20 January 2012

PRINCE Edward heard about an up-to-the minute streaming project that sees church services broadcast over the internet.

The Earl of Wessex heard about the Deddington On Air project during a visit to Oxfordshire to launch the Jubilee Fund in January. The fund aims to provide grants to local charities during the Queen’s Jubilee year. The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard was at the launch event at The Hub in Oxford city centre.

The streaming project was given a £1,000 grant from the fund last year. “We were given the grant because we are trying to communicate with the elderly of the parish, placing information about Help the Aged around churches we were seen as helping fight fuel poverty,” said David Rogers, the brains behind the scheme, which is done in conjunction with St Peter and St Paul’s Church and includes broadcasts of church services and events. Last year a reading of the entire King James Bible was broadcast.

There are now 15 people who put together a weekly radio show, with young people getting involved as part of their Duke of Edinburgh scheme voluntary work. “Some younger children have put together a quiz they broadcast for their friends and we have older people who wrote shows and scripts for radio maybe 30 or 40 years ago and now we are broadcasting some of them,” said David. “I envisaged it as being something to give younger people something to do in Deddington.”
“My late father was a Welsh miner and in male voice choir, but I have no recordings of him singing and my kids will never get to hear his voice. We’ve recorded oral histories of Deddington that people can record onto CDs and keep for their children and grandchildren.”