Florida Church Revamps Worship/Gym Space With elektraLiteHouses of Worship are typically the cultural centers for congregants of all ages and their families, and, as such, facilities often need to accommodate multiple purposes beyond simply hosting worship and prayer services. Fruitland Park, Florida's Community United Methodist Church is no exception, and last November expanded its gymnasium -- better known as the Family Life Center -- to provide an improved contemporary worship space, which visitors young and old welcomed in January. Orlando-based design-install company Entertainment Arts, Inc. worked on the church's lighting plans for nearly a year as the long-awaited room remodel fulfilled a need, explains Entertainment Arts founder and CEO Tim Huff. Construction plans called for a stage -- the church never had one previously -- to be built into a long wall, while still maintaining the room's gymnasium use. To properly light the newly remodeled space, Huff tapped elektraLite to supply 20 Dazer WW (Warm White, 3,200K) LED fixtures set at 60-degree beam spreads for house down lighting. Four more Dazer WWs set to much tighter 25-degree beam spreads and paired with 10 eyeBall RGBW LED fixtures were also installed to illuminate the new stage area. "The elektraLite Dazer WW fixtures have been quite impressive," notes community director of youth and contemporary worship ministries Brandon Bishop. "The quality of light, both in color and intensity, has far surpassed our initial expectations. The Warm White fixtures create an inviting feel in the room. Even when fully powered, they create a crisp, well-lit environment without overpowering the room. The same applies to the Dazers used on stage. Skin tones look natural and the dimming capability of this fixture allows us to maximize the use of color on stage without washing it out. The eyeBall fixtures render color exceptionally well and are well balanced throughout the color palette." When asked why Entertainment Arts selected elektraLite products for this particular installation, Huff comments, "Four reasons: elektraLite products provide high-level output, very smooth light distribution, a full color palette from a small fixture, and less 'bad out of box' issues found with other manufacturers at the same price point." The Dazer down lights, which replaced four-foot fluorescents, are "an amazing change, providing the smoothest light coverage possible," adds Huff. "Protecting all the fixtures from ball damage was initially a bit of a challenge, but after three months of use, the newly installed Dazers and eyeBalls have gone unscathed and lit the revamped worship space to everyone's delight." With the new lighting system in place, Community's youth will no doubt sink more "three-pointers" now that they can see the baskets better, while their families will be able to better read their Bibles and hymnbooks without eye strain. For more info on Community United Methodist, visit www.communityumcfp.com. Entertainment Arts can likewise be found online at www.eartsinc.com. Group One Ltd. is the US importer and distributor for elektraLite. See elektraLite and Group One Ltd. AT PLASA Focus: Kansas City, May 20 - 21. 
|
