with the sound system, I believe it is also important to address our exterior needs as well, with the goal of raising at least $35,000 to beautify our grounds further. Although the funds would be used for various improvements of the grounds, particular focus would be given to the southeast corner of our property (Bernard and 19th). As cars go up and down Bernard, this corner is the most visible and barren piece of our property.  As part of landscaping that area, we will work with a company to develop a stone sign, which will be lit and placed on that corner. The sign will make known to all passing by the name of our church, St. Augustine, the jewel of the South Hill.
 
Therefore, the combined total for our summer project would be $75,000. And, although we are calling this a summer project, we will begin moving forward with the sound improvements as soon as we have raised enough money. Relying on your generosity, we hope to complete our sound enhancements by Easter. Therefore, I ask you to prayerfully consider donating to our 2025 Summer project via the enclosed envelope or online at our parish website: https://staugustinespokane.com/online-giving and select “Summer Project” from the dropdown under “Online Giving.”
 
In many ways, these two aspects of our summer project represent the final phase of the sanctuary renovation project that Msgr. Mee initiated in 2020. It will ensure, not only the interior beauty of our church, but also its exterior beauty. This project will allow the glory of the gospel to be clearly perceived not only with our eyes, but also with our ears, allowing us to hear more clearly the Word of God proclaimed within the walls of our church.
 
God bless!
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Nicks